PURPLE Fashion Revolution Day

Raising awareness of the true cost of fashion!

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Have a look at our short film aimed to increase people's awareness of unethical fashion and encourage them to become part of the Fashion Revolution Day.

Have you joined the Fashion Revolution?

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Longevity of clothes is in itself sustainable

Picture : volgavolga

Author : Chika Moriyama

Good design is sustainable. Using high-end fabrics to make well-designed, well-made clothing is in itself sustainable. The idea of recycling garments has good intentions, but does not actually make a wider impact. The key may be, on the one hand, thinking of the bigger picture, while on other hand and educating the consumer. Perhaps the economic crises will have a beneficial impact on consumers because people will start asking themselves the key questions:"Do I really need this?" or "Should I invest in something that may last longer?"

Well-made, well-designed clothes are inherently sustainable when you compare them to the cheaper high-street fashion.

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Author: Kuan Chen

Nike, along with Dutch and Taiwanese partners, introduces waterless fabric dyeing system.

Nike, Adidas, Li Ning of China and other brands have been under pressure from environmental groups to reduce water usage and reduce harmful discharges in the manufacturing process. Greenpeace started a Detox campaign in 2011, asking brands to commit to zero discharge of hazardous substances through the global supply chain and products by January 2020.

SOURCE: Allan Brettman http://www.oregonlive.com/playbooks-profits/index.ssf/2013/12/nike_along_with_dutch_and_taiw.html

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Made with Love, Made in Africa!

Author: Jacqueline Harba

Sass & Bide is the most recent brand to join the Ethical Fashion Africa Initiative, alongside Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and Fendi. 

The collection 'Made with Love, Made in Africa!' comprises of a total of three styles, a tote, a clutch and a purse, all handmade by women from different tribes in East Africa. The magic of the designs goes beyond the African inspired prints, bright colours and beading. The real beauty of the project lies in the fact that the women doing the artisanal work are paid fare wages, being offered the chance to a better life for them and their families.

Knowing the story behind the Sass & Bide collection we can relax and truly enjoy the magic of the African culture embellished on the bags.

Check them out on the Sass & Bide website. 

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Author: Jacqueline Harba

Vivienne Westwood’s creations board the Virgin Atlantic flight to style and sustainability

The love for style and interest in sustainability have brought iconic British designer Dame Vivienne Westwood and Sir Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, together in a creative collaboration aimed to bring glamour, sophistication and ethics on board of the Virgin Atlantic aircrafts.

Vivienne Westwood is internationally renowned not only for her exquisitely elegant designs, but also for her eco-friendly and sustainable approach of fashion. So it is not at all surprising that the new Virgin Atlantic uniforms represent a perfect fusion between an innovative, futuristic look and sustainable fabric production techniques, both known as trademarks of the Westwood designs.

The blends of old and new, the mixtures between the recycled materials and the designs inspired by the Forties French couture cutting techniques, as well as the unusual partnership between a fashion designer and an airline company set an example that when it comes to style and sustainability not even the sky is the limit.

Sustainability and fair trade, but no compromise in terms of luxury and Westwood's unique design aesthetic - that is the true definition of sky high fashion!

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Author: Chika Moriyama

Spanish artist Yolanda Dominguez brought a stark representation of Bangladesh’s horrific Rana Plaza building collapse to a packed shopping district in Milan with a “live” performance that underscored the real fashion victims of unethical clothing production. 

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Author: May Lee

video clip: http://apps.npr.org/tshirt/#/people <click me>

Do you know that there are a lot of stories behind your simple T-shirt?

For example, in Bangladesh there are 4 million people working in garment factories and the number is likely to double within a decade. They work 6 days a week, but get the lowest pay in the world.

However, there are always different sides to every story. Some people believe that when they place an order in Bangladesh’s garment factories they provide an opportunity for those workers to survive. On the other hand, the working conditions and the pay they get are the poorest and lowest in the world. That is the inhuman truth.

There is no doubt that only if we buy clothes, the manufacturers get paid and have enough money to support their lives. However, there is great demand for fair fair wages in the fashion production cycle. After all, there is always demand for clothes. How can we change the condition of the reality for the better?

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Author: Kuan Chen

Amber Valletta isn’t your average supermodel-actress-environmentalist. Together with Yooxygen, the green offshoot of online retailer Yoox, the multihyphenate clotheshorse has edited a collection of stylish clothing and accessories from brands that are as innovative as they are environmentally responsible.

Available from September 17, “Master & Muse” will include sustainable jeans byGoodsociety, organic knits from M.Patmos, recycled-leather moto jackets from The Sway, handmade shoes from Guava, and zero-waste jumpsuits by Daniel Silverstein’s 100% NY label.

“We really looked at the brands and made sure what they do is right,” Valletta told Vogue in August.

SOURCE: http://www.ecouterre.com/amber-valleta-yooxygen-curate-master-muse-eco-fashion-collection/

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Tips For a Sustainably Fashionable Lifestyle

Author: Jacqueline Harba

In a not-so-glamorous fashion industry filled with human exploitation, sustainability and ethics become an extremely pressuring issue. While many designers and brands, some mentioned in previous entries are making efforts to embrace a fair, eco-friendly production approach from cotton field to catwalk, some of you, fashion lovers, might be wondering where to begin making ethical changes in your shopping habits.

