Sustainability is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. For textiles to be sustainable all materials, process inputs, and outputs, are safe for human and ecological health and all energy, material and process inputs come from renewable or recycled sources. Materials should be capable of returning safely to either natural systems or industrial systems.
The global Fashion industry is worth 300 billion US Dollars and employs more than 26 million workers (University of Cambridge, 2006). However, it is also one of the most polluting industries worldwide. In order to produce 1 kilo of cotton, 8,000 litres of water is used.
According to Earth Pledge, at least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world’s pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton.

1. Organic Cotton http://green-mom.com/topics/home-and-personal-care/why-organic-cotton-matters.html

2. Western Filament, Inc. (Specialists in textiles) More than 4500 heads of modern braiding equipment devoted exclusively to processing man-made fibres such as Polyester and Nylon http://www.wfilament.com/capabilities/
In the current market, consumer knowledge of garments is generally limited to basic labeling information such as brand, size, fabric type and care instructions. This raises many questions about how under informed and therefore disempowered the consumer is. Equally we might ask how many companies producing the brand would know where the cotton for each product was picked? Whether the dye processes were environmentally friendly? Or whether the factory that assembled the zip used child labour?
Currently, customers can afford to p...
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...ailable at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/blogs/the-green-style-blog/2011/05/11/selfridges-launch-project-ocean. [Accessed 11 January 2014].
Katharine Hamnett: 'There's a lot of testosterone in nuclear power' | Fashion | The Guardian . 2014. Katharine Hamnett: 'There's a lot of testosterone in nuclear power' | Fashion | The Guardian . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/apr/06/katharine-hamnett-testosterone-nuclear-power. [Accessed 11 January 2014].
Sustainable Fashion. 2010. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.designskolenkolding.dk/fileadmin/publikationer/DK_Lab_Sustainfashion_singl_lille.pdf. [Accessed 11 January 2014].
Kate Fletcher, 2008. Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys. Edition. Routledge.
Bradley Quinn, 2013. Textile Visionaries: Innovation and Sustainability in Textile Design. Edition. Laurence King Publishing.
When you go to the mall to pick up a pair of jeans or a shirt, do you think about where they came from? How they were made? Who made them? Most consumers are unaware of where their clothes are coming from. All the consumer is responsible for is buying the clothing from the store and most likely have little to no knowledge about how it was manufactured, transported, or even who made the clothing item and the amount of intensive labor that went into producing it (Timmerman, 3).
In China, Kelsey Timmerman spent time with a couple who worked at the Teva factory, traveled to the countryside to meet the couple’s son, insert name, who hasn’t seen his parents in three years due to his parents working long hours and it being expensive to take a train ride. In the US, the author visited one of a few clothing factories in the US to talk to the workers about his shorts, and the decrease of American garment factories. Timmerman wants the consumer to be more engaged and more thoughtful when mindlessly buying clothes. By researching how well the brands you want to buy from monitor their factories and what their code of ethics details, you can make a sound decision on if this is where you would want to buy your clothes. The author writes about brands that improve employers lives like SoleRebels, a shoe company who employs workers and gives them health insurance, school funds for their children, and six months of maternity leave. Brands like soleRebels that give workers benefits most factory workers have never even heard of help improve the lives of garment workers and future generations. From reading this book, Timmerman wants us to be more educated about the lives of garment workers, bridge the gap between consumers and manufacturers, and be a more engaged and mindful consumer when purchasing our
To conclude, we need to understand the connection between the consumer behavior and ethical fashion; and accordingly, two-way awareness needs to be generated i.e. the consumers should be made aware of their environmental and social responsibility and the manufacturers should be apprised of the value creation through ethical fashion. Dissuading consumers from fast fashion may be difficult, but it’s not impossible and can be achieved by making them realize of their individualistic identity and aligning their fashion sense with their environmental sense.
To conclude, the capability to create customized clothing is becoming undemanding as technology evolves. Ready made apparel was only available in predetermined sizes before the American Civil War, this exemplifies how the sizes were arbitrary and were not the same on a broad scale. The statement “The wealthy’s clothes were made by tailors” is a prime example of how tailored outfits are costly. Today, designers have computer-aided design to their disposal; this improved the creation of clothing in many ways, making it effortless to design the clothing and to also produce them. With the creation of new technology making clothes, fabrics will become easier.
Each day, millions of people of all ages in developing countries suffer in factories all over the world while making the clothes that we buy and wear everyday.
Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a whole, has been notorious from green issues caused by their lack of sensitivity to the environment, conspicuous and unnecessary consumption of materials, encouraging an “throw-away” society and image issues that support women and young adults to look a certain way to feel “beautiful.” This is an issue that has increased over the past decades. Not just women, but men also feel the uncontrollable need to do whatever it takes to look like the celebrities they see on television and on the runways. The thought that the materials to make those desired items may have caused the life of animals or the destruction of mother nature does not come into mind. Countless people are concerned about conserving planet Earth and keeping it healthy. The fashion world has been targeted for many corruptions.
