HOW TO BE A CONSCIOUS CLOTHING CONSUMER
http://ecosalon.com/cheap_fashion_has_a_high_environmental_price_lessons_of_the_3_billion_sustainable_apparel_industry/
Here are a few things I know that might be helpful to you, the conscious clothing consumer:
Understand the difference between organic and sustainable or green. Organic has a specific legal meaning for agricultural products (cotton, wool, linen, foods, herbs) in the United States and most of the world, and must be certified as compliant with the law. So, while anyone can call anything sustainable, only those whose products meet the legal standard can use the term organic in the marketplace.
It’s not just about the fabric. Companies that aspire to true sustainability should be using, or making substantive plans to change over to, low-impact processing, finishing and dyeing treatments, rigorous standards for ethical labor practices, and environmentally responsible packaging and distribution.
Watch out for green hype. Look for transparency and accuracy in marketing claims. Much of the hype I see centers on bamboo; most fabric sourced from bamboo has been subject to considerable chemical treatment to turn it from woody stalks into supple fabric (as have many other fabrics). Bamboo isn’t a bad fabric source by any means – it’s got tremendous potential as a phenomenally useful, eco-friendly, versatile plant — but the textile industry must become as innovative with manufacturing and processing it as they are in marketing it. In general, evaluate all claims carefully.
Cheap fashion has a high environmental price. The textile and clothing industryis enormous and has a huge global environmental and social footprint. As a consumer, it’s a good strategy to rethink your fashion values. Stop looking for lots of cheap, trendy clothes. Take the European or Slow Fashion approach: Invest in a small wardrobe of well-made pieces that work together, made by manufacturers with integrity. Use accessories to add spark and variety.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Slow fashion - using Reverse Applique
Somewhere out there, there are people still using hand stitching to join and sew togther a dress! Wow!
Lots of technical question marks in my head. eg. is the hand stitching gonna be strong enuff to hold it together? How much time is it gonna take? Quality of the stitching? Are there people willing to sewer it? And the final two marketing question - how much more will it cost? & will anyone buy it?
Here's the link to the story : http://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/2011/03/project-alabama-reverse-applique-dress.html
Here's some excerpts that may answer my questions :
PROJECT ALABAMA
From 2001-2006, Project Alabama earned rack space in boutiques from Tokyo to New York City and appeared in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and many other publications. All this despite Project Alabama's location in Florence, Alabama, far from the fashion centers of New York or Paris.
The company got its start in 2001, when native Alabaman and former stylist Natalie Chanin needed something to wear to a party in New York City. Chanin deconstructed a t-shirt, cutting it apart and sewing it back together with visible stitches. The one-off shirt was a tremendous success, earning compliments and inquiries about where it was purchased. Based on the success of her spontaneous design, Chanin decided to make similar t-shirts for retail sale. At first, Chanin wanted to produce her t-shirts in New York, but quickly realized that she'd have more success producing garments with a handmade appearance if she hired sewers skilled in hand-sewing techniques. This led Chanin back to Alabama, where handwork, particularly quilting, was still an important part of local culture.
HAND-SEWN DRESS
Each Project Alabama t-shirt or dress was handmade, start to finish. Local sewers, called stitchers in company parlance, worked from home to produce garments with a distinctly handmade appearance. The basis of each garment was cotton jersey, which was then hand-stitched into t-shirts, dresses, skirts or other garments. The unmistakable appearance of Project Alabama's garments resulted from multiple types of embellishment, including applique, embroidery, stencil. beading and visible stitches.
Project Alabama garments rely entirely on hand-stitching, no machines allowed!
PRICE ?
Because they were entirely handmade, Project Alabama garments were expensive. T-shirts were priced from $150-$300, while a dress could run as high as $3,000. These prices, however, allowed stitchers to earn a living wage in an area with little industry. At its peak, Project Alabama employed 200 stitchers.
SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT
Project Alabama was also an early purveyor of what is now called Slow Fashion, a movement that rejects the quick turnover of contemporary fashion and advocates quality over quantity. Slow Fashion is also concerned with reducing the ecological impact of fashion by re-making, mending, shopping second-hand and examining the supply chain for the production of new garments.
Lots of technical question marks in my head. eg. is the hand stitching gonna be strong enuff to hold it together? How much time is it gonna take? Quality of the stitching? Are there people willing to sewer it? And the final two marketing question - how much more will it cost? & will anyone buy it?
Here's the link to the story : http://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/2011/03/project-alabama-reverse-applique-dress.html
Here's some excerpts that may answer my questions :
PROJECT ALABAMA
From 2001-2006, Project Alabama earned rack space in boutiques from Tokyo to New York City and appeared in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and many other publications. All this despite Project Alabama's location in Florence, Alabama, far from the fashion centers of New York or Paris.
The company got its start in 2001, when native Alabaman and former stylist Natalie Chanin needed something to wear to a party in New York City. Chanin deconstructed a t-shirt, cutting it apart and sewing it back together with visible stitches. The one-off shirt was a tremendous success, earning compliments and inquiries about where it was purchased. Based on the success of her spontaneous design, Chanin decided to make similar t-shirts for retail sale. At first, Chanin wanted to produce her t-shirts in New York, but quickly realized that she'd have more success producing garments with a handmade appearance if she hired sewers skilled in hand-sewing techniques. This led Chanin back to Alabama, where handwork, particularly quilting, was still an important part of local culture.
 |
| Tank dress with reverse applique |
HAND-SEWN DRESS
Each Project Alabama t-shirt or dress was handmade, start to finish. Local sewers, called stitchers in company parlance, worked from home to produce garments with a distinctly handmade appearance. The basis of each garment was cotton jersey, which was then hand-stitched into t-shirts, dresses, skirts or other garments. The unmistakable appearance of Project Alabama's garments resulted from multiple types of embellishment, including applique, embroidery, stencil. beading and visible stitches.
Project Alabama garments rely entirely on hand-stitching, no machines allowed!
 |
| Bodice of the reverse applique dress |
PRICE ?
Because they were entirely handmade, Project Alabama garments were expensive. T-shirts were priced from $150-$300, while a dress could run as high as $3,000. These prices, however, allowed stitchers to earn a living wage in an area with little industry. At its peak, Project Alabama employed 200 stitchers.
SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT
Project Alabama was also an early purveyor of what is now called Slow Fashion, a movement that rejects the quick turnover of contemporary fashion and advocates quality over quantity. Slow Fashion is also concerned with reducing the ecological impact of fashion by re-making, mending, shopping second-hand and examining the supply chain for the production of new garments.
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