Selfridges Bright
New Things campaign, held an event for Sustainable Fashion - 5x15
talk and Selfridges on 18 February to
inspire and intrigue the eco-conscious to the world of sustainable fashion.
Hosted by Dilys Williams from the Centre for Sustainable Fashion 5 key industry figures. Daisy Schubert from Wardrobe Workshop attended and
reported for Madia & Matilda.
Selfridges
is the first department stores to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard for
carbon, water and waste and is continuously supporting new sustainable & innovative designers or brands, so it comes as no surprise that Selfridges, should hold this event.
As the 5 key industry experts explore the subject of sustainable fashion; we look into the topics that they discuss. For sustainability a subject that is dear to our hearts, highlighted since the Rana plaza
disaster; where a building collapsed killing
1,127 workers.
Dilys Williams –
director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, Dilys’ William Center Sustainable
Fashion has helped embed sustainability into fashion education, business and
research, as well as raise its political status. Host of the event, Dilly's talks us through the events aims. Bright new things enables young independent designer to have a platform to showcase their work. and to bring awareness to Sustainable Fashion.
David Hieatt –
BNT founder of Hiut Denim Co. Driven by a desire to resurrect the denim
manufacturing industry in his hometown of Cardigan, West Wales, David Hieatt’s
Hiut Denim Co prides itself on taking a low-impact approach to fashion design.
Britain’s biggest jeans factory, a town which was defined by what they
produced, yet due to the struggles of fast fashion costing so little, the
factory was closed down in 2001. However, David saw the beauty in the craftsmanship
of a small town that was able to produce world class denim for 40 years and
therefore resurrected a business, which stands on the principals of the purpose
makes you strong, generating ideas that can keep craft and heritage alive. Each
jeans has a history tag, to tell the story of the jeans, through today‘s modern
technology, this makes the product feel more real to a customer.
David Hieatt
answered a few of our questions,
The denim process can cause a lot of disruption to the environment can
you tell us what you are doing in terms of innovation towards the dying process
and wastage
The most wastage from denim production is water, this comes
from washing denim, for that reason Hiut denim have a challenge called no wash
club for 6 months, where you don’t wash your jeans. This leads to less pollution
and denim is the most polluting of all clothing, although by using your denim
jeans for 6 months without washing, the jeans become individual to you. Making Hiut
jeans, the greenest jeans, because of this process. Hiut denim also gives free
repairs of life, as they make a commitment to their denim production.
Lucy Siegle –
journalist, for the Guardian on ethical and green living, Lucy has also written
two books – Green Living in the Urban Jungle and To Die For – and champion’s
environmental issues on TV and radio
Lucy Siegle talked about what we have become as consumers, that in the
world today can be so demanding, expecting quality and quantity for the
cheapest price, at this point, Lucy shows a very strong image of Veruca Salt,
to convey the sense of why ‘we feel like
we have more rights! I want so I get’ culture, which has push the industry to
its breaking point. Every year an
estimated £140 million worth (around 350,000 tonnes) of used clothing
goes to landfill in the UK and in the US 193,000 tons thrown away annually
Manufacturing conditions, are poor in countries like
Bangladesh, Vietnam & China, the quality of living is so apparent, yet as
consumers we do not look at the narrative. Just of what we can get and how cheaply we can buy it. This quote by Ali Hewson, Edun; resonates with us ‘We carry the story of the
people, who make our clothes around with us.’ So what does this hold for the
future of Fashion, one thing is for sure, we cannot continue to sustain fashion
in the way we have been. It is time of change and it starts with awareness,
keeping in mind what the consumer wants as the new fashion culture.
Cameron Saul –
founder of the Bottletop Foundation. Founded in 2002, the Bottletop Foundation brings
to light the true craftsmanship from around the world and supports the highly
skilled artisans and their families.
The Bottletop Foundation was launched in 2002 by Cameron
Saul and his father Roger (Founder of British luxury fashion brand Mulberry raising
vital funds for Grass Roots education projects in Africa, teaching under privilege
children new skills.
Each handbag is made from recycled bottle tops,
consisting of upcycled aluminium ring pulls held together by crotchet, made in Brazil that was lined with Mulberry leather in Europe, Cameron discusses the process
of making the bags with enamel paint and ring pulls from cans.
Cameron also talked about a subject which is an eye –opener, from an article which Lucy Siegle wrote about ranching on the Amazon Rainforest. Through further research, we found the topic astounding.