The world is developing every day and we continue to discover new and innovative ways to better our quality of life. A trend that everyone seems to be focused on is saving the environment, which is also known as sustainable living. Not only does this apply to our lifestyle and environment, but it also translates into design. Sustainable living is becoming more popular around the world and is a lifestyle using skillful and sensitive design. It eliminates negative environmental impact and requires renewable resources. We each have decided to research different furniture companies to broaden our knowledge of the innovative practices used in each company. Throughout our paper we will introduce each of our companies and the products and practices they use to produce sustainable furniture. Our research will show that sustainable furniture design is beneficial to consumers by allowing them to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle as their manufacturers develop innovative ways to make renewable furniture.
Weaving is a common thread among cultures around the world. Weaving is a way of producing cloth or textile. Today we have machines that weave large-scale textiles at cheap prices. Production of cloth by hand is rarely engaged in today’s Westernized societies. Not many people are thinking about how the fibers are actually constructed to make their clothes. However, in other cultures across the world the tradition of weaving still exists. By comparing three cultures that continue weaving as a part of their tradition we can see similarities and the differences between them. The reasons that each culture still weaves vary, as do the methods and materials. The desired characteristics of the cloth also vary around the world as each culture values different aesthetics.
Sustainability is when something can be used and not be depleted, destroyed, or damaged past recovery. As we work to live sustainably, we are in effect making use of our resources in a fashion that doesn't eliminate them, and doesn't harm their source. Our resources come from the environment around us and we need to make sure that it is not harmed as we use it. According to the EPA, sustainability stems from a single principle that "Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment” (Sustainability Information). Considering this, it's obvious why we need to make sure we live sustainably and do not damage the source of our resources, our environment.
Many, many things that we wear, sleep on, sleep under, walk on, or utilize in wound-care, etc., contain some percentage of cotton. It is a fiber that is used everyday, by everyone, in one way or another. It has qualities that have made it a choice crop for centuries around the world. Today though, cotton is being largely displaced by synthetic fibers that have qualities that exceed the natural crop plant. These fibers can also be mass-produced and sold at relatively lower costs.
Fashion is considered one of the most significant, yet controversial industries in the world. Report shows that North America spends more than $250 billion on clothing, shoes, and accessories each year; recently, its worth has rapidly reached $1.2 trillion worldwide (K., 2014). Ethics is an unavoidable factor to consider and a growing concern for every fashion’s company and their attorneys (Fordham University School of Law). The nature of the fashion industry is surrounded by hundreds of controversies over various topics, concerning quality and consumption. Our company has no involvement in sourcing, designing or manufacturing process since we play an intermediary role between the suppliers and customers. Nonetheless, we demonstrate the promise of a strong work ethic company by making emphasis on quality, discipline, wages, and human rights. So that our products will at the same time benefit the people, the employees and the company itself. Our company is closely associated with a commitment to products quality, in which we focus our attention on selecting the finest selection of fashion goods for the customers. Instead of picking low-end and poor-quality
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objects of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimal waste, and create healthy, productive environments (“Sustainable Design”). Focusing primarily on the sustainable design principles, there are five, including: low-impact materials, energy efficiency, quality and durability, design for reuse and recycling, and renewability. As sustainability appears to become the necessary trend in architecture, the question concerning the cost versus outcome of “going green” really an investment or a waste of time and money comes to mind. With our research provided below, we believe the expenses may truly be with the investment in the end.
It is certain that people are getting more used to wasting products that are still reliable to use and, especially in fashion, not that many people are aware of the concept of sustainability. Although concept of recycling paper, plastic and glass has now spread a cross the states, people still doesn’t know how to recycle or reuse their clothing. “65 pounds of clothing and textiles a year are improperly discarded and only an eight of that goes to charities for reuse [1].” This indicates how unaware people are when it comes to taking care of their garments. Or rather, the way in which fast fashion industry promotes the value of cloth is very low, and it is because the fashion industry wants people to get rid of their clothing as soon as possible in order to sell their new colle...
Claudio, Luz. "Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry." Environmental Health Perspectives 115.9 (2007): A453-A454. Jstor. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Sustainable fashion offers various benefits to both the consumer and the entire environment. For instance, it is noted that the entire process of sustainable fashion is worthy for the globe. In most cases, the fashion industry leaves behind a huge environmental imprint ranging from the pesticides in growing cotton to the landfill impact of clothes that wear out and the energy needed to manufacture every piece. Therefore, deciding on organic fibers or sustainable fabrics made from bamboo can also reduce the quantity of carbon emitted and chemicals brought into people`s lives. This shows how sustainable fashion if embraced can bring benefits to the consumer, the producer, and to the environment, which is very vital for future generations. Selecting clothes that contain the label “fair trade act,” during purchase emphasizes on sustainability in numerous ways. The first thing is that, it guarantees that the product was produced under safe working conditions. Further, it signifies that the person who produced it earned a fair wage since it is sweatshop free (Hethorn 123). The act of purchasing clothes considered as “fair trade” confirms that individuals and places mean more than the organization`s fundamental reason for its