BETTER: The prejudices and practices of mass production

(BETTER)’ The prejudices and practices of mass production

Mansi Gupta Products of Design, School of Visual Arts

Š Mansi Gupta All Rights Reserved Products of Design School of Visual Arts New York, NY May 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION................................................ 7 GOALS & OBJECTIVES...................................... 11 RESEARCH........................................................15 AUDIENCE........................................................27 31 METHODOLOGY...............................................................

35 LENSES...................................................................................

49 LOOKING FORWARD......................................................

53 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................

57 APPENDIX............................................................................

67 A NOTE FROM THE STUDENT..................................

INTRODUCTION The world of fast fashion, and why it is important to intervene

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Fashion means expression. Fashion means art. Fashion means desire. Fashion means color and style. But, fashion also means destruction. The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful and destructive industries in the world today.

Even though the world has seen one of its most technically innovative and inventive periods in the past couple of decades, apparel and fashion production is still archaic.

Manufacturing in fashion still relies heavily on manual labor and technologies that have been outdated since the Industrial Revolution. However, the fashion industry has found many a ways to fulfill our consumerist impulses, seeing as it operates comfortably to feed the competitionbased capitalistic system in which we live.

Since the 1960s, manufacturing has been outsourced to countries with cheaper resources and labor such as China, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. Cheaper production has therefore increased, and our habits as consumers have rapidly changed. With increased quantities and lower prices, consumers have fallen into a cycle of divorcing clothing instead of feeling connected to it. The abundant supply of runway style fashion items at amazingly affordable prices has made it easy for consumers to make a habit of throwing away the clothing they own; as a result, consumers have been able to forgo earlier expectations for higher quality in their fashion products.

This cycle of fast production and fast consumption is known as “fast fashion.� Stores showcase runway styles the week after they have been launched, trends change faster than seasons, and consumers play full part in keeping these cycles going. Fast fashion has contributed to disreputing the fashion industry. To stay competitive, brands and factories are forced to cut cost wherever possible. Due to this fear of competition, private and public organizations employ and

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IN THE WORLD OF FAST FASHION, STYLES ARE NOT MADE TO LAST SOURCE: NPR.ORG

allow careless production methods, which has left the world to deal with a complex set of environmental and social issues. Untreated water flows into clean rivers. Chemical waste is often freely released into the environment. Landfills overflow with barely used clothes. Factory owners are able to manipulate labor wages and run sweatshops. Factories operate under unsafe working conditions-- and the list goes on.

As these issues have begun to surface, some consumers have become more aware, and so a green initiative that protests the consequences of fast fashion is emerging. Many associations and organizations have formed to oppose horrible methods of production. These associations have turned upon brands

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and factories to stop unethical practices. They have urged companies to produce fashion ethically. The green initiative is largely known today as sustainable fashion.

The language of sustainable fashion is extremely complex.

Over the years, it has evolved from “green,” to “eco,” to “sustainable and ethical.” Today, these words are overused and do not clearly define what exactly is “sustainable” and how it is so; thus, these words have either no meaning at all or a meaning too confusing to understand-- not only for the end consumer, but for brands and factories as well. What is the difference between purchasing an item from the H&M Conscious Collection versus paying a premium for a piece of clothing produced by a newly developed, small, sustainable brand that only uses organic cotton? The price differential is confusing, as are the labeling and the amount of choice afforded to the consumer. The abundance of complex information makes it even more difficult for consumers to make an informed choice. So, while consumers may feel good after purchasing clothing that is labeled “sustainable,” they might not care to understand what “sustainable” actually means and why it is important.

The sustainable fashion movement has set out to solve an important set of problems. Through the movement, many brands have arisen to set ideals for sustainable fashion through examples of production that should-- and can-- be carried out. Many new and old brands have begun following suit, although this set of entities remains extremely small.

In order for better fashion production practices to exist at large-- and for the system to shift significantly-- we must intervene in the world of mass production. Until the bigger players of the system decide to shift and change their ways of production, sustainable fashion will continue to remain too local an effort, and the fashion industry will continue to be

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destructive in the ways it has been for the past few decades.

This thesis explores what sustainable production practices mean and how those practices can be applied and integrated into the world of mass fashion production.

