Fashion Ethical #Sustainable #Eco  #Climate Change #Vintage #Swishing

News

WRAP – Sustainable Clothing Action Plan – BID

To support the work of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, WRAP is looking to commission  new project work looking for individuals or teams to bring industry knowledge and expertise to their team working with the clothing sector.

WRAP, a not-for-profit company backed by government funding, commissioning a  number of new clothing projects, including

>Providing specialist  technical support to help implement the Sustainable  Clothing Action Plan 2020 Commitment – sector-wide action to reduce  the environmental footprint of clothing.

>Developing an approach to measuring, specifying and communicating  aspects of clothing  longevity.

>Developing a training  package for product sourcing teams, including  designers, to promote resource efficiency in the UK clothing  industry.

These opportunities will enable you to strategically input into  WRAP’s future clothing work and help shape the development of the  existing Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, as it moves into an exciting  new phase.

Visit  WRAP website for more information.

Gossypium, the E’tailer and retailer based in Lewes, Sussex, winners of The Sussex Fashion Eco Award 2011.

The founders follow strong ethical and eco policies making their business stand out from many others by all products being  fairtrade & organic;  using  good quality cotton, organic, pure & strong in production. Responsible for how their products are made and ensuring the  eco-system & environment are never far from their thoughts. Independent whilst working together as a family – in business. www.gossypium.co.uk

Abi and Thomas Pettit, founders and directors state …

“Wining the Fashion Sussex Eco Fashion award meant alot to us simple because it is  local acknowledgement. 

The word fashion makes us all think of far away catwalks in places like Paris and New York and thus completely unattainable.  

Winning the Fashion Sussex award gave us a real boost because it puts the stamp of fashion onto something that we have been quietly doing for the last 10 years – Making distinctive ethical clothing for  Sussex people ! 

Local fashion feels suddenly very real and exciting !  

Thank you Fashion Sussex !” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Climate Change

Latest Environmental Reports

Retailers have found that reducing waste, energy and water provides their businesses with increasing recognition and makes good business sense; a new report out from BRC The British Retail Consortium. The BRC-led project, A Better Retailing Climate was launched in 2008. It committed businesses representing the majority of the UK retail market to sector-wide environmental ambitions. Despite the current economic austerity and price volatility retailers seem to be continuing to build resilience reducing environmental impact.

Waste: Exceeded target. Retailers committed to reduce waste sent to landfill to below 15 per cent by 2013. Signatories beat that target two years early, sending just 14 per cent of waste to landfill in 2011 (down from 45 per cent in 2005).
Transport: Exceeded target. Retailers committed to reduce delivery emissions by 15 per cent by 2013 (compared with 2005 levels). In fact they achieved a 23 per cent reduction by 2011.
Buildings: On target. Retailers committed to cut energy-related emissions from buildings by 25 per cent by 2013 (compared with 2005 levels and allowing for growth). By 2011, these emissions were down by 20 per cent.
Refrigeration: On target. Retailers committed to halve emissions from refrigeration by 2013 (relative to floor space to allow for business growth). By 2011, these had already been reduced by 37 per cent.

BRC’s report read more > A Better Retailing Climate

Case studies large businesses tackling climate  change

 

The Carbon Trust

Marks & Spencer: putting climate change at the heart of conversations with consumers

• Marks & Spencer’s Plan A programme has put sustainability at the centre of how it does business and engages with its customers, employees and people working in its supply chain.
• Through Plan A, M&S has introduced products and services to help customers live more sustainably and last year generated £50m additional profit which has been invested back into the business. (2010)
• M&S has invested in energy efficiency measures in its stores and offices to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs.

Primark: Piloting the low-carbon shopping experience.

After its energy spend reached £12 million in 2008, rapidly expanding fashion retailer, Primark, decided to explore the potential to cut its energy costs and appeal to environmentally conscious shoppers. After joining our Carbon Management scheme and receiving building design advice, the company has developed a pilot store which is set to deliver carbon savings of almost 50% over its current new build design.

