Source Summit Review for Re-Dress Ireland

Ive been slow on my posting over the summer vacation period, so apologies readers.

In the meantime, here is my review of Source Summit 2013 that I did for Re-dress Ireland.

Tg
Emma x

Ethical Fashion Forum – Source Magazine

“SOURCE contributor Emma Tynan examines the types of questions brands should be asking of their suppliers to ensure the ethical and sustainable commitments and values across the many tiers of the fashion supply chain. Image: Industry of All Nations

In this article, SOURCE contributor Emma Tynan suggests some key questions we should be asking of our suppliers to ensure that suppliers are holding up to industry standards on ethical and sustainable practices.

Looking at the Where? How? Why? questions, Emma explores some companies grappling with their cotton, denim, leather supply chains as well as labour practices….”

TG,
Emma

Click photo for link

Business of Fashion: “Being benevolent now means better business because, in the end, transparency and traceability are concepts anchored in building consumer trust”

A must read in BOF today…..

The industry is turning when BOF start discussing transparency!

TG,
Emma

Sophia Rogge: Designer/Environmentalist

The sun is finally shining in Paris and I have just booked my summer vacation (two weeks in a yurt in the south of France if you must know!). I probably wont need a sarong for running about fields, but this is on my wish list none the less. It would make a beautiful scarf as well.

Fashion and activism now more than ever need each other because the capacity for change when the two combine is limitless. Sophia Rogge is one designer /environmentalist aiming to be a part of that change.

Through her namesake brand she aims to create beautiful accessories, while at the same time campaign for coral reef protection.

Every day precious reefs are being wiped out by unsustainable fishing, pollution and most catastrophically, climate change. Sophia also donates 10% from every item sold to Corals for Conservation.

So if you have to buy a sarong this summer, or anything for that matter keep researching for where and how you can make a difference through your consumer choices. Sarong available from http://www.sophiarogge.com
It’s made from 100% organic cotton, printed with natural dyes and retails for £65.

TG,

Emma

This is the real cost of Fast Fashion. Never Again?

Dakha, Bangladesh. The only place in the world where the clothes are worth more then the lives of those who make them.

On London’s busy Oxford Street yesterday a group of around 20 protesters staged a demonstration outside Mango and Benetton, the retailer giants who have refused to take responsibility for the collapse of Rana Plaza, one of the many factories where their garments were made.

The protest was organised by student group People & Planet along with War on Want, the South Asia Solidarity Group, Freedom Without Fear Platform, UK Feminista and Labour Behind the Label. Demonstrators carried candles and flowers to remember the 1,227 workers who perished in the collapsed building.

“More than a month after this tragic incident, Benetton and Mango still refuse to take responsibility for workers killed or injured while making their clothes. This is unacceptable”, said Ruth Fox, campaign coordinator at People & Planet in an interview with The Hindu Business Line. “We demand immediate compensation for the workers and families affected by the building’s collapse.”

The Fire Safety Accord has been signed by major European Retailers including H&M, Marks and Spencer and Carrefour, however the American giants have been slower to take it up, with Walmart blankly refusing, saying it is putting its own safety measures in place at its factories in Bangladesh.

The Accord agreement demands a five-year commitment from participating retailers to conduct independent safety inspections of factories and pay up to $500,000 per year towards safety improvements.

A small price to pay, don’t you think Walmart? (Whose profits in 2012 were over $67.35 billion.)

Tg,
Emma

Photo by Taslima Akhter

Waiting for the sun… Handmade Sustainable Sunglasses, Paris

I cant get enough of these glasses. Hand made in Paris from bamboo. Sustainable eyewear doesnt get any greener, or cooler for that matter!

Tg
Emma x

A Big Green Apple – The New York Garment District

Check out my recent report for Eluxe Magazine, featuring Study NY, Titania Inglis, Susan Woo and Vaute Couture. These ethical fashion designers are playing their part to keep the New York Garment district intact.

shar.es/lsrt6

Tg,
Emma x

Dotty for Britches!

As soon as I saw these pants I couldnt resist a post. Made from super soft organic cotton with hand stamped polka-dots, and made in the USA.

Available from STATE for $32 dollars. My new lounge pants 🙂

Tg
Emma x

The 10 Year Hoodie!

‘Planned obsolescence’ Ever hear of that? It’s a way that manufacturers purposely make clothes badly.They do this so they wear out faster.

One of several ways this is done is by using course thread on delicate fabric to create holes. Then consumers return to the stores faster, to buy faster, to replace faster. It’s ‘Fast Fashion’ in action. (Have a look at my post “Buy Less, Choose Well” for more info on ‘Fast Fashion’)

But one company is standing up to say “NO MORE”. The 10 Year Hoodie from US brand Flint and Tinder is a super high quality garment that will be made in the USA from the softest cotton and brass hardware, and comes with a guarantee unlike any other garment you own. If at any time in the ten years the hoodie rips, tares or comes apart for any reason Flint and Tinder will repair it… FOR FREE!

Check out the Flint and Tinder website for more details. At $89 each these are one hell of a bargain.

http://www.flintandtinderusa.com/pages/kickstarter-frame

TG,
Emma x