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GOALS & OBJECTIVES Purpose of the work

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In August 2013, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article1 claiming that feel-good fashion is the next black. That same summer, a number of other events related to fashion manufacture crowded the papers. They included rampant factory fires and a tragic factory collapse in Bangladesh. These events occurred in apparel factories that were operating under unsafe working conditions. Fearing disrepute, brands producing fashion in Bangladesh began to pull business out of the country. Unfortunately, however, this solution proved to be not as straightforward as it seems. Pulling business out of factories means exacerbating unemployment for factory workers, who are in dire need of jobs. Such a solution is unsustainable.

Most factories have not experienced much change or innovation in their supply chains or production workflows for decades. Most factories are not accustomed to adapting to change. Moreover, they operate under different governmental systems, work under unique sets of cultural values, and are continuously competing with one another in order to stay in business. Mass-producing factories throughout the world run in a complex system; in order to bring change to them, this thesis will be cognizant of the factory’s ecosystem in the solutions that it proposes. These solutions will reflect upon how proposed systemic interventions could affect the factory’s existing partnerships, relationships, and business, as well as result in positive impact on two fronts: first, socially, for the community that the factory is part of; and second, environmentally, for the local ecosystems on which 1

Mistry, Meenal & Laura Nielson, “Feel Good Fashion: The New Black,” The Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2013, http://online.wsj.com/ news/articles/SB10001424127887323977304579001150660068542.

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BANGLADESH GARMENT FACTORY FIRES 2012

SOURCE: ABCNEWS.GO.COM

BANGLADESH GARMENT FACTORY COLLAPSE 2013 SOURCE: MONEY.CNN.COM

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factories rely for resources. In this manner, the thesis will redefine sustainability and help the fashion industry take a step forward in that direction. It is also important to note that factories are part of a much larger system which supply their resources - namely, their supply chain. The thesis also aims to propose solutions that are not only applicable to factories, but to the larger supply chain as well, which encompasses the broader fashion industry.

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RESEARCH Exploring the fashion landscape through reading, writing and listening

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The thesis research began by reading businessman Yvon Chouinard’s autobiography and story of building Patagonia in Let My People Go Surfing. Chouinard describes his journey of building a business based on sustainable values and scaling and outsourcing production in mindful ways. While it is quite apparent that Patagonia remained sustainable because of Chouinard’s personal choices, the story stands as evidence that large-scale businesses can indeed produce in mindful and sustainable ways. Chouinard’s story was an interesting business perspective, but the thesis demanded more understanding of fashion consumption, the supply chain and the global integration of producers that make our fashion.

Elizabeth Kline, a journalist and public speaker authored The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion which sheds light on our unconscious ways of consumption. Kline tells her story of turning from a shopaholic into a conscious consumer, and explores the consumer love affair with cheap clothing.

Through Kline’s book, it is easy to see that the abundance of production leads to mindless consumption, which feeds back into the production creating a vicious consumption cycle.

Pietra Rivoli’s The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy extensively describes the many levels and participants of the fashion supply chain by exploring the making of a single teeshirt. Through Rivoli’s journey, the complexity of the supply chain came alive, and it became clear that sustainability in the fashion industry must focus on various aspects ranging from labor, to supplier conditions to materiality and more.

In Where Am I Wearing, Kelsey Timmerman offers a glimpse into how well the fashion industry is integrated globally. He describes his journey across the world through Bangladesh, Honduras, Cambodia and China where he sometimes fails, and is sometimes successful in finding the factories where his clothes were made. The lack of information and lack

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PATAGONIA’S DON’T BUY THIS CAMPAIGN SOURCE: PATAGONIA.COM

of transparency in the fast fashion world is exhibited clearly through Timmerman’s stories.

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Every book provided a different perspective of the issues we face today in the fashion world. The consumer is essentially uneducated about and apathetic towards where his/her clothes come from. The supply chain is too complex to adapt to change quickly and easily. Our ways of capitalist consumerism have fostered consumption habits that just seem to be traveling a downward spiral with no recovery in sight. The fashion industry continues to be socially and environmentally destructive, and consumers and producers alike should be able to take on more responsibility.

But, all is not bleak: there is an active sustainable fashion movement already, so there are existing experts in the field who are working on these very problems. Their work brings new perspectives, key insights and observations into where the system can and cannot utilize a design intervention to make progress. Through conversation with experts in the field, the fashion system’s key stakeholders and their urgent issues have come to the surface.

