Ethical fashion

Ethical Fashion, a movement that incorporates sustainable environmental ideals and approaches, is considered in this sub-section. Ethical fashion refers to the use and application of resources, considering labour practices in the entire supply chain and fair trade principles. Ethical use of resources perhaps is, as Joergans (2006) describes, mostly based on incorporating organic components as far as possible, yet developing, sourcing and using organic and non-organic components should all be considered from an ethical viewpoint, and not merely, as Joergens suggests, focussing on the manufacturing of products such as good and fair working conditions (for example, sweatshop free). Joergans’ (2006:369) study found that ethical fashion has little effect on consumers’ fashion purchase behaviour and it seems that the consumers’ knowledge of ethical issues that underpin ethical fashion have very little influence on their choice of purchase. This might be because of their knowledge of the topic, but also because of the price bracket of the product. Consumers seem interested, but it is doubtful whether this would really influence their choice of purchase. All of the above- mentioned are aspects that should be considered during design development, and all place design as the core of environmentally sustainable fashion development. Fletcher & Grose (2012:51) suggest several strategies for design of which fair labour is the focus. These include choosing Fair Trade suppliers and working with companies where working conditions can be observed through personal engagement (Fletcher & Grose, 2012; Black, 2011:182-185).

95 4.3.3 Zero waste

Zero waste, an accepted construct used in discussion of environmental sustainability in the fashion industry, and which is discussed in this sub-section, is an approach to reducing waste during the process of manufacturing, or to design with minimum waste in mind. This suggests that something should be done with the waste, either to incorporate the waste in the product or to use the waste to develop other products, such as recycling waste fabric for new yarn use. Zero waste does not suggest that no waste is generated.

In a volume manufacturing environment, the designer very often is not involved with manufacturing processes beyond the design (the sketch) and therefore, as Fletcher and Grose (2012:44-50) suggest, this notion requires that one designs from a zero waste approach, thereby ensuring that no or minimal components and resources are wasted when a product is produced. The above ideas are helpful in waste reduction and ultimately slowing textile consumption, but as Fletcher and Grose (2012:48) mention, true waste reduction lies in the skill and craft of the designer and this is where the real application of sustainable practices are achievable. Figure 4.7 is an example of how zero waste is considered in the development of pyjamas by Timo Rissanen.49

Figure 4.7: Pattern development and final product, exhibited at Zero-waste: Fashion Re-Patterned.

Designed by Timo Rissanen (Rissanen, 2011)

49 _{This blog seems to be part of this Rissanen’s PhD, in which he is investigating fabric creation without fabric waste} creation. The work presented in Figure 4.7, forms part of an exhibition – Zero Waste: Fashion Re-Patterned, in April 2011, at Columbia College, Chicago (Rissanen, 2011).

96 In the above example the pattern is shaped by using the negative spaces (the spaces in- between the pattern pieces) in the layout and thus the shape of the jacket emerges from the lay-out. This is different from a more traditional approach where the shape is super-imposed on the lay-out with resulting negative spaces and waste pieces.50 _{Fletcher argues, “…it is in} the designer’s creativity and ability to make quantum leaps of imagination that holds the potential to transform not just the way we make things, but also the way we think” (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:48).

In this research three possible strategies for implementing environmental sustainability with regard to manufacturing of fashion products were discussed, yet how these products move from the factory to the retailer can negatively impact good environmentally sustainable intentions.

4.4

FROM FACTORY TO RETAIL

In this section packaging, distribution and retail are reviewed, by looking briefly at methods of distribution and how information on packaging could be used as a tool in order to inform the consumer, as illustrated in Figure 4.8.

packaging the finished product transport the product retail the product

Figure 4.8: Focus: packaging and distribution (image developed by author)

A company’s transportation represents one per cent of the carbon footprint. During an interview with the director of innovation at Nike, Dr Sokolowski, it is mentioned that Nike sells clothing and footwear that are produced by roughly 600 companies in over 50 countries by approximately one million workers, selling in approximately 25 000 stores across 150 countries

97 world-wide (DeLong, 2009; Chhabara, 2010). The mere global size and range of this industry uses various methods of transportation and complex networks to develop fibre, fabric, and final product. Therefore actual carbon emissions are often difficult to determine, estimated at somewhere between 1% and 55% (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:57). To develop an actual carbon- reading requires openness and commitment by all in the supply chain.

Timberland’s shoe product information label is an interesting example of how environmental sustainability is communicated, both with regard to the tangible components of the product, but also the intangible elements that are part of the product, such as the carbon footprint during product development, packaging and transport (Esty & Winston, 2009:130,172-173). The shoe’s “footprint” on the side of the box is similar to the nutritional facts on food packaging, it informs the customer about the energy used to produce the shoe and gives information on other environmental impacts.