Vivienne Westwood has a few tips on how to overcome excessive consumerist behaviour and become sustainably stylish, so-bringing your own contribution towards a brighter future for those working in the backstage of the fashion spectacle.

Buy less: “Buy less, choose well and make it last. I really do think that people should exercise choice and not just consume without thought—sucking up stuff all the time, one thing after another.”

Go to art galleries: “The art lover is not consuming. He invests in the present world by engaging with the genius of the past. ‘You get out what you put in’ is my motto.”

Read: “The best fashion accessory is a book.”

Prepare your own food: “Buying and preparing your own food is to engage with the world. It gives you a sense of reality.”

Do it yourself: “Wear a piece of beautiful fabric, borrow stuff from your friends, and style it in with your own clothes.”  

Source: http://www.ecouterre.com/vivienne-westwoods-tips-for-living-sustainably-in-style/vivienne-westwood-red-label-autumn-winter-2012-2/

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Author: Kuan Chen

Breaking News: To Improve Garment Industry Standards, H&M Says It Will Pay Its Workers a Living Wage.

SOURCE: http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2013/11/26/HM-Bangladesh-Living-Wage-112613.aspx

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Author: May Lee

Do you like fast fashion? If you do than you should have a look at this video! And please share to all your friends- let them know what the story behind their clothes is.

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Author: May Lee

Do you like Primark?

If you do, why do you like it? Because of its low prices or its high fashion design? Have you ever thought about why it is that their clothes are cheap and why is so cheap? Are there any stories behind your clothes?

When clothes are that cheap, most of the times they come along with some undiscovered stories such as children labor, poor condition workplace and unethical trade. If you were to find out that your clothes were made by a 6-year-old boy, how would you feel about it?

Do you still like Primark?

source:http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/stevehawkes/100244468/people-thought-rana-plaza-would-be-a-blow-to-primark-todays-profit-figures-say-otherwise/

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Whose 'Handprint' Are You Wearing?

  Author: Jacqueline Harba

No, this is not an imaginary scene from a science fiction movie, but the screening of a fashion reality that we are all unwarily part of every single time we go shopping for new clothes- the colossal contrast between the luxury of the catwalk, and the unseen misery of the backstage.

Livia Firth, creative director of Eco-Age and co-founder of the Green Carpet Challenge, has officially unveiled ‘Handprint’- a short movie about the people who manufacture our clothes- to the public on November 22nd at the International New York Times Luxury Conference in Singapore. The short movie, directed by Mary Nighy and starring famous American actress and model Elettra Wiedemann, was produced in collaboration with the British Fashion Council and the Global Fund, and is intended to raise awareness of the unseen, not-so-glamorous face of fashion- the conditions suffered by factory workers producing the garments. 

The idea for the movie came following the tragic event that took place on April 24th near Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, when the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed due to poor and unfit working conditions. More than 1,130 people working in the factory died and over 2,500 were severely injured, causing iconic figures from the global fashion industry to step up and create a revolution against the human exploitation from within the garment production cycle. From designers to consumers, everyone needs to become aware that sustainability and ethics in fashion are a necessity and everyone needs to contribute towards a transparent, fair global fashion industry.

Do you know whose fingerprints you are wearing? Think, get informed and join the revolution! 150 days left until Fashion Revolution Day!

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Author: Kuan Chen

Inspiration idea, this is how sustainability education can do! The Eden Project is a charity and social enterprise as well as creating stunning gardens and laying on fantastic arts and music events, much of allow energy goes into:

running transformational social and environmental projects on doorstep and around the world creating unforgettable learning experiences for students doing valuable research into plants and conservation making sure it runs operations in the greenest possible way.

More detail of interview co-founder of the Eden Project, Tim Smit Please Visit: http://royalsociety.org/events/2004/new-eden/

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Author: Lola Owoseni

Break In, Reuse, Repair, Recycle...

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Author: Lola Owoseni

A good pair of denim jeans is so essential to any wardrobe. Everybody owns a pair and hate the disappointing moment where you have to throw them out just because or some reason or another they just can't be worn anymore (too big, too many rips etc.); and then the search for the perfect pair of jeans begin again.

Nudie is such a great example of a sustainable brand that strives for healthier and sustainable consumption patterns.

You could either go to a Nudie concept store and have your jeans repaired for free or you could go and recycle your old worn out jeans, which is then torn apart to make a brand new pair. More denim brands need to offer this type of personalised service and become more transparent like Nudie have done.

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Made in Downtown LA - American Apparel -

Author: Chika Moriyama

American Apparel, based in LA, is now a publicly quoted company, founded by controversial entrepreneur Dov Charney in 2000. It is a product of the Californian free-wheeling sensibility, priding itself on being sweat shop free, completely vertically integrated and "Made in Downtown LA".

Almost all the fabrics are made in the US, all the manufacturing is done in one large factory and the company has committed to converting to 80 per cent organic cotton by 2010. (Shawn Shahani) The labour policies are "worker positive", with the mainly Latino workforce of 4,500 paid double the minimum wage, according to "Business Week". (American Apparel) A significant number of worker benefits are also available including a subsidised canteen, health benefits, massages and language provision.