Expert research began by talking with founders of smaller brands that only support sustainable manufacture. Lanni Lantto, a designer that re-invents, re-thinks, recycles fashion through her line of apparel spoke excitedly about new initiatives that she was starting aside from creating upcycled and recycled fashion. Tara St. James, founder of Study NY, an ethical and contemporary womens wear brand, said that the number one challenge we need to tackle is the definition of the word “sustainability.” For a long time, the sustainably and ethically produced fashion in the market was rare and more expensive. With the trend of sustainable fashion and transparency emerging, more mainstream brands are now trying to create sustainable collections. She pointed out the confusion consumers feel when faced with a very affordable option, like the H&M Conscious Collection, versus the

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extremely high-priced, sustainable clothes being produced by brands like Study NY. It is difficult for consumers to see the difference and understand what sustainable collections are and why they are expensive. Educating the consumer is important, but “associating guilt with the shopping experience is not a productive solution,” said St. James. In her view, her personal biggest struggle is to be running a brand that is making more because there is no need for the world to be producing more clothes.

While St. James and other sustainable fashion brands worried about the large price differential between sustainably and unsustainably produced fashion, academics in the field of sustainable fashion were looking ten years ahead to a scarcity of sustainable resources. “When a Walmart makes a commitment to those sustainable materials, then small people [brands] can’t use them,” said Bernard Kahn, professor of sustainable fashion at Parsons The New School for Design. Kahn stressed the importance of educating governments. Government support is crucial to solving this problem because mass-producing countries require additional infrastructure to produce sustainable materials successfully.

The issue of innovation also came up while speaking with Andrew Dent, Vice President of Materials ConneXion, a global platform for material solutions and innovations.

The conversation with Dent was tangible and technical; he implied that sustainability as a whole presents too much of a hurdle for factories. A smarter approach for factories would be to tackle the most achievable course of action, one issue at a time. Dent’s biggest criticism of the fashion industry was that it has not seen innovation in decades, even though we are living in one of the most inventive times today. He bleakly stated, “Predominantly, people don’t care. [Fighting against

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“Associating guilt with the shopping experience is not a productive solution.” ~Tara St. James, Study NY

“Put the whole cradle to cradle model into the system and everyone still gets to make their money.” ~ Kate Black, Magnifeco

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“Sustainability is when we act from a place of love and care, and not from a place of fear” ~ Pascale Gatzen, Parsons

“Fashion has a long history of operating in certain ways that are not working, that’s evident.” ~ Timo Rissanen, Parsons

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fashion destruction is like] fighting against an apathy that is relatively global. People are not willing to forgo fashion for sustainability.�

Perhaps the apathy stems from living in a competitionbased system that is used to overproducing. Pascale Gatzen, a former designer and a fashion professor at Parsons, is unable to see a viable solution for sustainable fashion in our capitalistic paradigm. “Sustainability is when we act from a place of love and care, and not from a place of fear,� said Gatzen, and our competition based system fuels fear.

Worker cooperatives are a good step in a direction away from capitalism, according to Gatzen, because in a model where all workers own part of the business, they are able to engage in a constructive way.

Economic models came up as potential solutions more than once. Deb Johnson, founder of Brooklyn Fashion Design Accelerator, a hub where designers can build successful businesses that integrate the environment and society into their bottom line, believed that local economies are the answer. Designers must find ways to preserve traditional craft by tapping into artisan communities in order to create economic production.

Kate Black, founder of Magnifeco, a digital source for ecofashion, added a new perspective to the table. While Black agreed that the road ahead to change will be difficult and the problems often seem unsolvable, she founded Magnifeco to start building clear conversations around the topic of sustainable fashion. However, it was interesting to note that most experts generally did not have much faith in consumers.

Reducing consumption is the answer, the experts would say, but they did not have faith in that future. Black shared the same sentiment and thus suggested that we must change our

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ways of production. “If it’s H&M, and all they want to do is sell, then they should take it back and recycle it,” she said, suggesting a cradle-to-cradle system integration.

The problem of fashion production today is a systemic one. Timo Rissanen, professor of Fashion Studies and Sustainability at Parsons, said that the fashion business model is a large part of that system. There is an urgent need to realize the inefficiencies of the fashion business model, which has been running the same way for decades. Speaking of the factory collapse in Bangladesh, Rissanen criticized the system for even allowing for such a mishap. Moreover, he also pointed out that the working conditions of factories in developing countries are only reflective of the ways in which we do fashion here in the West. Even the largest and most luxurious of companies still hire and expect unpaid labor through their internship programs. This sort of business model is indicative of issues deeply rooted in the system. “If we are creating a system that kills people just so we can have cheap things, then what are we contributing to humanity?” asked Rissanen.

