The whole world is facing global recession. The economy is slowing, the business environment is unpredictable and the consumers are getting more diverse, informed, technologically strong and demanding. The global meltdown hasn’t spared the fashion industry. This industry, along with other textile products industry, is also feeling the pinch of financial adversity. The fashion industry consists of different companies such as modelling, fashion designing, retailing, marketing, planning, and distribution. There are brands and local sellers too, all struggling with their products for survival. All of them are feeling the impact in different ways but something they have in common is their narrowing wallets. Very cautious consumers have replaced lavish spending habits. One of the few items which consumers cut back on in tough times include clothes and fashion accessories. Many fashion companies have also started to fall into credit problems. In the last few months, various companies worldwide have filed for bankruptcy. Many big names in the fashion industry are facing financial problems, and a lot of companies are negotiating for a partnership deals with investors in order to help their finances, also announcing of plans to remove jobs have become more common news. So with the collapse of the retail market and the slow recovery of the credit market, it sounds like the fashion industry is going downhill. With people spending less on fashion and luxuries people are coming to a standstill with there own trends.
People are resorting to knock off designer brands and cheap high street stores ignoring what they believe in such as ethical issues and child labour.
The down economy has also inspired many entrepreneurs while many large retailers are struggling, small boutiques are thinking outside the box to keep their businesses a float. Small business owners are opting to more of a popular approach to their marketing and visual merchandising. Boutiques are taking a local angle in their advertising, by hosting more in-store events rather than spending on traditional advertising. All retailers have cut back on their buying and are being less risky in investing in new product. This puts a burden on designers and manufactures to create more unique must have pieces at a recession friendly price.
Friday, 16 March 2012
ethical fashion issues
Ethical Fashion is an umbrella term to describe ethical fashion design, production, retail, and purchasing. It covers a range of issues such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment, and animal welfare. Ethical fashion is needed now because the high street clothing industry accounts for a massive share of Western retail. Every year, 100 million shoppers visit London's Oxford Street alone.
Globalization means that materials and labor can be purchased in different parts of the world where costs are very low. Also, industrialized methods of growing cotton mean that fabrics can be produced quickly and cheaply, and in very large quantities. These savings are passed on to the customer, meaning that high street fashion is available at increasingly low prices, and much of it is regarded as disposable.
However, Ethical Fashionistas would argue that all this has a cost that we are not able to see on the price tag. Some issues that surround ethical fashion are that ethical fashion aims to address the problems it sees with the way the fashion industry currently operates, such as exploitative labor, environmental damage, the use of hazardous chemicals, waste, and animal cruelty. Serious concerns are often raised about exploitative working conditions in the factories that make cheap clothes for the high street. Child workers, alongside exploited adults, can be subjected to violence and abuse such as forced overtime, as well as cramped and unhygienic surroundings, bad food, and very poor pay. The low cost of clothes on the high street means that less and less money goes to the people who actually make them. Cotton provides much of the world's fabric, but growing it uses 22.5% of the world's insecticides and 10% of the world's pesticides, chemicals that can be dangerous for the environment and harmful to the farmers who grow it. Current textile growing practices are considered unsustainable because of the damage they do to the immediate environment. Most textiles are treated with chemicals to soften and dye them, however these chemicals can be toxic to the environment and can be transferred to the skin of the people wearing them. Hazardous chemicals used commonly in the textile industry are: lead, nickel, chromium IV, aryl amines, phthalates and formaldehyde. The low costs and disposable nature of high street fashion means that much of it is destined for incinerators or landfill sites. The UK alone throws away 1 million tones of clothing every year.
Many animals are farmed to supply fur for the fashion industry, and many people feel that their welfare is an important part of the Ethical Fashion debate. The designer Stella McCartney does not use either fur or leather in her designs. In an advert for the animal rights organization PETA, she said: 'we address... ethical or ecological... questions in every other part of our lives except fashion. Mind-sets are changing, though, which is encouraging.'
London is such an ethical fashion centre now, with every main street store trying to be more organic and eco friendly than the next. The ethical fashion industry is making great progress in developing public awareness of fashion that is responsibly made. A number of businesses have sprung up to provide support and networking opportunities for producers. Others want to put pressure on businesses to provide good working conditions. Behind the Label is a campaign fighting for better working conditions for garment workers and encouraging consumers to ask for clothes which are eco friendly. One of its aims is to encourage shops to guarantee that all clothes sold in their shops are produced under fair conditions, including the right to a living wage, the right to organise, and safe and healthy working conditions. Fashioning an Ethical Industry is an educational project aimed at fashion college students and tutors. It’s a good way to help students improve the companies they will be working for. Their very accessible and interesting website provides a global overview of the garment industry, raises awareness of current practices and explains all the hot issues. The fact is that consumers have power: the more that we demand that the clothes we buy are made under decent conditions the more likely it is that retailers will respond. The more people ask questions the more retailers will feel that they need to pay attention to the issues.
