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A missing mural by renowned street artist Banksy has re-emerged for sale in an online auction, and neighborhood residents are understandably outraged. The mural, which depicts a young boy toiling over a sewing machine making Union Jack textiles, was discovered last year on the wall of a Poundland discount shop in the Wood Green neighborhood of London. Residents noticed scaffolding and tarps surrounding the artwork last Wednesday, and by Friday only a hole in the wall remained. A few days later, the work was listed for sale by a dealer in Miami on an online auction site, with an estimated value between $500,000 and $700,000.

The piece was widely interpreted to be a critique of child labor, believed to have a part in producing many of the cheap items sold in discount shops like Poundland. But representatives of the Poundland chain said they were "fans of Banksy," and denied that they or the building's owners were involved in the art's removal or sale. Local council member Alan Strickland noted "lots of anger" among residents, urging them to demand its return. "Banksy gave that piece of art to our community, and people came from all over London to see it," he told the BBC. The auctioneers, for their part, claim that the work was obtained legally from a dealer.

It's not the first time Banksy's semi-anonymous public works have been lifted or sold. A piece called "Sperm Alarm" was torn from the wall of a bank last year and put up for auction on eBay for £17,000 (approximately $26,300). Another, called "Caution," was defaced and subsequently removed from its street corner in Los Angeles, shortly after the elusive artist lost his Oscar nomination for "Best Documentary" for Exit Through The Gift Shop.

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Banksy 'child labor' mural torn from London shop wall, surfaces in US auction

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A missing mural by renowned street artist Banksy has re-emerged for sale in an online auction, and neighborhood residents are understandably outraged. The mural, which depicts a young boy toiling over a sewing machine making Union Jack textiles, was discovered last year on the wall of a Poundland discount shop in the Wood Green neighborhood of London.

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Cheap clothes for teenagers

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The most part of clothes are from China

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Some clothes are made of cotton

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Clothes are used to wear and then have to be washed.
Puerta

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all I know about clothes is that there are small children making clothes for other countries and risking their lives.

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Why some clothes are so expensive?

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Why are some brands so expensive?

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There are a lot of clothes for all types of styles 

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There are a lot of clothes for all types of styles 

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Clothes are used to wear and then have to be washed.

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I want to know why: on top of the shirt you can wear sweatshirts and jackets, but for the pants there is nothing.

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Most of the clothes usually come from China

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I know that clothes are good for not getting cold

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How are clothes made in a factory?

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Why are there clothing brands that are considered good because they are expensive?

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Why the most of clothes are made in China?

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Why the most of clothes are made in China?

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I know there are some types of textiles that fade

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I know there are some types of textiles that fade

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The Chinese economy thrives as a manufacturing powerhouse and the nation's products seem to be everywhere. The majority of tags, labels, and stickers on a variety of goods proclaim they are "Made in China." Because of this, it's understandable Western consumers might wonder, "Why is everything made in China?"

Some may think the ubiquity of Chinese products is due to the abundance of cheap Chinese labor that brings down the production costs, but there is much more to it than that. In addition to its low labor costs, China has become known as "the world's factory" because of its strong business ecosystem, lack of regulatory compliance, low taxes and duties, and competitive currency practices. Here we review each of these key factors.

Lower Wages

China is home to approximately 1.41 billion people, making it the most populous country in the world. The law of supply and demand tells us that since the supply of workers is greater than the demand for low-wage workers, wages stay low. Moreover, the majority of Chinese were rural and lower-middle-class or poor until the late 20th century when internal migration turned the country's rural-urban distribution upside-down. These immigrants to industrial cities are often willing to work many shifts for low wages.

China doesn't follow (not strictly at least) laws related to child labor or minimum wages, which are more widely observed in the West. However, this situation seems to be changing and more provinces report they have increased their minimum wages in response to increases in the cost of living.

In 2021, Guangdong, China's largest economic providence, increased its minimum wage by almost 10% to up to 2,360 yuan per month. As of 2022, Shanghai has the highest hourly minimum wage among 31 provinces (2,590 RMB per month), while Beijing has the highest hourly minimum wage (25.3 RMB per hour).

The huge labor pool in China helps to produce in bulk, accommodate any seasonal industry requirement, and even cater to sudden rises in the demand schedule.

Business Ecosystem

Industrial production does not take place in isolation, but rather relies on networks of suppliers, component manufacturers, distributors, government agencies, and customers who are all involved in the process of production through competition and cooperation. The business ecosystem in China has evolved quite a lot in the last 30 years.

For example, Shenzhen, a city bordering Hong Kong in the southeast, has evolved as a hub for the electronics industry. It has cultivated an ecosystem to support the manufacturing supply chain, including component manufacturers, low-cost workers, a technical workforce, assembly suppliers, and customers.

American companies like Apple Inc. ( AAPL) take advantage of China's supply chain efficiencies to keep costs low and margins high. Foxconn Technology Group (a Taiwan-based manufacturer of electronics) has multiple suppliers and manufacturers of components that are at nearby locations. For many companies, it's economically unfeasible to take the components to the U.S. to assemble the final product.

Lower Compliance

Manufacturers in the West are expected to comply with certain basic guidelines with regards to child labor, involuntary labor, health and safety norms, wage laws, and protection of the environment. Chinese factories are known for not following most of these laws and guidelines.

Historically, Chinese factories have employed child labor, have had long shift hours, and have not provided the workers with compensation insurance. Some factories even have policies where the workers are paid once a year, a strategy to keep them from quitting before the year is out.

Faced with mounting criticism, the Chinese government has claimed to institute reforms that protect workers' rights and provide for fairer compensation. However, compliance with the rules in many industries is low and change has been slow. Additionally, environmental protection laws are routinely ignored, enabling Chinese factories to cut down on waste management costs.

Taxes and Duties

The export tax rebate policy was initiated in 1985 by China as a way to boost the competitiveness of its exports by abolishing double taxation on exported goods. Exported goods were subject to zero percent value-added tax (VAT), meaning they enjoyed a VAT exemption or rebate policy. Additionally, consumer products from China were exempted from any import taxes. These lower tax rates helped to keep the cost of production low, enabling the country to attract investors and companies looking to produce low-cost goods.

China and U.S. Tariffs

In July 2018, the U.S. announced China-specific tariffs, targeting 818 imported Chinese products valued at $34 billion. This was the first of many rounds of tariffs imposed by both countries, resulting in $550 billion of U.S. tariffs applied to Chinese goods and $185 billion of Chinese tariffs applied to U.S. goods as of February 2020.

Upon President Joe Biden taking office, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for the end of multiple tariffs. Throughout the Biden presidency, there have been ongoing discussion of easing tariffs. As the United States continued to battle rising inflation throughout 2022, both President Biden and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen stated easing tariffs with China could have positive implications on domestic inflation concerns.

China has been accused of artificially depressing the value of the yuan to provide an edge for its exports against similar goods produced by U.S. competitors. China keeps a check on the appreciation of the yuan by buying dollars and selling yuan. The yuan was estimated to be undervalued by 30% against the dollar in late 2005.

In 2017, the yuan appreciated 8% against the dollar, a move that experts say came about after former President Trump threatened to label China a currency manipulator. However, this trend reversed and the yuan weakened against the dollar beginning in June 2018 when the U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese goods.

On Aug. 8, 2019, China's central bank lowered the yuan to 7.0205 per dollar, the weakest level since April 2008. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the yuan continued to lose value to the U.S. Dollar. The average exchange rate throughout 2021 was 6.4529 CNY to USD with the exchange rate hitting 6.36 at the end of 2021.

Why Is the Chinese Economy So Strong?

How Much Money Does the U.S. Owe China?

Does China Have the World's Largest Economy?

The Bottom Line

Pundits have wondered if China will lose its spot as "the world's factory" as other emerging economies offering cheap labor dull China's competitive edge. However, the availability of cheap labor is just one of many factors that have kept the "Made in China" label on so many products purchased by consumers around the world. It will take more than low labor costs for emerging economies to set up a business ecosystem that can compete with China's. For some time to come, China will be "the world factory" with its low production costs, huge labor pool, vast talent base, and business ecosystem.

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China Will Continue to Dominate World Production

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Some may think the ubiquity of Chinese products is due to the abundance of cheap labor that reduces production costs, but there is much more to it.

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I know that the most part of the clothes are made with cotton and polyester.