Sustainable Fashion

There’s many ways in which the consumer can help to improve the clothing production cycle and help reduce waste

New Clothing

• Ethically produced – The way the consumer purchases clothing from overseas manufactured (third world) markets

PreLoved Clothing

• Charity Shops – donoring pre-loved good quality clothing
• Retailers recycling
• Swishing – events organised swapping preloved (designer) clothing
• Vintage
• Auctions – online, generally pre-loved clothing
• Reccyling – Recycle banks

Ethical Market – size of market

New 2011 figures out show that the globe spent almost five billion euros (€4.9bn, US$6.6bn) on Fairtrade certified products last year, according to figures released today by Fairtrade International.

Worldwide retail sales of Fairtrade certified products increased by a total of 12 percent compared to 2010. In Fairtrade’s biggest market, the UK, shoppers spent 12 percent more on Fairtrade products. In Fairtrade’s first and oldest market, the Netherlands, Fairtrade sales grew by 24 percent. Read more > FairTrade

Sales of ethical clothing soared by 72% during the height of the economic downturn, a new survey has revealed, putting paid to detractors who thought ethical considerations would be the first casualty of the recession.

The Co-operative Bank’s annual Ethical Consumerism Report shows sales of ethical clothing rose to GBP177m (US$275m) in the two years from 2007 to 2009.

Overall, expenditure on green goods and services grew 18% over the past two years, says the report, which analyses sales data for various sectors including food, household goods, eco-travel and ethical finance.

The overall ethical market in the UK was worth GBP43.2bn in 2009 compared to GBP36.5bn in 2007. The growth was despite a two per cent fall in overall household expenditure in 2009.

However, ethical spend still remains a small proportion of the total annual consumer spend of some GBP700bn being approximate just 6%.

*Source Just-style 2011

Take another Fair Trade step forward by kitting out an entire school with natural cotton fairtrade uniforms > The Academy of St Francis of Assisi has in Liverpool and there’s more information about the project at FairTrade

Easter 2012, the clever sustainable eco friendly clothing business based in Lewes, ‘Gossypium’  kitted out Lewes Grammar School pupils with 500 uniforms, co-inciding celebrating the schools 500 years in the town, founded in 1512. Gossypium was ECO Fashion Award winner 2011 in last years Sussex Fashion awards.

Fair Trade Fortnight

Latest figures show double digit growth has been achieved for Fairtrade products during 2011 – the annual Fairtrade Fortnight campaign news states 2012 looks further than the 12% achieved during 2011. Estimated retail sales of Fairtrade products in 2011 now reach £1.32 billion, a 12% increase on sales of £1.17 billion. Read more > FairTrade Fortnight

Ethical fashion principals

The fashion Industry has been demonstrating to the world for many years an interest in ethical fashion which can combine cutting-edge design with social and environmental benefits. International fashion trade shows are held annually and have been for nearly a decade.

Ethical fashion covers

• production practices (such as the working conditions of suppliers)
• promotion of local skills
• environmental impact

Countries that typify such processes are  India, Camobodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Skri-Lanka, Vietnam, Madagascar, and includes some African countries such as Kenya and Nigeria.

Supportive, purchasing and promotional countries include Great-Britain, USA, Ireland, Scandinavian Countires,Germany, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, to name just a few.

Through the promotion of partnerships with local artisans, culture specific skills are promoted and sustained.

If you are a FAIR TRADE independent store in Sussex – please let us know.

See more about The Future Friendly programme at www.futurefriendly.co.uk

Vintage

Charity Shops – sales rising on ebay 2011 

Ebay’s UK business has reported a 56 per cent increase in sales by charity shops on its website in 2011, compared with the previous year, with proceeds reaching £6.25m* - donations received by the UK charity sector remaining flat @ 11bn during 2011 and down in real terms allowing inflation.

Through the recent Mary Portas review of the High Street Report calling for charity shops to be limited in numbers, many have turned to trading online such as ebay to increase sales, if they hadn’t already.

The rise accords with research conducted by the Charity Retail Association, which showed that more than half of all charity shops are selling items online, with 94 per cent of charities using Ebay and 31 per cent selling through their own websites. Nine out of 10 charities surveyed said they expected online sales to rise.