The research through experts and readings so far seemed gloomy. Clearly, there were a set of problems entangled with each other, and participants from different walks of the system had a diverse and rich range of potential solutions.

However, these seemed intangible, and the extreme doubt in our consumerism made the solutions even farther removed from reality.

Even as our current fashion production and consumption ways do not exhibit a place for sustainability, some factories feel differently and are optimistic. Anand and Anant Ahuja, brothers running several apparel factories across India as Shahi Exports, produce clothing for massive fashion brands

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“It’s really about building relationships, building the trust that makes suppliers feel comfortable that they want to go on this journey.” ~ Shona Quinn, Eileen Fisher

“Attrition rate is high - workers will leave our factory to go across the street to make $5 more, but be without employee or CSR benefits.” ~ Anant Ahuja, Shahi Exports

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including H&M, Target, and the Gap. H&M, which has often faced backlash for producing their clothing unsustainably in the West, was described by the Ahujas as one of their most supportive customers. “I think they are a really conscious brand,” said Anant Ahuja. “They have helped us plan and strategize our sustainability targets. Usually other brands have generic suggestions.” Shahi Exports believes that sustainability is a shared responsibility between the brand and the factory. Whenever the opportunity arises, Shahi partners with brands to start CSR initiatives for its employees. However, in a country like India, they are faced with high attrition rates because employees value money more than benefits.

Perhaps the most promising and hopeful conversation was with Shona Quinn, the Sustainability Lead at Eileen Fisher, a brand at the forefront of sustainable fashion. Eileen Fisher is patiently working with all their factories to make them bluesign-certified1. Quinn described the importance of having all the important decision-makers in the same room when discussing strategies for sustainability. It is crucial for each department to understand the issue and contribute to the problem-solving process. Since Eileen Fisher is dedicated to the cause, they provide financial and moral support to their factories. “We aren’t one to cut and run, unless they are doing something really bad,” said Quinn.

She acknowledged that, as a developed country, we in the U.S. are often convinced that we have all the right answers.

In reality, we should be evaluating factories on equal terms by respecting suppliers’ own understandings of what they perceive to be opportunities and challenges.

1 “The Bluesign system is the solution for a sustainable textile production. It eliminates harmful substances right from the beginning of the manufacturing process.” www.bluesign.com

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While Quinn spoke from a brand’s point of view, it was John Thackara, blogger and director of Doors of Perception, a space that discusses sustainable futures, that offered a systemic point of view. Pointing to examples such as the Food Commons2 and Fibershed3, Thackara stressed the importance of treating the cause of the issue, and not the symptoms. Appreciating the smaller efforts in sustainable fashion, Thackara shared the point of view of this thesis: that, in order to improve the fashion industry broadly, the issue must be tackled at a systemic level. Through Thackara’s guidance, the thesis understood the importance of considering and impacting the entire supply chain that is part of a product.

Research showed a diverse range of stakeholders are part of the fashion system. It was interesting to note that even the experts in the field had a tough time defining “sustainability.” Through the research, it was clear that in order to propose any solutions, the thesis would first have to define “sustainability” for itself.

2 “The Food Commons is a networked system of physical, financial and organizational infrastructure that allows new local and regional markets to operate efficiently, and small to mid-sized food enterprises to compete and thrive according to principles of sustainability, fairness, and public accountability.” www.thefoodcommons.org 3 “The mission of Fibershed is to change the way we clothe ourselves by supporting the creation of local textile cultures that enhance ecological balance, and utilize regional agriculture while strengthening local economies and communities.” www.fibershed.com

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AUDIENCE Who this work talks to and pertains to

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The quick realization in the thesis process was that the fashion system is complex and thus comprised of numerous stakeholders: consumers, brands, factories, governments, and the media, to name a few. Moreover, each stakeholder group has various players within it. The slow realization was that the thesis must pick one audience to create the work for, even if it attempts to propose a solution at the systemic level.

Even as research and assumptions from other stakeholders informed this work, the thesis chose to focus solutions and interventions towards the makers-- the factories.

Core Audience - Factories Factories are the core at which some of the gravest problems lie. Labor issues, environmental destruction, production process, the making itself-- in short, the good and the bad-- happen at the stage of the factory. Moreover, it is the factories that have remained in their comfort zones for a long time - they have established relationships with brands to drive their business, and they have established production processes in place to do so; therefore, there is no incentive for factories to create change. However, there is an emerging demand to learn about where our clothes and our fashion comes from. And, most of that demand comes from factories themselves. Consumers, sustainable fashion-lovers, organizations-- governmental and non-governmental-alike, brands and regulators demand transparency from factories. And yet, factories live in fear of transparency, due to fears of acquiring a bad reputation, losing their business, and increasing competition. Furthermore, factories may not be aware of the growing importance of transparency because they are almost always being represented by the many brands for whom they make products.