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I want to know where jeans come from and how they are created

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I want to know where jeans come from and how they are created

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https://www.investopedia.com/financial-term-dictionary-4769738

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Investopedia's comprehensive financial terms dictionary with over 13,000 finance and investment definitions

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Our clothes are big business: it's been calculated we spend up to £44 billion in the UK on clothes each year. The video explores the types of material our clothes are made of - including natural and synthetic fabrics.

A group of teenagers are invited to try a day's work in a busy clothes factory in the UK: they try cutting, stitching, ironing and packing. They find the work very challenging but by the end of the day they are getting the hang of things.

The video ends by inviting us to think when we go shopping for clothes about all the hard work that goes into making them.

End of speech: '...the men and women in Mick's busy factory.'

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A primary school assembly, most suitable for pupils aged 7 - 11, exploring where our clothes come from - what they are made of and how they are made. Includes a song / reflection / prayer. Suitable for Collective Worship. BBC School Radio. BBC Teach.

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This week we took it to one of the garment factories to find out how a piece of clothing is made and what sort of work is put into making your dream design come true. With only a set of paper patterns and a couple of meters of fabric, we visited a big clothing manufacturer from Northern Europe with a goal to gain a full understanding of the process. Let us share it with you:

Without prior knowledge of how the garment manufacturing industry works it can be a bit confusing. People working with clothing factories for the first time are often frustrated with delays, long lead-times or with the lack of flexibility from the factory when a brand requests last-minute changes. You can also check out our guide on working with clothing manufacturers.

Seeing the process of apparel production will help you to understand it and set your expectations right. This will allow you to build a better relationship with the clothing manufacturers. On this topic you can check out our blog post on how to talk to clothing manufacturers when you found that right one.

Every design starts with a sketch, then a tech pack or CAD drawing. Luckily, we already completed our pre-production steps working with a lovely Designer and Tech Pack maker who sorted all this for us, helping transform an idea we had, to a very specifically looking technical drawing and a spec sheet. We then took the CADs to a Pattern Maker we knew and had patterns cut for us. We brought these to the manufacturer...

1. Patterns - Paper vs Digital

The clothing manufacturer noted straight away that for sampling and proper production our paper patterns would have to be digitised as some things are impossible to do by having only paper patterns. In the modern digital world having sewing patterns in a file rather than on paper only makes sense. The manufacturer's pattern making specialist took our paper patterns and placed them on a large board, which is called the digitiser. It allowed the pattern maker to input the paper patterns into their own system, in our case the factory used the Assyst software. Each pattern part was paced around with a hand-held device that took a snapshot of the position of the pattern for each dot. They went all around the pattern piece until all information was collected and our pattern appeared in their software. This is a time-consuming process, as some garments have tens of panels. We were lucky as we only had a few.

2. Sorting out the patterns after digitising

The pattern maker noticed there were a couple of rough places and little imperfections which could be easily adjusted and fixed now that the pattern was in their system. Working with digital patterns allows the pattern maker to make alterations and changes with surgical precision. All measurement adjustments are visualised and tracked in real time. By the way, the same set of patterns would be used later to grade to other sizes if we approved the produced samples. Size grading is done using the same software.

3. Lay-plan: Getting patterns ready for production

The next step was to print out the patterns on a plotter. To do so the factory specialist had to prepare a proper lay-plan, which meant laying out all pattern blocks in a specific order (in our case sampling) taking into consideration things such as fabric length, roll width, the total number of items to be produced with a breakdown of sizes. As patterns were now in their system it was quickly done. The software used for the lay-plan then suggested the optimal layout of these geometrical shapes (patterns) for the quantities we had and other criteria to make the best use of the fabric and reduce fabric consumption. Although the software did this pretty well, there still was room for improvement.

A good specialist like the one we had could recognise this and improve the layout suggested by the professional software. The layout was moved around until the factory specialist knew the layout was absolutely perfect. We were told that an optimal fabric use efficiency is around 70-80%. With a higher variation of sizes and higher amounts of smaller pattern part details in production, the efficiency will always be higher.

Note that fabric consumption for a sample and for bulk production for the same item can greatly differ. Think of the good old Tetris, you are stacking shapes trying to avoid blanks and empty spaces.

4. Cutting the fabric

The plotter printed out our patterns from the pre-compiled lay-plan and workers were ready to cut our fabric. Patterns were printed on the special paper that stuck to the fabric seamlessly, so when the cutting was done nothing would slide. As the cutting began we noticed that the initial part was done manually with the scissors, but then the finer bits were trimmed with specialised equipment.

We were told that samples are often cut manually, whereas for bulk production the process is slightly different. The same types of fabric articles are layered on top of each other like a cake and cut in bulk. The garment manufacturer told us that composition and thickness of the fabric determines if it can be cut together. For example, cotton and viscose cannot be cut at the same time. Different fabrics react differently to cutting and can distort more than others, so the result will be uneven. This is why even if there is a 1% difference in composition a separate cutting job is needed. Looking around we noticed a lot of layered fabric already cut and ready to go. Well, back to our samples...

5. Making sets for the seamstresses

Once the cutting was completed all cut pieces were put together in sets. To optimise production similar operations were grouped so people could pick up speed doing the same thing over and over gradually saving time on production. Think of the way you brush your teeth every single day. By now you probably have a technique that made you more efficient at it.

6. Colours and Trims

For production stage we were asked to select the right colour of the threads to match the colour of the fabric. With a little effort we managed to find the best matching colours. We were faced with a lot of options. Some had minimal differences and we have not even seen all the available shades.

Trims were not required for these items except for elastics but we noticed a large selection of zips, buttons and other accessories offered by the fabric.

7. Adjusting the machinery

Our specialist had her set of cut fabric pieces and was ready to start sampling but she had to adjust the equipment first. Every sewing machine has to be adjusted for a specific type of fabric. She began unloading the old threads and putting in the new reels for our samples in the colour we chose. The seamstress took 6 reels of threads of the same colour as our garment and placed them in the flat-lock sewing machine. She then tested the seam on a piece of fabric to be sure the tension was set and adjusted properly.

8. Finally, Sewing

Checking that everything was adjusted properly she began laying out the set and sewing together the pieces until we started to see our design finally coming to life. It was a truly exciting moment!

9. Finishing

Once the items were completed she took them to the sampling unit to check the measurements against our spec. Everything looked fine and after some thorough QC we tried on the samples, approved them for grading and went on to discuss the future bulk production order.

All in all, the whole process took us half a day. Do take into consideration that we were given dedicated people and sampling was reserved for us for the whole day. The team that we had contact with during the sampling stage was around 5-6 people and our sample went through 5 (!) different departments from pattern making, plotter layout specialists, components and trims to sampling and finally to quality control.

After we saw the enormous work that was done, we understood that as much as we wanted to rush things with a factory, it simply cannot be done in one hour. It requires preparation, adjustments and work of a dedicated team.

Clothing manufacturers rarely share this information or let people spend a day with them to observe the process. We felt we gained a much deeper understanding of the work they do and we are excited to share this information with you. I hope this article will be helpful to all those working with factories or just starting off to understand the production stages of sampling and appreciate that is it a precise and complex process, not a one minute job. If you are ready for production check our out guide on 10 mistakes to avoid when dealing with clothing manufacturers and get the ball rolling.

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How Clothes Are Made In 9 Steps (A Look Into A Big Clothing Factory)

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This week we took it to one of the garment factories to find out how a piece of clothing is made and what sort of work is put into making your dream design come true.

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Have you ever seen a piece of clothing that you loved, looked at the price tag, put the hanger down and immediately felt the need to leave the shop? It happens to all of us and in recent times the high-priced designer clothes has become even more noticeable. What once was expensive is now completely unattainable. Designer dresses going for £3,000, shirts for £800, trousers for £600, swimwear for £200, t-shirts for £500. Year on year there's a leap in pricing on designer items - but what makes designer clothes so expensive?

Of course we are paying handsomely for the designer's time and 'brilliance'. Aside from that, we need to factor in the cost of licensing it. Next are the materials and labour costs. A shirt made in China or Bangladesh will be cheaper than one made in Portugal or Italy. Also, the better the material, the pricier the garment gets.

In an interview with Glamour magazine, Alber Elbaz, linked the high prices to a laborious design process: "I took all the bones out, and I stitch, and to get there, you know, it took me forever. It took me six or seven dresses to make one. And it's time and it's money and we are not doing it in offshore countries - we pay 65% taxes in France! It is so much work. Doing a collection for me is almost like creating a vaccine. Once you create the one vaccine, then you can duplicate for nine dollars and ninety-nine cents. But see if you can create it for nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, and the answer is no."

