Clean Cut Future Talks 2

Last week marked the third appearance of Clean Cut at Sydney's premier fashion event - Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Unlike CC's inaugural appearance, when I helped launch the company and we hosted a sustainable fashion runway, I had the pleasure of simply being a guest at this year's panel discussion/seminar.

The Future Talks 2 panel was hosted by the charming Kellie Hush, Editor of Harper's BAZAAR Australia, and featured representatives from Country Road, Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) and TOME.

L to R: Anna Scott from Clean Cut, Kellie Hush, Lucy King of Country Road,
Sigrid McCarthy of ECA, Ramon Martin of TOME.
You can watch the entire talk online.

Hush opened the talk with the infamous Vivienne Westwood quote, always worth repeating:

Buy Less. Choose Well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity. Everybody's buying far too many clothes.

The panel offered up genuine insights about what is means for a fashion brand to be, or become, 'sustainable'. The message of the day? Sustainability is a journey. Sure, some of it's hard, and some of it will take awhile to figure out, but it's better to get started than to worry about being 'perfectly sustainable' (as if such a thing exists).

Interestingly, this is what I tell people in my book and events - it's best to simply start somewhere. The perfect is the enemy of the good, they say, and it seems that this advice rings true whether we're talking about one person's lifestyle, or an entire fashion brand.

New designers were given the advice to regularly talk about sustainability in order to remain connected to their goal. Encouragement to 'walk your talk', so to speak. Hand-in-hand with this advice is the importance of knowing why you're producing in this way. Branding has moved way beyond product now, customers buy into the "soul of your brand" and want to feel good on multiple levels when wearing your clothes.

The panel also highlighted that you cannot rely on 'story' or 'branding' alone - design remains as important as ever. As Ramon from TOME put it, "The responsibility is ours. If you can put together a [successful] sustainable collection without telling your customer the story, you're a really great designer."

Another message from the panel was the importance of collaboration. Ramon from TOME spoke of the importance of sharing sustainability ideas and information amongst other designers, and Lucy from Country Road explained that even though this can feel awkward - most of the time retailers and fashion brands do NOT wish to share supply chain secrets with one another - in order to truly change the way clothing is produced retailers and brands must come together, share knowledge, and collaborate.

Finally, the audience was reminded that "design is a central figure in the supply chain process," and that designers have to decide they are going to change the system and create a supply chain that works for them and aligns with their sustainability values.

The message that resonated with many of us in the audience came from Ramon of TOME, and are the words I'll leave you with today as my optimistic hope for the future of fashion:

When people look back in time, this is what fashion was in the early 21st Century. It wasn't about high hemlines or a miniskirt, it was about changing the way we make clothes.

Were you at the Clean Cut Future Talks 2? What did you take note of? What would you ask the panel if you could?

trash to treasure

My longtime readers will know that I love fixing up old furniture, like this dresser I found on the street, and the bookshelf I write about in Sustainability with Style.

I've just had the pleasure of fixing up some bar stools - also found on the street. (What other cities do this as much as Sydney? Especially its seaside towns?!).

I had been keeping my eye out for some used barstools to put in our kitchen, which is galley-style and separate from where we eat, but inevitably gets crowded with people whenever we have guests over for a meal. Everyone loves to hang in the kitchen, am I right?

Then I spotted these beauties just a block from my home, and rushed home to get the assistance of my hubby to carry them both home before someone else got to them.

The stools had clearly been living an 'outdoor lifestyle' for awhile, there was even a mushroom growing out of one of them, but I knew I could give them a second life and a new home.

Two trips to Bunnings later, and the proud owner of primer, a carefully selected paint colour (with low VOCs, of course, although not as 'natural' a paint as I'd used on the abovementioned dresser), wood filler to deal with some wood rot, and felt tips to add to the bottom of the legs so we don't scratch the floors, I was ready to make the transformation.

Step 1
A good clean, including sanding back the paint on the wood, scraping away rust on the metalwork and dealing with the mushrooms.

Step 2
A good layer of primer.

Step 3
Apply wood filler to deal with gashes and rot - you can see the main problem area in the photo above.

Step 4
Realise I should have done the wood filler first, and do another quick layer of primer. (There are always a few extra steps in any DIY project, right?)

Step 5
Paint! It took three coats to get the depth of colour that I was seeking, but it was worth it in the end.

I tackled the bottoms first, after watching a few help videos on YouTube.

After two layers - still a bit showing through the paint.

Finished project! Here they are in the kitchen.

I've decided to keep one in the entry, both to keep the kitchen un-cluttered,
and also because the colour works well with our map and pillows, and adds
a nice splash of colour along that wall.

What do you think? I'm totally thrilled with this pop of colour, and happy to know my guests will have somewhere to rest while chatting with us in the kitchen.

Have you done any fun refurbs lately? I'd love to see your pics!

xxLisa

PS - I have a lot of this paint left, so let me know if you'd like it for one of your own projects.

a mighty good tale

Have you ever wondered where your undies come from?

I don’t mean the name brand, or even the ‘Made In’ country, but the dirty little secrets behind your undies.