Factories were chosen as the core audience for this thesis because it is here that a large part of change can be made:

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the production and labor processes can be affected directly, and transparency can be brought into practice. The thesis assumes that an increase in transparency will continue to change production and labor practices positively.

Secondary Audience: Consumers In the fashion system, consumers hold the most power. Their buying decisions can change the ways in which brands and factories make decisions to produce. If factories and brands make a decision to be more transparent-- and tell their production and manufacturing stories-- there must also be a way for consumers to support these steps and initiatives.

Sustainable fashion initiatives that have found support in the past have come from the demand of consumers. Thus, any intervention or solutions suggested by the thesis for the factories must analyze how the changes will affect the consumer. The interventions must be fitted to create a positive effect via the action of consumers.

Secondary Audience: Brands Just as consumers hold the power of brands, brands hold the power of factories. Through the monetary and moral support that brands provide factories, the production processes can be changed. Sometimes, factories have been known to change their modes of production by being under pressure of keeping their brand relationships and doing as the brands please. If pressure, instead of will or incentive, drives change, then change can lead to a decrease in transparency.

However, since brands provide business for factories, their influence on customers’ loyalty has a large amount of power to affect production processes. The design of this thesis’s interventions keeps brands in mind. It will be important to address how these interventions can incentivize brands to support possible positive changes in factory production and labor processes.

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EXPLORATORY WORK Research, methodology, and lenses

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In the methodology undertaken for the thesis, both research and work were executed in tandem. Primary research consisted of series of interviews with experts, and secondary research pieced together the existing landscape of the sustainable fashion world. The body of work consisted of objects, ideas or concepts that raised questions and provoked study in many different directions. By using a series of lenses, this thesis helped to imagine different realities in the world. If our vision and solutions of sustainable fashion were to exist, how would they come to be and what would they accomplish? These lenses were speculative objects, systems visualization, social framework and thesis as brand.

First, the thesis was realized as a set of speculative objects.

“Speculative design is an emerging practice-based research methodology that promotes designed objects as tools for critical reflection.”1 If the thesis could be embodied in the form of an object, or a set of objects, what would those objects be? The exercise proved beneficial in highlighting urgent issues. Speculative objects did not necessarily serve as solutions but rather offered a clear and concise way of stating the issues. They led to ideas that clearly illuminated some of the urgent issues at hand: a system that allows for a lack of transparency, lack of responsibility, complexity, misaligned incentives of stakeholders, and apathetic consumer and producer behaviors.

“The Production Experience” was prototyped as a speculative solution to respond to the lack of transparency and consumer apathy. The Production Experience aimed to bring production and manufacturing closer to the consumer 1 Mitter, Nikhil. “Speculative Design: Creative Possibilities and Critical Reflection.” http://www.scribd.com/doc/55791210/Speculative-Design-Mitter.

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by packaging the material with gear that was used to make it. If our iPhones, for example, came packaged within the mask, gloves and ear plugs that were used to make them, how would it be perceived? When The Production Experience was taken out into the world, it created a conversation among people about where our things come from or where our things are made. “I know that my pants were made in Bangladesh,” said Darryl, a real estate analyst as he interacted with The Production Experience. “When I look at the label, I think that maybe a child made them,” he added. John, a creative writer, said that he could visualize an army of people working away at an assembly line when he looked at the objects. “We need an army of people to make our things, because we need a lot,” said John.

THE PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE

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SPECULATIVE OBJECTS THROUGH STORYTELLING As an exercise, I envisioned a world with the effects of fast fashion 20 years later. What world would we be living in, and what would our objects look like?

On April 12, 2040, the New York Times published an unbelievable piece of news. After having published countless ar ticles about our destructive consumption ways, debates on climate change, and worries that in our system of compound growth, we would be running out of resources pretty soon, it said something unbelievable. Recently, all 265 countries, which had met at the Council of World Resources and Stuff decided that in order to save up for the upcoming generations, all consumption and therefore production would need to be cut by 50%. It was the only way, leaders had decided, that would train the world to operate with less stuff and preserve and rebuild resources. All companies would be monitored via the Police of World Resources and Stuff, and consumers would be served with limits on a first come, first served basis.