Transforming fibre to fabric, product development and lastly retail are aspects of the entire chain of events where design can have a direct input through considered decision-making. In the following sub-section, the use and disposal of the product is considered as consumer decisions and actions where design has a minimal direct impact, yet where design should have influence. Armstrong and LeHew (2011:56) mention that in a new, dominant social paradigm, the practices of creating products that are only responsive to market needs without considering the limits that the ecosystem might have, would seem simplistic and possibly wasteful. They argue that in order to achieve a holistic approach to environmental sustainability, efficient use of resources, effective practices, and considering consumer needs that are inherently more social than material, are essential.

The above stages, from fibre to retail, is what Black (2011) considers the pre-consumer phase, and where decisions made with regard to environmental sustainability are technical in nature. The following stages, from use to the discarding of the fashion product, could be considered post-manufacturer and post-purchasing phases, where emotive and lifestyle decisions could be influenced by technical decisions, but are dependent on consumer choice (Black, 2011:195).

4.5

USE OF THE PRODUCT

In this section, aspects that are considered are the use of the product by the consumer, focussing specifically on laundering, consumer care and using substitute or new technologies for laundering (Figure 4.9). The impact of laundering and consumer care on environmental sustainability is substantial (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:60; Black, 2011:235).

98

use the product

Figure 4.9: Focus: consumer use of product (image developed by author)

Energy consumption in laundering and care of frequently washed garments is often four times that of manufacturing the product. It needs to be mentioned that this does not hold true for all products, and generally the energy consumed in laundering is localised, whereas the energy used in production is often spread over a greater geographical area. The most “…influential sustainable strategies would be to change how people wear, wash and dry clothes” (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:60). In this regard, even a small change in habit or information communicated to the consumer could have a significant impact. Information regarding low wash and dry techniques and explanatory care labels can enhance communication of environmentally sustainable practices to the consumer (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:60-62). Nano technology in the form of fabric coatings and treatments can enhance the durability and stain resistance of products; however, additional coatings reduce the recyclability of a product at the end of its lifecycle (Black, 2011:235).

4.6

DISPOSAL OF PRODUCT

This section presents the disposal of the product by reviewing all possible methods of disposing of a garment, in order to determine how design decisions can impact on this last step in the lifecycle of a garment. According to Fletcher and Grose (2012:63-64), recycling, in any format, does not necessarily prevent waste or wasteful behaviour, neither does it address any wasteful processes in manufacturing, but it does minimise the amount of product discarded.

Therefore, recycling, as presented in Figure 4.10, can address “…extended producer responsibility, life-cycle thinking and chains of accountability” (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:64):

Philosophically and practically, making the designer or retailer [and manufacturer] accountable for the future disposal of products completely changes the logic of clothing production, distribution and sales. It actively, and legally, extends the activity focus of producers beyond the upstream manufacturing chain to include downstream actions, resource flows, and future consumer behaviour.

99 developing fibers making the textile components for the product manufacturing the product retail the product use the product discarding the product landfil

Figure 4.10: Focus: discarding the product (image developed by the author)

Several possible approaches to discarding of a garment product are portrayed from left to right in Figure 4.10. Disassembly, recycling into another product (down-cycle) and recycling into a new garment-related product (up-cycle), re-use (vintage, re-sell), and the landfill are all possible methods of disposal (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:63-73).51 _{As design has no direct} influence on the disposal of garments at the end of their lifecycle, designing clothes with future purpose requires a radical new approach to thinking about designing environmentally sustainable fashion products. This refers to the circular notion of cradle-to-cradle as opposed to the linear notion of cradle-to-grave (landfill) as argued by McDonough and Braungart (2002) and aligns to Fletcher and Grose’s (2012:63) slowing the flow of materials.

4.6.1 Disassembly

The first approach, disassembly of garments and re-use of garments or components thereof, is presented in this sub-section, and could be grouped into two areas. The first refers to products that are entirely shredded chemically or manually to develop fibres for new products (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:63). This resource-intensive process of re-conditioning is resource-

100 light if compared with the development of virgin fibre. Re-use of fibres in this manner reduces the quality of the fibre and a down-graded product (such as a blanket) is the result.

The second refers to products that are disassembled into components that are re-used in ‘new’ garments. Cradle-to-cradle apparel design (C2CAD) is a strategy where an entire garment is designed to be taken apart and components thereof re-used. A group of writers (Gam, Cao, Farr & Heine, 2008; Gam, Cao, Bennet, Helmkamp & Farr., 2011) wrote two papers on the application of cradle-to-cradle for apparel design (C2CAD). It is based on the cradle-to-cradle principle by McDonough and Braungart (2002) and proposes design for disassembly. In the first paper, written in 2008, the authors incorporated the cradle-to-cradle principle in knitwear design and production. Three years later (2011), the second paper explored the application of the method in the design of a man’s jacket with regard to disassembly, re-use and recycle. Men’s’ tailored jackets are generally made of natural and synthetic fibres and have complex construction methods. The authors (Gam et al. 2011) argued that conventional methods of construction make it difficult to disassemble components successfully, but demonstrated (in the article) that it could be possible. The authors concluded with a number of strategies that could facilitate design for disassembly, namely to minimize material diversity, to select appropriate materials and construction methods and to use construction methods that facilitate the above (for example, larger stitch size). Fletcher and Grose (2012:64) mention that a cradle- to-cradle approach such as the above example and other ‘take-back’ schemes, are part of producer (and thus designer) responsibility and life-cycle thinking and make the producer (designer) and retailer partially accountable for future disposal of the product.