However, it would be very naïve to think that we are only paying for the quality of the product and the artistry and time of the designer. Like a financial game of 'Chinese whispers', from sketch to shopping bag, the garment that we lust for goes through a chain of so many professionals and every time it changes hands it gets a markup.

Once the clothes are made they need to be sold. Big brands have their own shops and websites, emerging labels sell their collections in department stores and online fashion retailers. Either way, for clothes to reach shops, brands have to pay for warehousing and distribution.

Production and distribution is just the tip of the iceberg and account for a small percentage of the cost. There are also staffing costs, rent of lavish headquarters and shops.

The area that needs the biggest budget though is marketing. Brands spend millions on fashion shows, celebrity and social media endorsements, photographers, models, ads and ad placement in all the right magazines. So, most of the money that what we pay for clothes goes to the department that convinces us that we need those items in the first place.

Almost all brands sell to retailers. To cover their production costs and make a profit, brands will sell it for at least the double that they paid the factory to make it. Stores, on the other hand, have their own profit margins to worry about. So, when the item hits the shop floor, the item had a markup of at least twice what they paid the fashion house. For the mathematically challenged, that's at least four times what the designer paid the factory initially.

Brand positioning also needs to be taken into account. Stakeholders set up prices to differentiate the market. There's high street, contemporary (Kenzo, Carven, Tome, MSGM, etc.), lower luxury (Proenza Schouler, Altuzarra, Victoria Beckham) and high end (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes). The chosen prices put a brand in a certain bracket so retailers know how to categorise it and decide which designers sit next to each other. Basically a brand is as good as the company it keeps.

Just like the bad boyfriend of our youth, it's this bad behaviour that turns brands so appealing. We want what we can't have or what is hard to get. Brands remain luxurious and we remain devoted to them because they are exclusive.

Brands don't mass-produce. They'll make 100 garments instead of 1,000, which drives both the cost and the retail prices up. Printing small runs of items is more expensive than if you were to bulk manufacture. On the other hand, if it is exclusive and unattainable, it becomes desirable and customers are willing to pay for the product.

Personally, I don't believe that all designer clothes' quality is worth the price. That might be true for shoes, bags and tailoring. There's the leather, the hardware, the patterns, the cut, the artisanship - and here, I find, is where the quality is more evident.

When it's all said and done, high fashion prices can be so expensive because that's what shoppers want to pay for it. Consumers will always equate cost to quality. It's a fact for fashion as it is for food, gadgets, cars, and the list goes on. Some customers find joy in buying clothes that are not available to everyone or they simply want to have the same dress and bag as the one they've seen worn by a celebrity or seen in a magazine/movie/TV show.

Robert Duffy, co-founder of Marc Jacobs International, sums it up perfectly in a New York magazine piece, "Luxury is something you don't need, it's something you want. The bag of potato chips I ate for lunch today was a luxury."

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Have you ever seen a piece of clothing that you loved, looked at the price tag, put the hanger down and immediately felt the need to leave the shop? It happens to all of us and in recent times the...

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How clothes are made

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The unnecessarily expensive clothing items, specifically some brands.

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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-is-fashion-so-expensive-its-not-quality-that-costs-so-much_n_61087606e4b0999d2084f561

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Why does a decent T-shirt cost as much as it does? Some will argue it's about quality -- you get what you pay for. While that's true to a degree, a well made tee needn't cost a lot. Smarter business models and more transparency for the customer means that in theory, we should be able to buy good quality wares at decent prices.

One brand has made that their ethos, but before we get into that we should point out that this does not cover each extreme end of the scale. You can, of course, purchase poorly made, trend-driven fast fashion that will no doubt end up in the donations bin in a few months, or you can spend over a week's worth of rent on a designer cotton tee which has little to do with quality and everything to do with wanting to be fashionable.

But back to quality basics. Luke Grana, founder of label Grana, took a look at the traditional distribution chain from manufacturer, to bricks-and-mortar retailer, to consumer -- and worked out pretty quickly that we're all paying too much for fashion thanks to too many links in this chain.

"Cotton is a high quality fabric that doesn't need to cost that much. You'll find that prices can vary from the same as a pizza slice up to hundreds of dollars, depending where you shop. The reality is, there are different levels of quality when it comes to cotton, along with dishonest pricing," Grana told HuffPost Australia.

"Luxury T-shirts can cost more because they have detailed and expensive trimmings and generally a luxury brand name has a reputation. But what's not true is the price you pay. Yes, it does cost more to make, but it doesn't need to cost 6-8 times more."

Grana already had a knack for business when he traveled to Peru and subsequently discovered Peruvian pima cotton.

"Growing up, I always loved the idea of starting up my own business. I studied a Bachelors of Commerce majoring in marketing at Macquarie University, working at a few coffee shops and saving $20,000 over two years," Grana said.

"In my final year I opened my first coffee shop near campus using my savings and sold it for $190,000 just nine months later. This was my first entrepreneurial venture and it taught me how to build a team, nurture the right culture, and create systems and processes.

"At the start of 2013 I was researching industries and new business opportunities, and I started exploring the current fashion industry, thinking it was time to disrupt the traditional model -- the big legacy fashion businesses with thousands of shops, warehouses, and middlemen. I thought it was time to change that, especially with the growth of online and a more ethical mindset emerging in consumers."

"I went to Peru to visit my brother during the same time and discovered Peruvian pima cotton. I realised what a beautiful soft and luxurious fabric it was, and the perfect product for modern T-shirts. With my first fabric sourced, I came back to Australia and knowing nothing about the fashion industry, got a job a Zara for three months on the floor, selling, talking to customers, getting a feel for price points and styles, and then I went to French Connection to learn more," Grana said.

From there, Grana launched his brand.

"From my experiences, I went away and developed a lean business plan for Grana, focusing on making quality accessible to everyone using three key pillars to start the brand. I used the world's finest fabrics, I designed timeless wardrobe essentials and I promised to offer low and transparent pricing -- a standard two to three times markup to disrupt and lower the cost of luxury fabrics," Grana said.

Grana quickly discerned that it was too expensive to run the business from Australia, so selected Hong Kong as a base.

"It was too costly to set up in Australia and ship to a global markets, and I zeroed in on Hong Kong as the best location to house a global distribution centre. Hong Kong is a tax-free port, international air cargo freight hub, world sourcing and logistics hub, making it the ideal place to start up an eCommerce apparel brand with one centralised warehouse to ship to a global market. I bought a one-way ticket, ordered the first batch of Peruvian pima t-shirts, agreed on a competitive shipping cost with DHL Express and moved to Hong Kong."

Grana now ships worldwide and offers an extensive range of both men's and women's wardrobe basics -- not just tees.

"The old fashion business model is inefficient and hard to trace back to the source. We believe in making high-quality modern essentials accessible to everyone by going direct to the consumer. We want to change the way people shop fashion, be more conscious with fabric quality, and demand fair prices from retail brands," Grana said.

"We don't believe people should be paying a six to eight times markup on high quality basics or some of the low quality products in fast fashion. That's why we go straight to the fabric sources and manufacturers to remove the middlemen, lowering the price of our modern essentials using only a two to three times markup, without sacrificing quality. It means low margins for us but that's okay -- it's about achieving quality for all. You can buy season-less quality luxury fabrics at a much lower price point for our modern essentials which range from Peruvian pima tees $22, Chinese silk camisoles for $65, Japanese denim jeans starting $71 to Mongolian cashmere sweaters at $142."

Here's hoping more fashion brands follow suit.

ALSO ON HUFFPOST AUSTRALIA

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Why Is Fashion So Expensive? It's Not Quality That Costs So Much

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Why does a decent T-shirt cost as much as it does? Some will argue it's about quality -- you get what you pay for. While that's true to a degree, a well made tee needn't cost a lot.

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Every year we discard approximately 36 kilos of clothes

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Jeans are pants made from denim or dungaree cloth. They were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873 and a worn still but in a different context. Jeans are named after the city of Genoa in Italy, a place where cotton corduroy, called either jean or jeane, was manufactured. Levi Strauss came from Germany to New York in 1851 to join his older brother who had a dry goods store.

In 1853 he heard about Gold Rush in the West so moved to San Francisco to establish Western Branch of the family dry goods business. There he sold, among other things, cotton cloth. One of his customers was Jacob W. Davis, a tailor from Reno, Nevada. Davis made functional items such as tents, horse blankets, and wagon covers.

