Bangladesh & the Price of Fashion

This weekend in the Bangladesh port city of Chittagong, three garment workers were killed and dozens were injured in violent protests for higher minimum wages.

In July of this year, the garment workers were promised higher wages by November 1. When the implementation of the new minimum was delayed, the protests ignited.

Garment workers in Bangladesh are the least paid in the world, according to Vienna’s International Trade Union Confederation.

Throughout the country, more than 4,000 factories manufacture garments for well-known brands, exporting largely to the United States and Europe

Garment exports in Bangladesh account for 80% of the nation’s exports and the majority of workers are women.

In Chittagong, there are about 70 foreign companies that employ approximately 150,000 workers.

Clearly, most of us have no sphere of influence in these internal affairs; but the companies from which we purchase our clothing can have a direct impact.

The question that may touch us is this: Are willing to sacrifice our fast fashion and pay a higher price for the rights of others who produce for us?

Photo by Balaram Mahalder Village life of Bangladesh, Copyright GNU Free Documentation License at Wikimedia Commons.

Lu Flux: Over the Hills and Far Away

Lu Flux launches spring/summer 2011 at London Fashion Week.

In her second season at London Fashion week Lu Flux, who specialises in creating unique ethical clothing, presents her new Spring Summer 2011 collection.

The collection is inspired by the landscape paintings of Gustav Klimt and features blues, yellows and greens, which emulate the colours of an English garden in Spring.

Hoards of ribbon and personalised toile de Jouy feature alongside Lu Flux’s signature sculptural patchworks composed from salvaged, sustainable and organic fabrics.

Complex techniques adorn simple shapes to create wearable clothing with an effortless elegance.

Materials from the past are treasured, absorbed and adapted to create playful one off pieces.

Each element of the patchwork is placed exactly within a garment’s composition to create visually exciting and practical pieces.

With abundant textures and patterns, Lu Flux’s garments greet onlookers with a sense of creativity and pleasure. Humour is combined with beauty to conjure whimsical warmth that fills the wearer with a wonderful silliness.

Paying meticulous attention to the methods and materials that create each garment Lu Flux strives to demonstrate the possibility of creating ethical clothing without compromising beauty.

Have a look here at the collection.

Photos & text Copyright Lu Flux.

Izzy Lane…Rescued Sheep…at EcoLuxe

I interviewed Izzy Lane in an interview last year, at which time we learned about the company’s efforts to save a rare breed of sheep as lambs from slaughter by using their wool in each collection.

This month, Izzy Lane will be exhibiting the 2010 autumn/winter collection at Ecoluxe. So, this press release is for all you Green Fashionistas:

EcoLuxe, the ethical luxury fashion weekend is being launched on the 18th/19th September this year. It will be a bi-annual event to coincide with London Fashion Week. Created by a group of ethical designers, EcoLuxe promotes high end, environmentally friendly fashion designers and brands.

The official opening of this year’s EcoLuxe will be by leading international trade lawyer, supporter of environmental issues and the Deputy Prime Minister’s wife Miriam Gonzalez. Held at London’s No1 Aldwych Hotel, a stone’s throw way from Somerset House, EcoLuxe will be open to press and fashion buyers who are looking for high quality, luxury and exclusive brands with a conscience.

A maximum of thirteen luxury ethical designers and brands will be showcased at this year’s EcoLuxe including; award winning British wool designer Izzy Lane, vintage inspired clothing Beaumont Organic, London based Spanish designer Elena Garcia, Parisian natural skincare Sentuers De Fee, bridal and eveningwear Tammam, hats and scarves Sophia Couture, shoe maker Gwendolyn Carrié, Brazilian swimwear Olga Olsson, day-to-evening wear Outsider, timeless leatherwear pieces Anupa, Central St. Martins graduate Nyonyo&Yayra, leading couturier By Stamo and Indian embroidered accessories Panchachuli UK .

All the designers involved in EcoLuxe share the same philosophy of actively creating beautiful and environmentally friendly products in an ethical manner. The brands are all 100% ethical, not only in the production process of their designs but also with an overall responsibility to green issues.

EcoLuxe will be an biannual green event promoting leading ethical luxury brands and designers. From this year’s showcase held at No.1 Aldwych, voted ‘Green Hotel of the Year’ 2009, to the bust forms used to display the merchandise being 95% eco-friendly and even the signage made from 100% recycled paper. The event will also be a platform to support local charities who share the same ethical values and beliefs.

Have a peek at the collection here.

Photos Copyright Izzy Lane.

Important Update from Article 23

Paris, September 1st 2010 - For about 4 years now, Article 23 has shaped esthetics, ethical and organic creations.