Globalization means that materials and labor can be purchased in different parts of the world where costs are very low. Also, industrialized methods of growing cotton mean that fabrics can be produced quickly and cheaply, and in very large quantities. These savings are passed on to the customer, meaning that high street fashion is available at increasingly low prices, and much of it is regarded as disposable.
However, Ethical Fashionistas would argue that all this has a cost that we are not able to see on the price tag. Some issues that surround ethical fashion are that ethical fashion aims to address the problems it sees with the way the fashion industry currently operates, such as exploitative labor, environmental damage, the use of hazardous chemicals, waste, and animal cruelty. Serious concerns are often raised about exploitative working conditions in the factories that make cheap clothes for the high street. Child workers, alongside exploited adults, can be subjected to violence and abuse such as forced overtime, as well as cramped and unhygienic surroundings, bad food, and very poor pay. The low cost of clothes on the high street means that less and less money goes to the people who actually make them. Cotton provides much of the world's fabric, but growing it uses 22.5% of the world's insecticides and 10% of the world's pesticides, chemicals that can be dangerous for the environment and harmful to the farmers who grow it. Current textile growing practices are considered unsustainable because of the damage they do to the immediate environment. Most textiles are treated with chemicals to soften and dye them, however these chemicals can be toxic to the environment and can be transferred to the skin of the people wearing them. Hazardous chemicals used commonly in the textile industry are: lead, nickel, chromium IV, aryl amines, phthalates and formaldehyde. The low costs and disposable nature of high street fashion means that much of it is destined for incinerators or landfill sites. The UK alone throws away 1 million tones of clothing every year.
Many animals are farmed to supply fur for the fashion industry, and many people feel that their welfare is an important part of the Ethical Fashion debate. The designer Stella McCartney does not use either fur or leather in her designs. In an advert for the animal rights organization PETA, she said: 'we address... ethical or ecological... questions in every other part of our lives except fashion. Mind-sets are changing, though, which is encouraging.'
London is such an ethical fashion centre now, with every main street store trying to be more organic and eco friendly than the next. The ethical fashion industry is making great progress in developing public awareness of fashion that is responsibly made. A number of businesses have sprung up to provide support and networking opportunities for producers. Others want to put pressure on businesses to provide good working conditions. Behind the Label is a campaign fighting for better working conditions for garment workers and encouraging consumers to ask for clothes which are eco friendly. One of its aims is to encourage shops to guarantee that all clothes sold in their shops are produced under fair conditions, including the right to a living wage, the right to organise, and safe and healthy working conditions. Fashioning an Ethical Industry is an educational project aimed at fashion college students and tutors. It’s a good way to help students improve the companies they will be working for. Their very accessible and interesting website provides a global overview of the garment industry, raises awareness of current practices and explains all the hot issues. The fact is that consumers have power: the more that we demand that the clothes we buy are made under decent conditions the more likely it is that retailers will respond. The more people ask questions the more retailers will feel that they need to pay attention to the issues.
size zero
Fashion models and stylish celebrities have become well known for bad girl, diva behaviour while their dress sizes are always being criticized, and many celebrities now are apart of the size zero revolution. Their dramatically low weight sparked the size-zero debate. The use of size 0 in advertisements and products of the clothing industry has been met with some media attention. For example, Louise Redknapp dieted to fit into a size zero dress to explore the effects for a documentary television program. The World Health Organization, doctors and women's groups are concerned that the use of underweight models sends out dangerously wrong signals to girls who look at models as role models. In July 2009, Katie Green won a competition to represent Wonderbra. They referred her to the Premier Model Management agency for representation. Green reported that "one of the guys from the PR agency from Wonderbra" insisted that she lose weight, that it wasn't normal for models to be a size 8.... Unless I could drop down to that weight, they wouldn't be willing to get me more work." Green, who is 5 ft. 11 in tall and in May 2011 weighed 145 lb., at first complied, but then rebelled, and quit the agency. She then, with Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Öpik, launched a campaign titled "Say No to Size Zero". They began a petition drive with the goal to put an end to size zero and underweight models on the catwalk or working in the fashion industry. They set a goal to obtain 20,000 signatures and plan to present it to the UK Prime Minister and Parliament. They are campaigning for legislation that would require regular health checkups for all models before undertaking any assignments.
