Week 7 11/11/08

Today was the debate ‘for’ and ‘against’ Ethical and Couture Fashion and I really enjoyed it!I was in the team ‘For’ Ethical and Couture Fashion. I really felt I learnt a great deal on the two subjects in dispute and liked the idea of a debate; we had judges, an audience and even a whip! :) Was a good experience.

Here are some of the arguments i researched and used:


Arguments for ethical fashion

Organic Materials


-Synthetic materials are made from petrochemicals polluting to the environment causing global warming
-Non biodegradable and difficult to dispose off
-Can cause serious illnesses and even death to cotton farmers.
-Pesticides also affect local eco-systems, killing certain plants and animals causing an imbalance.
-Hazardous chemicals are also used on wool for example sheep dips where they have been linked to illnesses with sheep farmers.
-In many parts of the world garments are dyed or bleached using toxic chemicals without proper precautions affecting workers, and flow into sewers and rivers damaging local eco-systems.
-Organic cotton is grown without the use of chemical pesticides these are expensive and can result in damaged to health and environment.
-While organic farming is more difficult it saves lives from not using pesticides, we no longer have debt problems, income is more profit at the end of the season and farmers land and soil are preserved.
-One cup of pesticides and fertilisers is used in the production of a typical T-shirt and up to a third of the weight of the t-shirt is made up from chemical residues which can irritate the skin.

In the UK we sort approximately 250,000 tonnes of textile waste every year and this is sorted into five categories
The top 5% are described as ‘cream’ or ‘as new’ and are usually sold in charity shops in this country. A further 45% are classified as ‘second hand’ and are sent to third world countries or those experiencing situations resulting in extreme poverty. 25% of clothes recycling goes for fibre reclamation and are made into new clothes or other textiles. 15% of the textiles are used for wiping cloths by various industries and the remaining 10% are actual waste.

Quote:
The secret behind selling ethical fashion is that 5% of the market will buy it, being eco, regardless of aesthetic, 45% sit on the fence but could be convinced and the other 50% don’t give a fuck. Do you give a fuck?

The world of fashion may be stylish, glamorous and exciting. But have you ever stopped to think about its wider impact?


Week 7 10/11/08

Today we were doing sketchbook work for our project folk, I really enjoy recording my ideas in a sketchbook. We were learning how to do flat drawings, this is something I need to practice as I find it hard to produce accurate drawings, but I found books in the library and have brought a couple from Amazon so I am all set! After uni, we were allowed to stay behind to catch up with our skirts, so I got that done, and I didn’t mess it up, I love the feeling of satisfaction, its so rewarding!