Far from being an opportunist fad, these values added have always driven the product development, from sketch to materialization in shops, result of a meticulous collaboration with our workshops through stitchers training, careful selection of best fabrics, reshape of models and process of exclusive weavings.

“Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring to himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity.” Characteristics of our economic and social involvement—this ideal is the heart that makes our brand beat. Ideal of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—embodied by our brand name itself.

Proud of projects that have come through and talents who grew within the brand, Article 23 transforms now. Moved by the same values linking original creations and human commitments, Article 23 will become in 2011 a fashion accessories brand (jewels, bags, scarves, etc.). We will be delighted to come back to you very soon to introduce the evolution of our initial project.

The new range will benefit from increased visibility and dynamism thanks to the online store and the blog planned for October 2010. The blog will detail our actions and give a deep insight on Article 23 new universe to discover who we are, what inspires and grips us…

Have a peek at the lookbook here.

Photos & text Copyright Article 23.

Veja Autumn/Winter Collection “Look Around!”

Look Around!*

*The word “veja” means ‘look!’ in Brazil; so for this autumn/winter season, Veja is looking around as it deepens cooperation with co-operatives of small producers throughout Brazil.

Created 2004 in Paris, France, by Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion, Veja also continues to change the rules with respect to the environment, human rights, and fair trade.

Veja purchases organic cotton at twice the market price from a co-op of 200 families in Northeast Brazil who base their livelihood on cotton farming with no chemicals or fertilizers.

The rubber is purchased from another co-operative of Seringueiros (‘rubber trapper’) in Acre, in the heart of the Amazon, where rubber trees grow in the wild!

The Seringueiros tap the tree bark so that the latex, a white liquid, is collected in a container.

I have posted the entire Veja press release, which reads like a treatise in ethical principles.

Can’t find a sustainable menswear label? Just look around—Veja!

See more images here.

Photo & slideshow 2010 a/w collection “Look Around!” Copyright Veja.

Johnny Love 2011 Spring/Summer Collection

Johnny Love 2011 spring/summer collection continues the success of this Norwegian brand.

The brand draws particular inspiration from Mods, architecture, and retro-futurism,

Elegant lines, unique details, and durability are the mainstays of the line.

Johnny Love lays particular emphasis on the cut of each garment, ensuring masculine looks for a manly profile.

Details are also very important to Johnny Love: “The devil is in the details, and doubly so for Johnny Love.”
In applying the details, Johnny Love strives for balance.

Layering of fabrics, distinctive lines, and a unique fashioning of pockets, buttons, and folds all create the signature silhouette, which is a comfortable, close fit.

Finally, what sets Johnny Love apart is the company’s stance on ethics, producing garments with low cargo mileage and respect for workers.



Photo & slideshow 20111 s/s collection, Copyright Johnny Love.

ECCO—an Echo of Danish Excellence!

Headquartered in Tønder, Denmark, ECCO Sko A/S was founded in 1963 by Birte and Karl Toosbuy, who sold all their worldly possessions to start a shoe factory in Bredebro.

Through a combination of European design and traditional craftsmanship, the husband and wife team forged a name that has become known for innovative technology and the inner workings of the human foot.

Today with 3,000 shops around the world, the company is run by their daughter, Hanni Toosbuy Kasprzak, and her husband Dieter who continue the fine tradition, producing 12 million shoes a year.

With tanneries in China, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Thailand ECCO seeks to reduce the impact of the tanning process on the surrounding environment. ECCO enforces a strict code of ethics from cow to shoe as it is committed to employee fairness, worker safety, and human rights, especially those of children.

ECCO has begun producing accessories, outdoor footwear, high fashion golf shoes, and running shoes. The newest model of fine footwear is ECCO Windsor, which gives the season’s glamour-and-luxury trend a distinctly masculine edge, ensuring maximum shock absorption and support.

Photos Copyright ECCO.

Universal Works @ My Wardrobe

The new British menswear label Universal Works has just launched a debut collection for the 2009 autumn/winter season at my-wardrobe.com.

The label was founded by Nottingham-based David Keyte, who formerly worked at Paul Smith and Maharishi.

What is unique about Universal Works is its move away from mass-produced throwaway clothing to a more ‘real’ hand-made feel of menswear that is produced strictly in the UK.

A very British flair and strong utilitarian aesthetic mark the collection, which consists of outdoor clothing of the past and rugged work wear that is made of traditional, natural, and hard-wearing fabrics.

Universal Works adheres to ethical principles of sourcing, while packaging is limited to reduce waste.

Photo & slideshow 2009 a/w collection Copyright Universal Works.