In September 2010, Victoria Beckham banned size zero models from her New York Fashion Week runway show. Herself a size two (UK size 6) at 36 years old, she reportedly barred 12 models from appearing in her show after deeming them ‘too skinny’. Her fashions will be modeled by "healthy girls who look ‘realistic’ to encourage a positive image to impressionable teens." Size zero models were barred from Madrid Fashion Week in 2006, and the Milan fashion show took the same action shortly afterward, banning models with a body mass index (BMI) of 18 or below. As a result, five models were banned from taking part. Fashion labels Prada, Versace and Armani have agreed to ban size zero models from their catwalks. As of 2007, the British Fashion Council promoted the creation of a task force to invent guidelines for the fashion industry. They also urged fashion designers to use healthy models. An inquiry reported in September 2007 that up to 40 per cent of models could have an eating disorder and made a number of suggestions to promote health, yet ruled out a ban on size-zero models. Larger sizes 14 and 16 - would also be introduced into shows and all models under 16 would also be banned. Fashion designer Giorgio Armani has given support to the effort to eliminate ultra-thin models. "The time has now come for clarity. We all need to work together against anorexia." Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston died at the age of 21 due to anorexia. She arrived for her first foreign fashion shoot, the 8st model was warned she was too fat. Two years later, and two stone lighter, she died from complications arising from anorexia. This was a waste of a woman whose childhood dreams of being a cover girl came true - but for all the wrong reasons. The British Fashion council claimed there were too many skeletons on the runways and were urging Italian designers to cast healthy looking models for their shows. Staggering 6 out of 10 women think size zero is attractive and nearly all consider size 12 to be fat. Size zero celebrities such as Nicole Richie are said to be putting their health at risk with their drastic weight loss, but the majority of British women find the look desirable, according a poll for New Woman magazine. The same figure would rather have friends who are fatter than them, and 76% admit they are jealous of slimmer friends. Half of the women surveyed said they had gone without food all day before a big night out in order to fit into a dress. The pressure to be slim comes from other women and 6 out of 10 woman said friends had criticised their body shape and 4 out of 10 said their mothers had urged them to lose weight and another 1 in 5 said they can't sit at their office desk without their work colleagues suggesting they slim down. 4 out of 5 said they would be much happier if they lost weight and one-third said they had tried dieting by eating less than 500 calories a day. A lot of woman will go to extreme lengths in order to lose weight.
In September 2010, Victoria Beckham banned size zero models from her New York Fashion Week runway show. Herself a size two (UK size 6) at 36 years old, she reportedly barred 12 models from appearing in her show after deeming them ‘too skinny’. Her fashions will be modeled by "healthy girls who look ‘realistic’ to encourage a positive image to impressionable teens." Size zero models were barred from Madrid Fashion Week in 2006, and the Milan fashion show took the same action shortly afterward, banning models with a body mass index (BMI) of 18 or below. As a result, five models were banned from taking part. Fashion labels Prada, Versace and Armani have agreed to ban size zero models from their catwalks. As of 2007, the British Fashion Council promoted the creation of a task force to invent guidelines for the fashion industry. They also urged fashion designers to use healthy models. An inquiry reported in September 2007 that up to 40 per cent of models could have an eating disorder and made a number of suggestions to promote health, yet ruled out a ban on size-zero models. Larger sizes 14 and 16 - would also be introduced into shows and all models under 16 would also be banned. Fashion designer Giorgio Armani has given support to the effort to eliminate ultra-thin models. "The time has now come for clarity. We all need to work together against anorexia." Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston died at the age of 21 due to anorexia. She arrived for her first foreign fashion shoot, the 8st model was warned she was too fat. Two years later, and two stone lighter, she died from complications arising from anorexia. This was a waste of a woman whose childhood dreams of being a cover girl came true - but for all the wrong reasons. The British Fashion council claimed there were too many skeletons on the runways and were urging Italian designers to cast healthy looking models for their shows. Staggering 6 out of 10 women think size zero is attractive and nearly all consider size 12 to be fat. Size zero celebrities such as Nicole Richie are said to be putting their health at risk with their drastic weight loss, but the majority of British women find the look desirable, according a poll for New Woman magazine. The same figure would rather have friends who are fatter than them, and 76% admit they are jealous of slimmer friends. Half of the women surveyed said they had gone without food all day before a big night out in order to fit into a dress. The pressure to be slim comes from other women and 6 out of 10 woman said friends had criticised their body shape and 4 out of 10 said their mothers had urged them to lose weight and another 1 in 5 said they can't sit at their office desk without their work colleagues suggesting they slim down. 4 out of 5 said they would be much happier if they lost weight and one-third said they had tried dieting by eating less than 500 calories a day. A lot of woman will go to extreme lengths in order to lose weight.
uni
My next few posts will be about galleries, my 5 year plan, jobs i would like, and debates in the fashion industry!!
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
scrabble rings
im selling scrabble rings on ebay!! all letters are there some have sold just have a look!! there a good price!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250859282291&var=&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_500wt_1156
Monday, 1 August 2011
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