Forest conservation – In 2009 a report, from Greenpeace, Slaughtering the
Amazon, linked cattle products used in top consumer brands to destruction
of the Amazon Rainforest. Beef and leather buyers shortly thereafter announced
they would no longer buy cattle products unless the industry improved the
environmental performance of the cattle industry in the Amazon. This just goes
to show what kinds of changes we can make.
In turn the Greenpeace
report
highlighted an initiative in 2009 which in effect, virtually shut down the
cattle industry in the Brazilian Amazon. Improving the traceability of
beef and leather is significant because cattle ranching is, the largest driven
cause of Amazon destruction: 80 percent of deforested land ends up as cattle
pasture. Ranching is also Brazil’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
If you feel inspired by this talk and want to make a
change, why not read up on the brands you like, before purchasing a product
made from leather, ask the store if they know where that leather came from.
Even though a leather products that say that they are “Made in Italy” or
“Made in China” can be sourced from cattle raised in newly deforested areas of
the Amazon.
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/05/deforestation-free-leather-comes-closer-to-reality-in-the-brazilian-amazon/
Bottletop has been a pioneering project which support the local cross cultured communities,which significantly portrays how diverse sustainability is. After the show the audience was able to discuss topics further with the industry experts and look and some of the products, for instance the Bottletop bags.
Daisy was surprised to find sustainable and fashionable clothing at such accessible prices. Her previous perception was that fair trade/organic/local clothing or accessories would be financially unattainable for the ordinary high street shopper. The event showed her that eco-friendly pieces don't have to cost the world. In fact, there is often no major difference in the pricing - making it no longer a question of affordability but purely a question of awareness! If you knew that you could get an organic apple at the same price as a non-organic one, wouldn't you go for the better option?
Storm Keating &
Diana Verde Nieto – Positive Luxury
brand ambassador, producer, model and wife of Ronan Keating, Storm works with
Diana from Positive Luxury changing the face of consumerism for the better and
shaping the way luxury lifestyle brands work - championing new brands with
a sustainable focus.
Storm & Diana
Verde Nieto talked about the language of sustainability being so complex and
how, it can means so many different things to different people. Today’s customers have more choices than ever
and customers choose to do business with companies that are honest, even transparent. Traditionally business practices are
sometimes misleading. Positive Luxury’s aim is to work with brands that
consumers can trust, across all their products and services. In order to help
brands grow with their consumer’s trust, Therefore, Positive luxury awards a
Butterfly Mark, because they believe that every business can play a part in
change and protect the world.
Thus making us think about, working with our team members, partners, customers and
communities we can continue to do more with les; take action to help protect
our environment and trade sustainably and ethically. We continue to reduce our
direct impact year on year and encourage our suppliers and customers to do the
same.
Stacey Dooley –
documentary presenter Stacey rose to TV fame in 2009 after appearing on a
number of investigative documentaries exploring wide-ranging topics, which stems from injustice in the world. Those topicis include child
labour issues in developing countries to sex trafficking.
Stacey explains what happened when she was immersed in to Indian
culture in Dacka, Bangladesh for the television program, Blood Sweat and T-shirts
on BBC3. Stacey describe her introduction to the fashion industry, as being a
consumer who does not know any better, being
at a young and impressionable age where it seemed cool to buy throw away fashion. We found this really
interesting to see through the eyes of someone who did not know about the
garment industry in Bangladesh. Since the show Stacey has made it her mission to
bring to light the conditions and shop ethically.
"Daisy explains that after leaving the event,
sustainable fashion feels more mainstream, it could be the new normal. It's
much more accessible and affordable than ever before to do good with the
clothes we wear!"
What we took away from
the event
Luxury retail shopping does not have to cost the Earth, by
adding a positive contribution and educating ourselves on the brand we buy
from, we can buy better as consumers and can change fashion for the better. Thus the need to move towards a more sustainable future, a future which is more transparent. For the customer to be more aware of where or whom their product come from, its origins and lifecycle. We believe the Selfridges talk Sustainable Fashion - 5 x 15 achieved their mission; by demonstrating the impact that fashion has on the environment.
#wearawar #selfridges #brightyoungthings #madiamatilda #makingbetterchoices
#fashionrevolution #whomadeyourclothes
Sincerely Madia & Matilda