One day, his customer ordered a pair of sturdy pants that could withstand hard work. He made them from denim that he bought from Levi Strauss & Co and made them stronger by placing copper rivets at the places pants rip the most: pockets and flies. When he wanted to patent them, he wrote to Levi Strauss, and they became partners. They opened a bigger factory, and that is how jeans were born.

History of Jeans Making

Jeans are made of a material called denim. The name "denim" comes from the name of a sturdy fabric called "Serge de Nîmes", initially made in Nîmes, France, hence "de Nîmes" - "denim". Weavers of Nîmes tried to reproduce the cotton corduroy that was famously made in the city of Genoa, in Italy, but with no luck. With trial and error, they developed another twill fabric that became known as denim. That was cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. Warp threads were dyed in indigo while weft threads remained white that gave to denim blue color on the one side and white on the other. Denim is highly durable, and that is why he was used by people that needed clothes that would last long. That is also why it was used by Levi Strauss and Jacob W. Davis for material for jeans pants.

Indigo dye is a color used for coloring the denim. It is an organic dye with a distinctive blue color. It was manufactured and used in India, from where it got its name, since the ancient times. From India, Indigo is imported to Egypt, Greece and Rome. Other ancient civilizations, such are China, Japan, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Britain, Mesoamerica, Peru, Iran, and Africa also used indigo for dyeing. Indigo in India was made from plant Indigofera tinctoria. It was used on cotton because it was the easiest method of coloring. The only problem was: color didn't last long. Indigo was a rare luxury in Europe in the Middle Ages because of high duties imposed by Persian, Levantine, and Greek middlemen. With discovering of a sea route to India that problem was solved and indigo plants are moving to colonies. Organic Indigo is used until the discovery of the synthetic indigo in the late 19th century. It becomes cheaper variant and replaces it.

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History of Jeans - Origin of Denim Jeans

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Jeans are pants made from denim or dungaree cloth. They were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873 and a worn still but in a different context. Jeans are named after the city of Genoa in Italy, a place where cotton corduroy, called either jean or jeane, was manufactured.

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92 million tons of clothing are produced in one year

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https://medium.com/@Carlos.Fialho/why-are-designer-clothes-so-expensive-678b323b11b8

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Have you ever seen a piece of clothing that you loved, looked at the price tag, put the hanger down and immediately felt the need to leave the shop? It happens to all of us and in recent times the high-priced designer clothes has become even more noticeable. What once was expensive is now completely unattainable. Designer dresses going for £3,000, shirts for £800, trousers for £600, swimwear for £200, t-shirts for £500. Year on year there's a leap in pricing on designer items - but what makes designer clothes so expensive?

Of course we are paying handsomely for the designer's time and 'brilliance'. Aside from that, we need to factor in the cost of licensing it. Next are the materials and labour costs. A shirt made in China or Bangladesh will be cheaper than one made in Portugal or Italy. Also, the better the material, the pricier the garment gets.

In an interview with Glamour magazine, Alber Elbaz, linked the high prices to a laborious design process: "I took all the bones out, and I stitch, and to get there, you know, it took me forever. It took me six or seven dresses to make one. And it's time and it's money and we are not doing it in offshore countries - we pay 65% taxes in France! It is so much work. Doing a collection for me is almost like creating a vaccine. Once you create the one vaccine, then you can duplicate for nine dollars and ninety-nine cents. But see if you can create it for nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, and the answer is no."

However, it would be very naïve to think that we are only paying for the quality of the product and the artistry and time of the designer. Like a financial game of 'Chinese whispers', from sketch to shopping bag, the garment that we lust for goes through a chain of so many professionals and every time it changes hands it gets a markup.

Once the clothes are made they need to be sold. Big brands have their own shops and websites, emerging labels sell their collections in department stores and online fashion retailers. Either way, for clothes to reach shops, brands have to pay for warehousing and distribution.

Production and distribution is just the tip of the iceberg and account for a small percentage of the cost. There are also staffing costs, rent of lavish headquarters and shops.

The area that needs the biggest budget though is marketing. Brands spend millions on fashion shows, celebrity and social media endorsements, photographers, models, ads and ad placement in all the right magazines. So, most of the money that what we pay for clothes goes to the department that convinces us that we need those items in the first place.

Almost all brands sell to retailers. To cover their production costs and make a profit, brands will sell it for at least the double that they paid the factory to make it. Stores, on the other hand, have their own profit margins to worry about. So, when the item hits the shop floor, the item had a markup of at least twice what they paid the fashion house. For the mathematically challenged, that's at least four times what the designer paid the factory initially.

Brand positioning also needs to be taken into account. Stakeholders set up prices to differentiate the market. There's high street, contemporary (Kenzo, Carven, Tome, MSGM, etc.), lower luxury (Proenza Schouler, Altuzarra, Victoria Beckham) and high end (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes). The chosen prices put a brand in a certain bracket so retailers know how to categorise it and decide which designers sit next to each other. Basically a brand is as good as the company it keeps.

Just like the bad boyfriend of our youth, it's this bad behaviour that turns brands so appealing. We want what we can't have or what is hard to get. Brands remain luxurious and we remain devoted to them because they are exclusive.

Brands don't mass-produce. They'll make 100 garments instead of 1,000, which drives both the cost and the retail prices up. Printing small runs of items is more expensive than if you were to bulk manufacture. On the other hand, if it is exclusive and unattainable, it becomes desirable and customers are willing to pay for the product.

Personally, I don't believe that all designer clothes' quality is worth the price. That might be true for shoes, bags and tailoring. There's the leather, the hardware, the patterns, the cut, the artisanship - and here, I find, is where the quality is more evident.

When it's all said and done, high fashion prices can be so expensive because that's what shoppers want to pay for it. Consumers will always equate cost to quality. It's a fact for fashion as it is for food, gadgets, cars, and the list goes on. Some customers find joy in buying clothes that are not available to everyone or they simply want to have the same dress and bag as the one they've seen worn by a celebrity or seen in a magazine/movie/TV show.

Robert Duffy, co-founder of Marc Jacobs International, sums it up perfectly in a New York magazine piece, "Luxury is something you don't need, it's something you want. The bag of potato chips I ate for lunch today was a luxury."

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Have you ever seen a piece of clothing that you loved, looked at the price tag, put the hanger down and immediately felt the need to leave the shop? It happens to all of us and in recent times the...

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I find it very interesting, I did not know that jeans were created like this. Guay!!!

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https://trashisfortossers.com/how-to-recycle-old-clothing

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How To Recycle Old Clothing (Even Ratty Ass Underwear)

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If you've got a giant bag full of Ed Hardy graphic tees and gaucho pants collecting dust in the back of your closet, here's how to keep them out of the trash and out of your sight.

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#MeetYouMaker - Lissy, Secret Projects India.
Fair Trade Fashion From India
Secret Projects is a social enterprise working to ensure that women in India receive a fair wage for their work in the textiles industry. It aims to empower women by providing them with access to the global market for their skills and the products that they make: the final link in the chain they previously lacked.

Secret Projects now works with over 300 makers in six different states in India, making clothing a homeware. The makers are the most integral part of the business, and you are in invited to come and meet some of them:

Meet Lissy, our quality control expert. A former quality controller for Fab India, Lissy works in our Bangalore Production Support Unit checking all our products before distribution to ensure they are of the highest quality. We asked Lissy some questions about her work with Secret Projects...
How did you become a quality checker?
I was working in the garment factory a helper for a year. My supervisor found me diligent and so asked me to take on the role of quality controller. I used to do the measurement and final quality check before products were sent out. This job requires following the entire cycle of the production. But I found the work in the factory very strenuous, and I could not manage it and my family at the same time, as I was never given leave. Then two years ago I came across Secret Projects, and I have been working here ever since.
What do you enjoy most about being part of the Secret Projects team?
I am able to work based on a timetable that is convenient for me. I am not in constant fear that I used to have in my previous jobs, as there is very good support.
What impact has being a quality checker with Secret Projects had on you and your family?
Personally, I am happy to be independent. I am able to manage my children's school fees with the income. This has meant that I have retained my dignity, as I haven't had to borrow money. I am no longer stressed, and I feel very happy.
How does it compare to other jobs you have had?
My previous jobs were always based on the management's needs, whereas this job enables me to negotiate my timetable based on my own schedule.
Deepa is a member of our Bangalore Maker Network. Deepa, how did you start sewing?
I have always had an interest in sewing, and my husband supported me to become a seamstress. I have been sewing for more than 10 years.
What impact has being a maker had on you and your family?
We were living in a very dilapidated house without much space at home. But through my income, we were able to save up and move into a bigger house that could also accommodate my sewing. This means a lot to me. I feel a sense of gratitude for what I have and am able to do. I hope in the future I can scale up my impact even more.
And what about your wider community?
I live in an urban settlement in Bengaluru. Members of my community often find themselves in distressing situations, and many of them are single mothers. There is a high suicide rate, as they often see no future for themselves. I can proudly say that I have been able to train many of them to sew, and they have found a new lease of life. Initially, when I train them, we support each other in the sewing and share the income. Once they are confident enough, they set up their own sewing unit at home, but it takes a long time to be able to save up to own a sewing machine.