* Source Financial Times

- sales on the rise 2010

Textiles make up 10% of the 30m tonnes of waste collected from households by local authorities every year increased in recent years by the culture of ‘fast fashion’. With ever changing times and disposable income being spent on more basics – food stuffs, energy – this leaves consumer changes in clothing too.

Charity shops profits are up by 7.4% as reported in Charity Finance Magazine and sales at Oxfam stores across the country have risen more than 5% as have The British Heart Foundation who have more than 560 stores across the UK. Age Concern posted a 9% increase in sales.

Are we seeing the help trickling down finally of Mary Portas  who highlighted the plight of much needed  quality pre loved clothing injected into the donor system and demonstrated to all charity shop volunteers up and down the country, how to visual merchandise courtesy of the BBC series in 2009/2010?

OR is this a real indication that the consumer seeking cheaper clothing is seriously thinking about the clothing source they are buying from and would rather shop at a charity shop with clear conscience as well.

As demand increases, the main problem is meeting this surge.  Age Concern reported that this year only 16% of the collection bags it posted to people’s homes were returned with clothing donations, down from 20% last year. The main concern from Sussex fashion charitable shops is now to find enough quality donations.

• The Charity Retail Association has 325 member charities, which operate about 7,000 charity shops in the UK.
• *Source Charity Finance Magazine

CRS

Fashion corporate social responsibility

The Corporate Responsibility sector for business startups during 2010 has seen extraordinary growth estimated at a reported 13% of all businesses currently trading in the UK – and this year seems to be continuing the trend.

The fashion industry has been for many years since mid 1990′s engaging with corporate – and responsible – relationships.

Large fashion corporate businesses have for years been tying up with charities across the UK, and indeed, globally, in their search to partnership their businesses with ‘responsibility.’ These partnerships are becoming more important and strategic as consumer demands businesses to continually demonstrate their sustainable and ethical business practices.

Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo had as far back as 2001 started collecting used garments from customers and since 2006 Uniglo has collected more than 11.51 million items of clothing brought back into its stores by customers and passed onto independent agencies helping with survivors of disasters, refugees and others in need. It is expanding its All-Product Recycling Initiative to all its stores in Great Britain from 1 September 2011.

Stores such as Marks & Spencer have worked for a number of years with the charity Oxfam on a voucher exchange programme; where customers bring back their unwanted ‘M&S’ clothing and they pass these onto Oxfam in exchange for a monetary voucher, whilst TK Maxx have held twice yearly special events for their customers to provide donated clothing to Cancer Research UK generating additional income of 2.5 million.

Your firm in Sussex can help not only reduce waste going to landfill but also participate in ” Corporate Responsibility” . The Charity Retail Association has 325 member charities, which operate about 7,000 charity shops in the UK and most are reporting their need for quality donations after seeing a rise in sales during 2010.

Recycling

Marks and Spencer 

High street retailer Marks and Spencer has hailed its summer 2012 ‘schwopping’ campaign a success after six weeks of where half a million garments have been exchanged instore for vouchers.

All of M&S’s stores across its UK network accept used clothes by any brand with the Schwopping campaign aiming to put an end to copious amounts of unwanted clothing. Currently, one billion garments end up in landfill sites across the country.

SHWOP with Marks & Spencer – continuing its plan ‘a’ by extending its instore recycling of used clothing in conjuction with Oxfam where customers can return clothing which will get sent for fibre resourcing and the funds from this donated to Oxfam. A continuation of their approach to recycling fronted by Joanna Lumley.

Consumers had for three years reduced their dependence on single-use plastic bags with shopping bag use declined 2006 from a staggering 11bn to 6.5bn during 2009 – a massive 40% fall. However 2010 has seen a shift upwards away from eco credentials as shoppers forget their environmentally friendly alternatives with useage figures now being recorded at more than 6.8bn, a rise of approximately 5% – 330 million plastic bag rise – according to government figures published.

Wales introduced charges of 5p a bag and has seen a 90% drop in new carrier usage; Northern Ireland and Scotland look set to introduce levys, leaving England still with voluntary measures in place.