According to the co-founders of Mighty Good Undies (Dr Hannah Parris and Elena Antoniou), the cotton supply chain is “awash with toxic chemicals including pesticides that are dangerous to farmers, or chemical residues from the washing process, which can become hormone disrupters in our bodies”.

In addition, "about 25% of cotton farm workers in India are children under 14, due to the very low price we have come to expect of cotton," one of the world’s most desired fibres.

Yikes!
These little cotton undies don’t look so sweet anymore.

Enter Mighty Good Undies – certified Fairtrade (FLO) and organic (GOTS), this ethical label is aiming to change the toxic past of undies and bring the gold standard of sustainability, comfort, affordability and price to our unmentionables.

But they need our help!

Currently in the crowdfunding stage, you can get involved with Mighty Good Undies from the ground up so they can create their line of super-ethical undies and bring their wares to the Berlin Ethical Fashion Show this July to gain buyers to stock the brand in their stores.

As with any crowdfunding campaign, there are plenty of delightful rewards ranging from a postcard from Berlin to packs of undies, to my personal favourite – naming rights of one of the styles. I can imagine it now, Lisa's Lovely Briefs . . .

And if you bid this week (2-9 May 2016), you will also get a bar of delicious Organic + Fair-trade Alter Eco Quinoa chocolate (a staple in my house!).

On a personal note, I have the pleasure of knowing the two brilliant and dedicated women behind the brand, and can fully vouch for their commitment, knowledge and passion.

Elena has been working with brands for years through her PR business, New Future PR, and as she says, “I was hankering to jump into the ethical fashion issue”. She was also instrumental to the first Clean Cut appearance at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week two years ago – I don’t know how we would have pulled it off without her brilliance!

Hannah got involved in sustainable fashion after realising that many systems in our lives – food, transport, housing and energy – were being addressed from a sustainability perspective, but “clothing seemed to be the odd one out that hadn’t made much progress”. Hannah is behind ethical clothing brand Audrey Blue, which stemmed from her own research and realisation that “fashion’s importance as both a driver -- as well as a solution -- to core problems I had been concerned with my whole life.” 

And on an even more personal note, my dear friend Yatu Widders Hunt (check out her blog All for Good) introduced the two, and she is now known as the “godmother of Mighty Good Undies” (I wonder if she gets a wand with that title?).

In all seriousness – isn’t about time we had safe, soft, (sexy) and comfortable undies? 

Head over to their Start Some Good page and pledge to help this incredible brand get off the ground – and you may as well do it this week so you get some free chocolate in the deal, too.

 

Fashion Revolution Week

Viva la (Fashion) Revolution!

Today kicks off Fashion Revolution Week - a campaign created to commemorate the fatal Rana Plaza disaster that occurred 24 April 2013. It took the lives of over 1,100 clothing factory workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and injured more than 2,500. Many of the injured still await compensation for their horrific injuries.

In my work as a researcher and writer, I get to meet many fashion innovators who are changing the way supply chains and fabrics are created, and I know we are on our way to true Fashion Revolution. But there is still a huge need to encourage existing brands to hasten their transition toward traceable supply chains, fair work conditions for all labourers, and cleaner environmental practices.

This is where you come in . . .

The fine folks at Fashion Revolution are asking us to have the loudest and most visible conversation about where our clothes come from, the conditions under which they are made and the impact they have on our planet.
So this week, take a photo of yourself wearing your clothes inside out (and maybe backwards!), and post it to social media tagging the brand you are wearing and using the hashtag #whomademyclothes.

Here's my #insideout photo for the day - my beloved cowl neck sleeveless cable knit jumper. It's the perfect thing to wear in these 'in between seasons' and I bought it from Country Road because I've heard through the grapevine that they are committed to transitioning to an ethical supply chain, but I want to know more.

All the cool kids are doing it: surf legend Kelly Slater (and his business partner at Outerknown) 
and fashion icons Akira Isogawa, Stella McCartney,  and Kit Willow.

What will you turn inside out this week? Tag me on Instagram and I'll make sure to re-post - let's make this the biggest Revolution the fashion industry has seen!

* * * *

Here are some of my outtakes - a million thanks to my hubby and photog extraordinaire for helping me get the perfect pic - oh the life of a blogger!

fashion and the sharing economy : part two

A few weeks ago I wrote about the benefits of sharing clothes - we get to wear beautiful things, we extend the useful life of garments, it's a win-win for the planet and fashion lovers.

I was given the opportunity to trial the dress rental service from GlamCorner, including renting a dress and ordering a back-up in case my preferred dress didn't fit. I was thrilled to get to wear something 'new' to the opening night of Swan Lake, and poured over the pages of dresses to find the perfect one (or two, as it were).

I love the Opera House!

If you're thinking this dress looks a little different to what I posted before, you'd be right. This is neither of the two dresses I had initially selected. And because I always want to be honest with you, my readers, about the ups and downs of living a sustainable lifestyle, I need to fill you in on what happened.

I love the idea of designer dress rental and have successfully rented in the past. But in all honestly, GlamCorner has some wrinkles to iron out in order to make this a smoother process.