I grew up in a small village. People there are very hard working but don't have access to many job opportunities. I am keen to take Secret Projects to my village and share the opportunity that I have had with other community members. It would make me really happy to be able to do that.
How does it compare to other jobs you have had?
I used to feel hopeless and un-productive when I was staying at home and only doing household chores and staying at home. Now I feel that my life is so meaningful.

#MeetYourMaker - This is Nisha Begum

In her own words Nisha is honest, hard working and devoted. Nisha is a 28 year old mother of one. She is also a sewing machine operator at the Echotex manufacturing facility in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 6 months in into her role, the biggest challenge she's faced is picking up the necessary skills to meet the quality standards required to produce the first NINETY PERCENT collection of premium basics. Every working morning, she says goodbye to her 5 year old son and leaves her home in Shafipur, Gazipur district to catch the rikshaw to Dhaka and make your clothes.
Greatest Achievement:
Being a kind mother to my five year old son is my greatest achievement. It's hard to find the words to express my love for my boy but I feel heaven's peace when he runs into my arms for a hug. It makes me so proud to see my tiny boy keep himself neat and tidy and behave well around friends and neighbours.
Work highlight so far:
Completing NINETY PERCENT collection 1 is my greatest career achievement. It was a big challenge for me to make sure the finish was first class. NINETY PERCENT is exclusive product so I had to work hard to assure the quality. I learned a lot making collection 1 and I hope these skills will serve me well in future.
Best memory:
Catching fish as a child. I fished a pond near home in my native village of Bishnupur in the Gaibandha District. The best time to fish was late autumn when the water level was down and it was easier. All the boys and girls fished together then our mothers' cooked the fresh fish for us.
Favorite place:
Cox's Bazar - it's the world's largest natural sea beach. It's an amazing feeling by the sea with the breeze and the sand. I've never seen any other beaches but I'm sure Cox's Bazar is the best. Last winter the whole family went there, all the hotels and motels there are world class for all types of foreign and local tourists.
Best life advice?
My parents advised me to always be truthful. I've followed this advice at every stage of my life. Wherever I have been or done I have always been truthful. Actually, I think that's my greatest achievement. It's advice I passed on to my child - I think that's why he is so well behaved.
The one thing you can't live without?
My husband is my life partner - our marriage was arranged by our families. His name is Ashraful Alam and we've been living for 10 years. He feels my happiness and pain and tries to help me solve problems. We have a deep understanding of each other - our eyes can read each other's hearts. My man is wonderful. He always takes care of me and shares what he thinks.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In five years time I wish to be a team-leader. First of all I want to be the best most efficient employee I can - this will see me rise. My supervisor Mr. Azizul's motivates me and boosts my self confidence. My first day in the job was a mixture of sadness, fear and happiness. I was sad because I thought I would be busy with no more free time to do what I wish. I felt fear because I didn't know the job or the environment. I felt happy thinking about the money I would earn. Now I wake up in the early morning to complete my family tasks then say bye to my boy and leave for work. When I'm there, I complete my tasks, then return home at 5.30 pm to focus on my family again.
When are you happiest?
I become happiest outside of work when I'm with my family. We spend our time laughing, gossiping and doing lots of things. I love to play chess with my husband and cook - especially mutton curry. Before we go to sleep we always have cup of tea together at the end of the day. Making the tea for everyone is a special moment for me.

Fashion Revolution launches White Paper on Transparency in Fashion Supply Chain

On 2 nd December 2015, Fashion Revolution launched its first white paper, It's Time for a Fashion Revolution, for the European Year for Development. The paper sets out the need for more transparency across the fashion industry, from seed to waste. The paper contextualises Fashion Revolution's efforts, the organisation's philosophy and how the public, the industry, policymakers and others around the world can work towards a safer, cleaner, more fair and beautiful future for fashion.

"Whether you are someone who buys and wears fashion (that's pretty much everyone) or you work in the industry along the supply chain somewhere or if you're a policymaker who can have an impact on legal requirements, you are accountable for the impact fashion has on people's lives. Our vision is is a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure"

explained Sarah Ditty on behalf of Fashion Revolution.

Carry Somers, co-founder of Fashion Revolution, said

"Most of the public is still not aware that human and environmental abuses are endemic across the fashion and textiles industry and that what they're wearing could have been made in an exploitative way. We don't want to wear that story anymore. We want to see fashion become a force for good."

The paper was launched at a joint event with the Fair Trade Advocacy Office in Brussels and hosted by Arne Leitz, Member of the European Parliament to mark the European Year for Development.

The event included contributions by Dr Roberto Ridolfi, Director at the European Commission Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation, Jean Lambert MEP, and Sergi Corbalán, on behalf of the Fair Trade movement.

"We need an integrated approach, from cotton farmer to consumer, and we need EU support,"

explained Sergi Corbalán.

Fashion Revolution lays out its five year agenda in the paper. By 2020, Fashion Revolution hopes that:

The public starts getting some real answers to the question #whomademyclothes

Thousands of brands and retailers are willing and able to tell the public about the people who make their products

Makers, producers and workers become more visible

The stories of thousands of actors across the supply chain are told

More consumer demand for fashion made in a sustainable and ethical way

Real transformative positive change begins to take root.

With many congratulations on the launch of the white paper, Dr Roberto Ridolfi proclaimed:

"My ambition, as of tomorrow, is to become a Fashion Revolutionary!"

Although our resources are free to download, we kindly ask for a £3 donation towards booklet downloads. Please donate via our donations page
[download image="https://www.fashionrevolution.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/FRD_resources_thumbnail_whitepaper.jpg"]Download our White Paper ' It's time for a Fashion Revolution', published December 2015.
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Fashion Revolution also launched a new video for the European Year for Development at the event: Why We Need a Fashion Revolution.

On the Third Anniversary of the Tazreen Factory Fire, Brands Must Pay Compensation

For three years the victims of the worst factory fire to hit the fashion industry in recent times have been waiting for compensation. Now, finally, hope is on the horizon.

Around 120 garment workers burnt to death and hundreds more were injured when flames engulfed the multi-floor Tazreen garment factory in Bangladesh on 24 November 2012.

Trapped behind locked exists, workers jumped for their lives from the upper floors of the building, with more than a hundred sustaining permanent, life-changing injuries.

Like thousands of garment factories in Bangladesh, the workers at Tazreen fashions were making clothes for global retailers destined for Western wardrobes.

IndustriALL Global Union, together with the Clean Clothes Campaign, C&A and the C&A Foundation have set up the Tazreen Claims Administration Trust to compensate victims for losing loved ones, loss of income and to pay for much-needed medical treatment. Claims are already being processed and victims can expect to receive payments in the coming months.

Brands and retailers with revenue over US$1 billion are being asked to pay a minimum of US$100,000 into the fund for victims.

Certain brands that sourced from Tazreen, including C&A, Li & Fung (which sourced for Sean John's Enyce brand) and German discount retailer KiK have now paid into the fund.

But more brands must face up to their responsibilities and pay.

That includes Walmart, Tazreen's biggest customer. The anniversary falls just as the retail powerhouse stands to profit from US$50 billion of consumer spending on Black Friday this week.

Other brands that sourced from Tazreen and have not paid are U.S. brands Disney, Sears, Dickies and Delta Apparel; Edinburgh Woolen Mill (UK); Karl Rieker (Germany); Piazza Italia (Italy); and Teddy Smith (France).