It’s been estimated that plastic bags are used for about 20 minutes but take 1,000 years to rot away. Read more > Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap).

Carriers bag useage – on the rise again across the UK

Consumers having for three years reduced their dependence on single-use plastic bags are back, out in force, packing away their shopping. Bag use declined since 2006 from a staggering 11bn to 6.5bn during 2009 – a massive 40% fall.

2010 has seen a marked shift upwards, away from eco credentials as shoppers forgot their environmentally friendly alternatives and figures recorded at more than 6.8bn, a rise of approximately 5% according to government figures published. Read more > Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap).

1 October 2011  –  all Shops charging for carrier bags in Wales

From 1st October all shops throughout Wales will be required to introduce a 5p charge for bags which is intended to reduce litter.

As an attempt to cut down on the ‘excessive’ number of bags handed out, businesses will need to keep a record of the number of bags issued and account for how the proceeds from the carrier bag levy are used.

Good news though, for smaller retail fashion businesses as those small shops with less than 10 employees will not need to keep records for the carrier bag levy being introduced Autumn 2011.

The Welsh Government says it listened to small business concerns about the administrative burden of the scheme and agreed to exempt them from keeping the records but they will be legally required to pass the money on to environmental causes or charities.

Fashion recycling - Brighton & Hove projects

Recycling bras for Breast Cancer Care

For more than year now brighton & Hove City Council have supported an initiative to encourage women across the city to recycle old, unwanted bras for sending to developing countries including Africa, Pakistan and Eastern Europe, where they will be repaired (if necessary) and sold on, providing business opportunities as well as affordable clothing.

The council installed bright pink collection banks across the city. It later expanded the scheme by offering smaller cardboard banks for shops and offices. Every bra donated raises money for The Park Centre for Breast Cancer in Brighton.

Since the scheme was launched, the council has collected more than 60,000 bras, raising over £4,000 for breast cancer care.

Bra banks can be found at:

* St John’s Place, near Floral Clock  -   King Alfred Leisure Centre -  Sainsbury’s supermarket, West Hove -  Brighton Marina, ASDA car park -  Chalky Road, opposite Portslade Community School -   Preston Park Drove entrance -  Queen Park Terrace -  Upper Rock Gardens -  The Level, south end of park -   Fiveways, Ditchling Road -  Norfolk Square, Western Road

Fashion recycling banks across Sussex 

Recycling Banks across Sussex

 

TRAID is a charity working to make the nations unwanted clothes matter. They divert clothes from landfill at their textile recycling banks, and after hand sorting, they resell the best in their legendary TRAID shops. The profits raised support projects fighting inequality and exploitation in the global textile supply chain, and projects establishing environmental sustainability in some of the world’s poorest communities.

TRAID runs its own banks rather than providing a charity with funds per tonne to use their branding. We do sell on what we can’t resell in our own charity shops to wholesale, which is turn in exported to markets like Africa and Eastern Europe. However, the work done to date on second hand clothing providing business opportunities that trickles down to reach communities has been inconclusive. Moreover, some research suggests that secondhand textiles are eroding domestic apparel chains, especially in Africa.

Shops are predominently based in and around London but car parks, businesses, community sites, and pubs can host a recycling bank in the South East of England so that clothing can get to the London shops and be re-sold. Traid has so far stopped around 25,000 tonnes of textiles going to landfill and raised more than £2 million for various projects.

Traids Recycling Banks can be found here ::

