Why I've started this blog...

I'm currently studying part-time for an MA in Fashion and the Environment, specialising in textiles, at London College of Fashion. This blog is part of my Unit 1 submission - New Perspectives in Fashion - which I finish in March 2011. I've started this blog as a way of trying to organise my ideas, inspiration and designs. I'm making the blog and also keeping a paper sketch book, but I hope the blog will encourage me to collect inspirational images online rather than printing them out to stick in my sketch book, and save a bit of paper and ink! I'm not sure how the sketch book and blog will go together yet, but I hope they'll compliment each other. I also hope that by sharing my ideas and samples, other people will think about what sustainability means for textiles and offer me some ideas too!

Friday, 4 February 2011

Total Beauty

I've been reading Edwin Datschefski's book 'The Total Beauty of Sustainable Products', Datschefski believes that it's not enough for products to look beautiful. He believes if products generate pollution or exploit people then they have a hidden ugliness. He believes if products are made in truly sustainable ways they have a 'total beauty'.

I like the way he thinks  about 'true beauty', not just surface appearances. However, in fashion, things still need to look good. Sustainable fashion can't be worthy and beautiful on the inside, but un-inspiring on the outside. But, equally in can't just look 'natural' but actually be made with unsustainable principles. I need to find ways of embedding meaning and sustainability within my textiles and also communicating that to people.

I think this quote puts our current consumption patterns into perspective:
'For example, over 30 tonnes of waste are produced for every one tonne of product that reaches the consumer. And then 98 per cent of those products are thrown away within six months. When you include these hidden impacts of manufacturing, we each consume our own body weight in materials every two days.' p.17.
I also thought this information was interesting in comparison to the information about gold from the Natural History Museum:
'Environmental damage from gold extraction is routine, for every ounce of gold extracted in Brazil, there are nine tonnes of waste, including silt and mercury run-off, which kills fish and other aquatic life downsteam.' p.18.
Finally, Datschefski writes that sustainability needs to be for everyone, not just a niche trend for well-off people. As embroidery can be time consuming to produce, and therefore expensive, this is something I need to think about. Do I want to produce a product or information?

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