Three years have passed but we cannot let brands forget the victims of Tazreen. Now it is time for a measure of justice.
by Christina Hajagos-Clausen, Textile and Garment Industry Director at IndustriALL Global Union. IndustriALL Global Union represents garment workers around the world. It is one of the key drivers of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety signed by more than 200 global fashion retailers and covering more than two million garment workers in 1,500 factories.
Photo credit: IndustriALL Global Union

How to play Fashion Ethics Trump Card Game

In the summer of 2011, we asked people visiting the Eden Project in Cornwall, England to write postcards. The architecture of its biodomes, the placement of plants within them, and the signs and activities explaining their cultivation and use are designed to educate visitors about the plants from which many everyday things are made. We stopped passers-by to ask if they had anything on them that was made from the plants they'd seen. Typically, people would mention their clothes or shoes. So we asked them to imagine someone whose job it had been to pick their cotton or tap their rubber. What they would say to that person if they had the chance? We asked them to write this down on a postcard. Almost everyone wrote 'thank you' notes. It's surprising how many people say that they've never thought about this before. But, for some, writing a postcard can be a tipping point, the beginning of a process in which curiosity leads to research, which leads to action.

This research process can begin by asking someone to turn an item of clothing inside out to look at the stitching. Stitching implies a sewing machine and a person whose job it is to stitch pieces of cloth together to assemble a garment. You can usually find a seam or two that are a little wavy. You can see where the loose ends of threads have been cut off. These are traces of the work done by the people who assembled that garment. You can then look at the label stitched into it. It will tell you in which country it was made. So, you know that the people who stitched it together work in Cambodia for example. The label will also tell you the materials that have been used to make it, for example cotton. But it won't say where in the world people farmed it, turned it into cloth, dyed it, and so on. It also won't mention the origins of its thread, dye, zips, buttons, beading or other features. Who makes these? From what materials? Where in the world? And what's it like to work in these places? How much do people get paid for this work? What can they do with that money? How much of the price paid for that garment went to them? Who decides? How could things be different? How are things different?

One of the most pressing issues in Development Education is the need to avoid what Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie calls 'the danger of a single story'. Learning about (un)ethical fashion should not reproduce the stereotypical 'single story' that all garment workers in the Global South work in dangerous and exploitative conditions, and live lives of hopeless poverty and misery. Placing learners as consumers who are, in part, responsible for these conditions can lead to senses of blame, shame and guilt that can depress, disempower and disincline them to action. 'The problem with stereotypes', Adichie says, 'is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete'. So, it's important to develop learning resources that enable the creation of multiple stories, that involve the excitement of finding things out, that surprise, take unpredictable twists and turns, that raise further questions, are underpinned by information from credible sources.

The most engaging resources are often those that latch on to ways in which students enjoy learning. Take, for example, Fashion Revolution Day's Fashion Ethics Trump Card game. It's a game that a group of students can be asked to make and play with their own clothes. It's based on garment industry research by the American non-profit organization Not for Sale. Its online free2work database provides letter scores for 300 brands' ethical trade policies, transparency, monitoring and worker rights. Here's how it works. You start by printing out the blank cards and instructions from the Fashion Revolution Day website. Then, you ask a group of players to think about their favourite clothes, to draw pictures of them on separate cards, to look up the brands and scores on free2work, to add them to each card, to cut the finished cards out, to add them to the class' pack, to choose four or five players, and for them to play a game.

One player takes the top card from their hand (e.g. from their Howies hoody), chooses a category that they think it will score well on (e.g. 'policies'), calls out the score - 'Quiksilver, policies, D+' - and then sees which scores the other players have for their top card's policies - 'Howies A-', 'Wonderbra B-', 'Levi's A', 'GAP A-'. In this round, the player with the Levi's card wins the hand, and then plays the next card. Here, for example, the referee could say that this is a 'worker rights round'. So she could call out 'Patagonia, worker rights C', and the other players could respond 'North Face D-', 'Tommy Hilfiger D-', 'Levi's D+' and 'Adidas C'. Here there's a draw between Patagonia and Adidas. This is when the cards' tie-break fact would come into play. Has the brand signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh? Patagonia hasn't. Adidas has. The Adidas card wins the 'worker rights' round. The game continues. It can stop at any time. The winner is the one with the most cards.

What's fascinating about this game is the way that it challenges the single story of exploitative fashion brands. There isn't one group that is equally ethical and another that is equally unethical. Fine-grained distinctions are made between brands in the game, and these differ depending on the category you choose to play. Almost without exception, a company's worker rights score is noticeably lower than its policies score. If you want to find out why, free2work publishes brand scorecards that explain in detail how these scores were calculated. Levi's gets a D+ for worker rights because, among other factors, it doesn't pay a living wage, doesn't guarantee suppliers a stable price regardless of world price fluctuations, and no suppliers are know to have independently elected trade unions. For those who want to find more than this a detailed research report is available online.

Making and playing a card game combining your own clothes with such detailed information can help to make it more meaningful, compelling, involving, and easier to remember. Anyone who has played a game of Top Trumps can recall their favourite pack, the card that beat the rest, and the one that always lost. This knowledge can stick outside the classroom, when players go shopping and think about the card they'd be able to make for their new purchase. But the kinds of actions that Fashion Revolution Day aims to encourage include, but are not limited to, ethical and sustainable shopping behaviours. We are all global citizens as well as consumers, and this is where our collective power resides. In April last year, on the first anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, tens of thousands of people did much more than blame their own poor shopping choices for what had happened to those garment factory workers. One of the most popular actions involved people turning their clothes inside out, taking selfies with the label showing, and tweeting them to the brands with the hashtags #insideout and #whomadeyourclothes. Some brands responded and some garment workers tweeted photos saying #wemadeyourclothes. Most stayed silent.

But actions took place in 62 countries, including an outdoor catwalk in Barcelona, Spain, a spoken word and poetry competition in Nairobi, Kenya, and a Critical Mass cycle ride in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The hashtag #insideout was the number one global trend on twitter. Teachers and their students were involved in these actions and will be again this year. This is why we have decided that Fashion Revolution Day will continue asking brands this simple question, but in 2015 it's more personal 'who made my clothes?' This month we're publishing our education packs for primary and secondary schools, further education colleges and universities, and a quiz. All of these will help teachers and students to Be Curious, Find Out, and Do Something.

Ian Cook is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Exeter, and runs the spoof shopping website followthethings.com. He is Fashion Revolution Day's education lead.

Further reading
Abrams, F. & Astill, J. (2001) Story of the blues. The Guardian 29 May (http://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,497788,00.html last accessed 12 February 2015)
Crewe, L. (2008) Ugly beautiful? Counting the cost of the global fashion industry. Geography 93(1), 25-33
Martin, F. & Griffiths, H. (2014) Relating to the 'other': transformative, intercultural learning in post-colonial contexts. Compare: a journal of comparative and international education 44(6), 938-959
Smith, J. (2015) Geographies of interdependence. Geography 100(1), 12-19
Smith, J., Clark, N. & Yusoff, K. (2007) Interdependence. Geography compass 3(1), 340-359

Links
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/resources/education/
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/FRD_trumpcards_2015_A4_.pdf
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/insideout-six-months-on/
http://followthethings.com/fashion
http://www.free2work.org/
http://www.free2work.org/trends/apparel/

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Who Made My Clothes : Fashion Revolution

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We love fashion, but we don't want our clothes to come at the cost of people or our planet.

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The materials and if they are harmful to the skin or which are more resistant to scratches and do not lose their colors.

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It is very comfortable, it serves to cover the package, to go with flow, to attract attention, to see if that person handles bills or not etc.

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I find it to be a very interesting and informative article, the information is good, clear and precise, I really like it

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https://www.lavanguardia.com/natural/20210819/7671013/industria-textil-contaminacion-rios-africa-informe-water-witness-moda-rapida.html

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Las marcas mundiales de la llamada 'moda rápida', o 'fast fashion' en inglés, están contribuyendo a impulsar la contaminación del agua.

Según un estudio, publicado por la Unión Europea y la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) en 2020, la industria textil es una de las mayores culpables del desperdicio de agua a nivel mundial. De hecho, la producción de tejidos para fabricar ropa provoca el 20% de la contaminación de agua potable en todo el mundo.

Ahora, un informe de la organización sin ánimo de lucro con sede en Escócia, Water Witness International (WWI), alerta que el sector está causando graves problemas en los ríos de África, un continente donde las grandes marcas europeas y estadounidenses elaboran parte de la producción para abaratar costes.

El informe, titulado "¿Cómo de justa es la huella de la moda en el agua?", asegura que está causando graves problemas en el acceso al agua y de contaminación fluvial, hasta el punto que en algunas zonas el agua se ha vuelto tan alcalina que es como lejía.