Long story short, the dresses I had carefully selected weeks ago did not get returned to GlamCorner in time for for my event. According to GC, the Easter long weekend and rural location of the customer(s) who had the dresses before me led to delays. In order to make things right GC offered to send me three dresses via their same day delivery service and I chose the above (lovely) dress by Grace & Hart.

I did enjoy wearing this dress - both for the beautiful style, including unique geometric lace detail, and the allure of wearing something new - but I'd be lying if I said it was exactly what I'd envisioned or that I was happy with the overall experience.

Here you can see the great detailing of the lace overlay, and I loved
the slit sleeves as well.

Of course I understand accidents happen, and any sharing-economy business relies upon all the sharers returning items on schedule and all systems working flawlessly. However, Easter comes every year and can be easily accounted for in scheduling. Furthermore, I'm not sure GC would have let me know what was happening had I not contacted them the day my dresses were due to arrive (two days before the event) to ensure everything was on track.

Like many of you, my days are filled with many competing commitments and I was frustrated to have to spend more time looking through the website to find dresses suitable for the event, my body type and my personal style, after I'd already dedicated time to do this a few weeks past.  GC offered to pull dresses for me when I expressed my frustration, but fashion is an extremely personal experience for me, so I managed to squeeze in a quick 30 minute search to make sure I selected dresses that were 'me'.  Because I was searching dresses that were available immediately, the selection was smaller than before - good news for my schedule squeeze, but many of the brands I would have chosen were unavailable.

I've been joking this week with friends that this was a 'First World Problem', but on reflection, it's really not that trivial.

Markets and economies must shift if we're to manage the climate crisis and other global issues concerning the environment, poverty and inequality. I greatly value businesses working in the sharing economy, like GlamCorner, and other creative and disruptive business models, because it's only through trial and error and being brave enough to launch a new type of business that the necessary broader changes will occur.

So, was it a perfect experience? No.

Did GlamCorner try it's best to make the situation right? Yes.

Will I rent dresses in the future? Absolutely. Even from GlamCorner.

And at the end of the day, I still got to wear a beautiful dress to the opening night of Swan Lake at the Opera House.

* * * *

Have you had similar experiences with sharing economy or otherwise 'disruptive' businesses? I'd love to hear about it.

Also, thanks a million to my ballet date and 'photographer' on the night, my dear friend Erica. xx

sustainable shopping in the 21st century

I recently wrote a blog post for the Sydney Environment Institute about two of the best online platforms for finding sustainable fashion brands - the Good On You shopping app and the Project JUST website.

Here's a sneak peek, and a link to the full article - enjoy! And happy (sustainable fashion) shopping!

A new look from Kowtow - sustainable fashion gurus.

Demand for sustainably produced clothing is on the rise as more people become aware of fashion’s impact on the planet and the people who make our clothes. And the question on the lips of these conscious fashion consumers is, “So what brands can I buy?”

It’s a valid question, of course, but given the complexity of the fashion supply chain and the multiple steps from raw materials to finished garments, it can be hard to provide a straightforward answer.
On the one hand, it is easier than ever to buy sustainable fashion. There are a number of sustainable fashion labels creating clothing with care of the planet and its inhabitants built into their business plans from day one. There are also many well-established fashion labels adjusting their practices to lighten their environmental footprint and ensure safe and fair working conditions for garment labourers.

On the other hand, information about these labels can be hard to find, and even harder to decipher for the average fashion shopper. At this time there is no widely accepted certification system that ‘approves’ brands as being completely environmentally and socially sustainable, though there are systems for approving ethical labour, Fairtrade practices and organic cotton, among others. In addition, many brands privilege one ethical characteristic over the other – for example, focusing on environmental standards by switching to organic cotton and toxin-free dyes or prioritising labour conditions by committing to paying a living wage to overseas garment workers. This is particularly true for large brands transitioning to sustainable practices.

In this complex and ever-changing fashion industry, the answer to “So, what brands can I buy?” often boils down to the shopper’s personal values.

Thanks to improved technologies (and some dedicated sustainable fashion advocates) there are now multiple online tools to help the conscious fashion consumer decide what brands to buy.

Keep reading the full article on the SEI website.

My chat with The Minefield

A few weeks ago I received a very exciting phone call - a request to chat with the clever chaps at The Minefield on ABC Radio National about some of the issues around buying ethical fashion.

I know many of you feel the pain - you want to buy ethical fashion, you can't always find it, it's hard to find clear information - and some others are still trying to understand 'ethical fashion' even means (I should dedicate an entire post to that topic!).

The radio program will be played today (24 March) at 11.30am Australian Eastern Time, but the link is already live on the website if you'd like to have a listen through the internet.

LISTEN NOW

An exhibitor irons a dress at an ethical fashion show in Berlin(
Getty / Thomas Lohnes / Stringer)

I find the intro music quite hysterical, and in hindsight there's a few things I'd have loved to have said, but overall I had a great time and was thrilled to have a smart discussion about this important topic that is near and dear to my heart.

Thank you Waleed Aly, Scott Stephens and the rest of the team at The Minefield for helping shed extra light on the ins and outs of ethical fashion!

Enjoy the extra long weekend!
xxLisa