The Sussex OakChurch Street Warnham Horsham West Sussex RH12 3QW; Shelley Arms16 Old Guildford Road  Broadbridge  Heath  Horsham West SussexRH12 3JT; The Kings Head  Church Street  Rudgwick  West Sussex  RH12 3BB; Cherry Tree InnCrawley Road  Faygate  Horsham  West Sussex  RH12 4SA; The Coot Merryfield Drive  Horsham  West Sussex  RH12 2AU; The Silver Wok  49 Brighton Road  Horsham   West Sussex  RH13 5BT; Heathfield General Store 141 Heathfield  Pound Hill  Crawley  West Sussex  RH10 3UX; Bent Arms H tel  98 High Street Lindfield  Haywards Heath  West Sussex  RH16 2HS; Alldays Maple Drive  Burgess Hill  West Sussex  RH15 8DF; Junction Inn  88 Junction Road   Burgess Hill  East Sussex  RH15 0JP; Hilliers Garden Centre  Main Road  Bosham   West Sussex  PO18 8FL; Furniture Now!  Unit 2 Phoenix Works  North Street  Lewes  East Sussex  BN7 2PE; The Co-operative Meridian Centre  Meridian Way  Peacehaven  East Sussex  BN10 8BB; Wyevale Garden Centre  Rogers Lane  Findon  West SussexBN14 0RE; Council Car Park  Piddinghoe   Avenue  Peacehaven  East Sussex  BN10 8RJ; Council Car Park  Fairlight Avenue  Telscombe Cliffs  Peacehaven  East Sussex  BN10 7AD; Council Car Park  Richmond Rd  Seaford  East Sussex  BN25 1DR; Newhaven Depot  Robinson Road  Newhaven  East Sussex  BN9 9BL; Sun InnLoxwood Road  Plaistow  Billingshurst  West Sussex RH14 0PX; Lewes Garden Centre  Newhaven Road  Kingston  Lewes  East Sussex  BN7 3NE; Wyevale Garden Centre Bognor Road  Merston  Chichester  West Sussex  PO20 6EG; The Abergavenny Arms  Rodmell  Lewes  East Sussex  BN7 3EZ; Middle farm Lewes Road (A27) Firle  Lewes  East Sussex  BN8 6LJ; Ringmer Community College  Lewes Road  Ringmer East Sussex  BN8 5RB; The Sussex Coaster 80 Southcoast Road  Peacehaven  East Sussex  BN10 8SJ; Sainsbury’s Lewes Road93 Lewes Rd Brighton East SussexBN2 3QA; Kingswood Street (corner of circus st)  Brighton  East Sussex  BN2 9QF; Woodside Avenue  Brighton  East Sussex  BN1 5NF; Hangleton Way (opp. Poplar Ave) Brighton  East Sussex  BN3 8EY; Haddington Street  Brighton  East Sussex  BN3 3YQ; The level end opp. St Peter’s Church Brighton East Sussex BN1 4GU; The Level  Union Road  Brighton  East Sussex  BN1 4SD; Wayfield Avenue  Brighton   East Sussex  BN3 7LW; Waitrose  130 – 134 Western Road  Brighton  East Sussex  BN1 2LA; Whitehawk Road Family Centre  Brighton  East Sussex   BN2 5FJ; Wilmington Parade  Wilmington Way   Brighton  East Sussex  BN1 8JJ; Woodbourne Avenue opp. Post Office  Stanmer  Brighton  East Sussex  BN1 8EJ; Clarence Square opp. Pub  Brighton  East Sussex  BN1 2ED; Upper Lewes Road opp Martha Gunn Pub Brighton East SussexBN2 3FE; New England Street nr junction with New England Rd Brighton East Sussex BN1 4GH; Charles Street Brighton  East Sussex  BN2 1TG; Ellen Street  Hove  Brighton  East Sussex  BN3 3LS; Carden Ave opp. Midhurst Rise  Brighton  East Sussex  BN1 8DL; Coldean Lane junction with Park Road  Brighton  East Sussex  BN1 9GE; Fiveways, Ditching Road Brighton East Sussex BN1 6JY; Dyke Road Reservoir (tram shelter)  Brighton   East Sussex   BN1 5BB; Elm Grove bottom  junction with Islingword Road  Brighton  East Sussex   BN2 3ES; Elm Grove top junction with De Montford Road  Brighton  East Sussex  BN2 3ET; Ethel Street Brighton   East Sussex  BN3 3LL; Hollingbury Park Car Park Brighton East SussexBN1 7HS; The Co-operative  56 – 57 Lewes Road  Brighton  East Sussex  BN2 3HW; Leybourne Parade  Bevendean  Brighton  East Su

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