4.6.2 Recycle

The second approach, namely to recycle (down-cycle and up-cycle), is discussed in this sub- section. The recycling of fashion products can occur pre-consumer and post-consumer and includes take-back programmes such as that of the Salvation Army, where a product is re- distributed to communities in need. Recycling can also be where existing products are re-made into other products (for example, a handbag made from old jeans) or old garments made into new garments (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:68; Black, 2011:194-195). Products that are incorporated in a recycling approach could be used, vintage or un-sold garments. Pre- consumer recycling refers to using factory waste to develop a product, as shown in Figure 4.11(a), whereas post-consumer recycling is also referred to as reconditioning (something that has been in practice for centuries) which is labour intensive but does provide a new avenue for design as reflected in Figure 4.11(b).

101 Recycling places design in a re-active position where the final product is dependent on the type of material available to the designer and the condition that it is in, and products therefore cannot conform to the volume production that some large retailers offer. The above thus creates new opportunities in retail. All of the above mentioned ideas only delay the movement of product to the landfill as it will ultimately end up there, but recycling also is an approach to create a closed loop system (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:67).

A pro-active approach requires that environmental sustainability be planned. A suggested new metabolism for the wardrobe that takes environmental sustainability into considerations, as depicted in Figure 4.12.

Figure 4.11(a): Pre-consumer recycling - using factory waste, designed by Karina

Michel

(Fletcher & Grose, 2012:72)

Figure 4.11(b): Post-consumer recycling - using reclaimed trench coats

to make this dress, designed by Gary Harvey

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Figure 4.12: New wardrobe metabolism (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:89)

The future wardrobe metabolism is a suggestion to slow personal material flows and is a possible future scenario where, as the authors suggest, products are constantly re-worked and re-used instead of consumers acquiring new products. In this suggested scenario shopping is no longer the main focus of the fashion experience and the approach encourages optimum use of product and requires the consumer to be actively involved with the re-imagination of their wardrobe (Fletcher & Grose, 2012:85-91). The complexity of the fashion industry is apparent and therefore the role of design and thus the designer to drive or influence environmentally sustainable fashion has become increasingly important.

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4.7

SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION

The aim of this chapter was to explore fashion design praxis by reviewing the lifecycle of a fashion product, from fibre development to its disposal, in order to determine where and how environmental sustainability could be applied. This was achieved by dividing the lifecycle into five clusters. The first cluster, fibre to fabric, considered fibre development and fabric development. Approaches to fibre development that were considered were renewability, biodegradability, people-friendly fibres, low chemical use, low-resource use and predator- friendly fibres. In fabric development, fabric finishing with regard to use of bleaches and colour was discussed.

The second cluster, product development considered three specific approaches, namely, slow fashion, ethical fashion and zero waste. Slow fashion, which challenges the current growth model, considered small scale production and sourcing locally as viable strategies. Slow fashion requires design to think about design processes, resource flow, communities and ecosystems. Ethical fashion refers to the use of both natural and human resources, and thus considers the application of resources and labour practices in the entire supply chain. The third approach, zero-waste, considers both reducing waste during manufacturing and designing with minimum waste in mind. The third cluster, factory to retail, considered the carbon footprint of fashion products, as well as revealing product content and the sharing of information. In the first three clusters, the focus was on pre-consumer processes. The last two clusters considered both pre-consumer approaches and post-consuming approaches. The fourth cluster referred to the use of the fashion product, specifically considering laundering processes. The fifth cluster, disposal of the fashion product, presented design for disassembly and recycling as two approaches to consider.

Fletcher and Grose (2012:12) mention that to date, most of the development in environmental sustainability has been in the development of fibres and textiles. However the use of an environmentally sustainable textile alone does not ensure an environmentally sustainable product. They group possible environmentally sustainable strategies into four areas. The first area concerns the development of renewable source material such as renewable fibres. The second area, considers using resources such as water and energy effectively, thereby minimising chemical impact and lowering carbon footprint. The third area, suggests taking fair labour practices into consideration and conditions of textile and product development. The fourth area focusses on reducing waste and considering the lifecycle of the product at the product development stage. The SASTAC Material Issues report discussed in Chapter 1 labelled the environment the ‘poor cousin’. Only two of the industry members interviewed considered environmental issues, such as water, energy and waste management in the fashion industry in South Africa, important (SASTAC Material Issues report case study,

104 2014:17-20). The report suggests that industry needs to develop a greater awareness of environmental sustainability issues in the entire fashion system.

Sub-question two consisted of two parts. Where this chapter answered the first part of the sub- question, the next chapter, Chapter 5, focusses on answering the second half of the sub- question, namely, what role design has in environmentally sustainable fashion design praxis.

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CHAPTER 5