Los autores del informe se han enfocado en analizar los casos en cinco países: Etiopía, Lesoto, Madagascar, Mauricio y Tanzania. Pero concretamente destaca dos ríos, uno en Lesoto, en el sur de África, y otro en Tanzania.

El informe plantea cómo el rápido crecimiento de la industria textil en África como sector económico estratégico coincide con el surgimiento de "significativos desafíos" en cuanto al manejo del agua, con un "potencial muy destructivo".

"Las marcas podrían forzar mejores prácticas, pero hasta ahora su presencia en África ha hecho poco para detener la contaminación generalizada, el acaparamiento de agua mediante la contratación de fábricas o incluso garantizar agua y saneamiento adecuados para el personal de la fábrica", asegura Nick Hepworth, director de WWI y autor del informe.

El gran problema, según el informe de Water Witness, es el vertido de desechos y aguas residuales sin tratar a los ríos que supone un alto riesgo para la salud humana y para el medioambiente. Estos vertidos incluyen lejías, metales tóxicos y tintes, entre otras sustancias.

Según Hepworth las marcas de 'moda rápida' podrían ser "una fuerza para el cambio", pero las marcas y los inversores deben tomar la iniciativa.

En Lesoto, los investigadores encontraron un río visiblemente contaminado con tinte azul usado para teñir pantalones vaqueros.

Las muestras tomadas del río Msimbazi, en Tanzania, dieron como resultado un pH de 12, el mismo que la lejía o el cloro. Además, cerca de una de estas fábricas textiles, hay una comunidad que usa el agua del río para lavar, beber y regar los campos de cultivo.

"Las aguas residuales dejan los ríos sin vida y no aptos para su uso. Aunque algunas empresas están adoptando un abordaje responsable, nuestros casos de estudio también muestran cómo los vertidos sin tratar de la manufactura textil han contaminado el agua que necesitan miles de personas vulnerables para el uso doméstico y la producción de alimentos", detalla la organización en la introducción del estudio.

Aunque hay unas 50 marcas internacionales que tercerizan su producción en África, como Calvin Klein, Levis's, Adidas, Inditex, H&M, Mango, ASOS, etc..., la organización no indicó en concreto qué marcas son las responsables de las peores prácticas.

De hecho, estas marcas han señalado que, aunque sí elaboran procesos de su producción en África, aseguran tener iniciativas y sistemas para garantizar la sostenibilidad o abordar los riesgos del agua.

Según el informe, estas grandes compañías se ven atraídas, entre otros factores, por el bajo coste de la mano de obra y el rápido crecimiento del sector en África.

Water Witness también ha destacado que antes de la pandemia, las exportaciones de moda de África generaban unos ingresos de unos 4.600 millones de dólares al año.

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Fast fashion: La fabricación de nuestra ropa está matando los ríos africanos

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Las marcas mundiales de la llamada 'moda rápida', o 'fast fashion' en inglés, están contribuyendo a impulsar la contaminación del agua. Según un estudio , publicado por la Unión Europea y la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) en 2020, la industria textil es una de las mayores culpables del desperdicio de agua a nivel mundial.

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Is very interesting and cool how the clothes are made and is a think that we put every day and is so complex to do.

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It comes out that the most clothes are produced in China for the simple reason that this is where the most clothes are produced.

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I want to know why the clothes more expensive are manufactured in the poorest countries.

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What is the difference between expensive clothes? what is the process of its production?

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https://sewport.com/how-clothes-are-made

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This week we took it to one of the garment factories to find out how a piece of clothing is made and what sort of work is put into making your dream design come true. With only a set of paper patterns and a couple of meters of fabric, we visited a big clothing manufacturer from Northern Europe with a goal to gain a full understanding of the process. Let us share it with you:

Without prior knowledge of how the garment manufacturing industry works it can be a bit confusing. People working with clothing factories for the first time are often frustrated with delays, long lead-times or with the lack of flexibility from the factory when a brand requests last-minute changes. You can also check out our guide on working with clothing manufacturers.

Seeing the process of apparel production will help you to understand it and set your expectations right. This will allow you to build a better relationship with the clothing manufacturers. On this topic you can check out our blog post on how to talk to clothing manufacturers when you found that right one.

Every design starts with a sketch, then a tech pack or CAD drawing. Luckily, we already completed our pre-production steps working with a lovely Designer and Tech Pack maker who sorted all this for us, helping transform an idea we had, to a very specifically looking technical drawing and a spec sheet. We then took the CADs to a Pattern Maker we knew and had patterns cut for us. We brought these to the manufacturer...

1. Patterns - Paper vs Digital

The clothing manufacturer noted straight away that for sampling and proper production our paper patterns would have to be digitised as some things are impossible to do by having only paper patterns. In the modern digital world having sewing patterns in a file rather than on paper only makes sense. The manufacturer's pattern making specialist took our paper patterns and placed them on a large board, which is called the digitiser. It allowed the pattern maker to input the paper patterns into their own system, in our case the factory used the Assyst software. Each pattern part was paced around with a hand-held device that took a snapshot of the position of the pattern for each dot. They went all around the pattern piece until all information was collected and our pattern appeared in their software. This is a time-consuming process, as some garments have tens of panels. We were lucky as we only had a few.

2. Sorting out the patterns after digitising

The pattern maker noticed there were a couple of rough places and little imperfections which could be easily adjusted and fixed now that the pattern was in their system. Working with digital patterns allows the pattern maker to make alterations and changes with surgical precision. All measurement adjustments are visualised and tracked in real time. By the way, the same set of patterns would be used later to grade to other sizes if we approved the produced samples. Size grading is done using the same software.

3. Lay-plan: Getting patterns ready for production

The next step was to print out the patterns on a plotter. To do so the factory specialist had to prepare a proper lay-plan, which meant laying out all pattern blocks in a specific order (in our case sampling) taking into consideration things such as fabric length, roll width, the total number of items to be produced with a breakdown of sizes. As patterns were now in their system it was quickly done. The software used for the lay-plan then suggested the optimal layout of these geometrical shapes (patterns) for the quantities we had and other criteria to make the best use of the fabric and reduce fabric consumption. Although the software did this pretty well, there still was room for improvement.

A good specialist like the one we had could recognise this and improve the layout suggested by the professional software. The layout was moved around until the factory specialist knew the layout was absolutely perfect. We were told that an optimal fabric use efficiency is around 70-80%. With a higher variation of sizes and higher amounts of smaller pattern part details in production, the efficiency will always be higher.

Note that fabric consumption for a sample and for bulk production for the same item can greatly differ. Think of the good old Tetris, you are stacking shapes trying to avoid blanks and empty spaces.

4. Cutting the fabric

The plotter printed out our patterns from the pre-compiled lay-plan and workers were ready to cut our fabric. Patterns were printed on the special paper that stuck to the fabric seamlessly, so when the cutting was done nothing would slide. As the cutting began we noticed that the initial part was done manually with the scissors, but then the finer bits were trimmed with specialised equipment.

We were told that samples are often cut manually, whereas for bulk production the process is slightly different. The same types of fabric articles are layered on top of each other like a cake and cut in bulk. The garment manufacturer told us that composition and thickness of the fabric determines if it can be cut together. For example, cotton and viscose cannot be cut at the same time. Different fabrics react differently to cutting and can distort more than others, so the result will be uneven. This is why even if there is a 1% difference in composition a separate cutting job is needed. Looking around we noticed a lot of layered fabric already cut and ready to go. Well, back to our samples...

5. Making sets for the seamstresses

Once the cutting was completed all cut pieces were put together in sets. To optimise production similar operations were grouped so people could pick up speed doing the same thing over and over gradually saving time on production. Think of the way you brush your teeth every single day. By now you probably have a technique that made you more efficient at it.

6. Colours and Trims

For production stage we were asked to select the right colour of the threads to match the colour of the fabric. With a little effort we managed to find the best matching colours. We were faced with a lot of options. Some had minimal differences and we have not even seen all the available shades.

Trims were not required for these items except for elastics but we noticed a large selection of zips, buttons and other accessories offered by the fabric.

7. Adjusting the machinery

Our specialist had her set of cut fabric pieces and was ready to start sampling but she had to adjust the equipment first. Every sewing machine has to be adjusted for a specific type of fabric. She began unloading the old threads and putting in the new reels for our samples in the colour we chose. The seamstress took 6 reels of threads of the same colour as our garment and placed them in the flat-lock sewing machine. She then tested the seam on a piece of fabric to be sure the tension was set and adjusted properly.

8. Finally, Sewing

Checking that everything was adjusted properly she began laying out the set and sewing together the pieces until we started to see our design finally coming to life. It was a truly exciting moment!

9. Finishing

Once the items were completed she took them to the sampling unit to check the measurements against our spec. Everything looked fine and after some thorough QC we tried on the samples, approved them for grading and went on to discuss the future bulk production order.

All in all, the whole process took us half a day. Do take into consideration that we were given dedicated people and sampling was reserved for us for the whole day. The team that we had contact with during the sampling stage was around 5-6 people and our sample went through 5 (!) different departments from pattern making, plotter layout specialists, components and trims to sampling and finally to quality control.

After we saw the enormous work that was done, we understood that as much as we wanted to rush things with a factory, it simply cannot be done in one hour. It requires preparation, adjustments and work of a dedicated team.

Clothing manufacturers rarely share this information or let people spend a day with them to observe the process. We felt we gained a much deeper understanding of the work they do and we are excited to share this information with you. I hope this article will be helpful to all those working with factories or just starting off to understand the production stages of sampling and appreciate that is it a precise and complex process, not a one minute job. If you are ready for production check our out guide on 10 mistakes to avoid when dealing with clothing manufacturers and get the ball rolling.

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How Clothes Are Made In 9 Steps (A Look Into A Big Clothing Factory)

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This week we took it to one of the garment factories to find out how a piece of clothing is made and what sort of work is put into making your dream design come true.

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The materials and if they are harmful to the skin or which are more resistant to scratches and do not lose their colors.

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I find this super interesting because due to the incredible amount of work that a single part goes into, it can take up to 800 hours to produce, resulting in extremely high manufacturing costs.

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This article has made me reflect on where clothes come from and how they make them and what rewards they wear.

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I think is a very interesting article. And now I know how the jeans are made of, and when they made it.

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This article is very interesting and I have learnt a lot of new information. The Jens have a big work begind!

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I find it to be a very interesting and informative article

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The Brutal damage that the excessive manufacture of our clothes does to the African rivers.

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It is very sad that because of companies that make this type of clothing, an important natural source for them is being contaminated and thus also killing the species of fish that live there. Companies that make this type of "fast fashion" should be a little more empathetic

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The article of school radio (where does the clothes come from) explains where your clothes come from and the people who make them.

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Which is the country that produces the most clothes

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https://magnet.xataka.com/preguntas-no-tan-frecuentes/paises-que-ropa-exportan-al-resto-planeta-ilustrados-mapa#:~:text=El%20gigante%20asi%C3%A1tico%20sigue%20siendo,valor%20anual%20de%20%24150.000%20millones.

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La industria textil es uno de los pilares económicos del siglo XXI. La deslocalización de fábricas en países del sudeste asiático, principalmente china, revolucionó la forma en la que consumimos ropa. Hoy acceder a un pantalón vaquero o a una camisa de diseño es sencillo y cuesta muy poco dinero, gracias en gran medida a los costes decrecientes, de mano de obra y de fabricación, en países aún en vías de desarrollo.

El modo en el que producimos y adquirimos ropa ayuda a explicar numerosos aspectos de la política, la cultura y la economía contemporánea. Desde la amarga protesta de numerosos grupos contra la globalización hasta la capacidad de familias pobres de costearse productos de consumo inmediatos. Tendencias que cristalizan en tres palabras integradas en el imaginario popular de un tiempo a esta parte: " Made in China".

Cuando pensamos en nuestro jersey o en nuestras zapatillas favoritas, compradas en Zara o Mango, estamos imaginando una prenda fabricada en China. El gigante asiático sigue siendo el campeón de la industria textil, por más que otros países hayan acaparado un mayor porcentaje de la producción mundial durante los últimos años. China exporta bienes textiles por un valor anual de $150.000 millones.

Ningún otro país se le acerca.

Lo ilustra a la perfección este mapa elaborado por How Much, la web dedicada a explicar la economía de nuestro tiempo mediante visualizaciones sencillas. En ella se aprecia el desproporcionado tamaño de China respecto a los demás países. Su más inmediato perseguidor, Bangladesh, apenas exporta una fracción del valor económico que genera China cada curso económico: $33.000 millones. Vietnam copa el podio con $28.000 millones.

La ilustración es interesante porque evidencia la resistencia del sector textil europeo, más centrado en el producto de alto valor añadido que en el fast fashion, pero igualmente poderoso. Italia, cómo no, lidera en el continente con exportaciones por valor de $25.000 millones. Le sigue Alemania ($24.000 millones, en parte por la repatriación de las líneas de producción y por las nuevas estrategias logísticas de Adidas, ahora en crisis).

La sexta en la lista es la India ($17.000 millones), y después un trío de países europeos en segunda línea, pero con cifras aún impresionantes: $16.000 para Turquía, $15.000 para España y $13.000 para Francia. Su prominencia evidencia que el sector textil sigue siendo importante para el continente, algo que no se puede decir de Estados Unidos, por ejemplo, cuyas exportaciones apenas representan una fracción de su gigantesca economía, la más grande del planeta ($6.000 millones anuales).

Tales cifras, especialmente las de China, sólo se sostienen mediante una cultura del consumo que prioriza prendas baratas y de escasa duración frente a otras más duraderas. Los problemas que afronta la industria textil, tanto a nivel inmediato como reputacional, son variados. Su huella medioambiental es la segunda más alta de entre todas las actividades del planeta, y sus niveles de contaminación en Asia insostenibles.

A todo esto hay que añadir las aún hoy sospechosas prácticas en materia de empleabilidad, no sólo en países como Bangladesh o Brasil, sino también en suelo europeo, como el ejemplo italiano demuestra. Pero su negocio, hoy por hoy, sigue viento en popa a toda vela. Seguimos comprando más ropa que nunca (y reutilizando muy, muy poca, lo que contribuye a agravar el problema medioambiental).

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Los países que más ropa exportan al resto del planeta, ilustrados en un mapa

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La industria textil es uno de los pilares económicos del siglo XXI. La deslocalización de fábricas en países del sudeste asiático, principalmente china, revolucionó la forma en la que consumimos ropa.

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This article is very interesting because it explains very well the situation in China and because it is the largest producer of clothing in the world (and how much clothing it produces)

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There are many types of materials for making clothes.

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How many tonnes of clothes are made each year?

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I can't post what I have learnt, because I am not in class.

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https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data#:~:text=EPA%20estimated%20that%20the%20generation,American%20Apparel%20and%20Footwear%20Association.

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The main source of textiles in municipal solid waste (MSW) is discarded clothing, although other smaller sources include furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, and other nondurable goods such as sheets and towels. There also is data specific to clothing and footwear, and to towels, sheets and pillowcases.

This web page is a brief summary of textile material-specific data specific to MSW. For more comprehensive information, see the 2018 Data Tables on the Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report page.
On this page:
Overview

EPA measures the generation, recycling, composting, combustion with energy recovery and landfilling of textile material in MSW.

EPA estimated that the generation of textiles in 2018 was 17 million tons. This figure represents 5.8 percent of total MSW generation that year. Generation estimates for clothing and footwear were based in part on sales data from the American Apparel and Footwear Association. EPA also found that significant amounts of textiles enter the reuse market, but the amount of reused textiles is not included in the generation estimate. Reused garments and wiper rags enter the waste stream eventually and become a part of MSW generation.

The recycling rate for all textiles was 14.7 percent in 2018, with 2.5 million tons recycled. Within this figure, EPA estimated that the recycling rate for textiles in clothing and footwear was 13 percent based on information from the American Textile Recycling Service. The rate for items such as sheets and pillowcases was 15.8 percent in 2018.

The total amount of textiles in MSW combusted in 2018 was 3.2 million tons. This was 9.3 percent of MSW combusted with energy recovery.

Landfills received 11.3 million tons of MSW textiles in 2018. This was 7.7 percent of all MSW landfilled.

Please see the EPA Methodology Document for further information on estimating generation and management of textiles.

Summary Table and Graph

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of textiles generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

Sources: American Apparel and Footwear Association, International Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel, and the Council for Textile Recycling.

A dash in the table means that data is not available.

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Textiles: Material-Specific Data | US EPA

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The main source of textiles in municipal solid waste (MSW) is discarded clothing, although other smaller sources include furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, and other nondurable goods such as sheets and towels. There also is data specific to clothing and footwear, and to towels, sheets and pillowcases.