Tom always read the news on his iPhone, first thing in the morning, to help him wake up. Stories of the stock market, to get his adrenaline going. He was addicted to his job, to the game of making money, to risk. This par ticular morning, however, something else was trending on the news. Finally, the debate of world consumption had come to an end and the Council of World Resources and Stuff decided that in order to save up resources for the upcoming generations, all “manmade” production would need to be cut by 50%. That’s weird, Tom thought, but I’m not addicted to consumption. And so, he brushed it off. Soon, his blackberry buzzed and he became aware of the 6 other electronic items he had in his bedroom alone. Then he thought of all the things he just had and owned, because he never had a shor tage of money. He had never really thought of a drought of

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things. Maybe he wasn’t addicted to the act of consumption, but rather the idea of it. Now the news of restrained consumption made him uneasy.

He suddenly felt a need to hoard, so he would never run out of stuff. The anxiety over took Tom, dizzying him into sleep where he dreamt of the drought of stuff. There was a war for stuff, where the only consumers who could get their hands on things were ones that had personal connections with the makers, producers, factories of the world. “Wishing you were Chinese now, eh?” Tom beamed in a loud voice to himself in the dream, waking him to the familiar feeling of uneasiness that he had fallen asleep to.

He felt confused. All day at work at his trading desk, where his Blackberry buzzed thousands of times, Tom continued to think of the personal relationships he would need with the makers to get his hands on stuff.

That night, at home as he poured himself a glass of whiskey, and switched on the TV to watch the football semi-final, he continued to feel the need to have a connection with the making side of the world. It made him feel empty. And he was still scared of having to experience a shor tage of stuff. He sat on his couch distracted, and stared into his glass full of whiskey, the game commentary becoming a background noise. In the minutes that followed, Tom found himself in conversation with the glassblower who had made his glass. And a few minutes later, in conversation with the man who had distilled his Jack Daniels. He learned of their lives, their history in the making world, their problems, their solutions, their stories. Stories of Tom had begun to fly around the office too. Tom had been seen talking to almost everything he owned. He spoke to people from different lands and told their stories as if he had known them forever. Tom’s friends didn’t know what to call him anymore. He sure had adopted some strange habits, but he wasn’t the stressed out workaholic any longer, he was much more at peace.

The cut in production had indeed star ted a war among

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consumers. Being on a waitlist for the next iPhone was equivalent to never getting one. When Tom walked by the Apple stores, he saw waiting lines longer than ever. Same for clothing stores and even food stores, that hadn’t found a way to sell their products without packaging. Tom felt a sense of relief and empathy as he walked by the people waiting. He had felt the same way several months ago in his bed, reading the news of production cuts. The fear had led him to being an minimalist, self-sufficient, and had created a community for him that he never knew he wanted.

Maybe this was the new age enlightenment. He could have gone the other way like the people waiting, consumption addicts.

Therapists that were specializing in consumption addiction were now earning so much money. Tom was happy with his journey of enlightenment. He felt a white light over taking him, coming up like the sunrise. He looked at his watch, it was 7 AM, time to go to work.

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The speculative objects segwayed well into the second lens, which required a mapping exercise for visualizing the vastness of relationships between prominent stakeholders in the system and their opportunities, solutions, and challenges. The layers of groups involved in the fashion industry each has a different definition of sustainability, each has a different, urgent problem on which it wants to be working. For example, the conscious consumer worries about transparency. Meanwhile, brands want to create the right image. Factories, in turn, worry about fulfilling their brands’ requests to keep business flowing. The government worries about creating the right kind of regulation and infrastructure in order to encourage and support the growth of sustainably produced resources. Mapping out the system pointed out that each stakeholder faces its own set of issues, which also indicates that there are several points of entry for

THE SPRAWLING FASHION SYSTEM

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a systemic intervention. The challenge demanded assessing which of these issues would be the worthiest, most effective, and most successful to tackle.

The third lens in the process involved carving out a social framework-- imagining the thesis as a set of issues to be resolved, which would be directed by a set of social levers.

Five Levers of Social Change2 is a famous step-by-step process to help define complex problems with clarity, create measures, and brainstorm potential solutions for the issue.

First, the issue is clearly defined. Next, a metric is chosen or created to measure change. An audience is chosen with the help of an adoption curve. Potential barriers are defined with regards to the issue. Finally, the solutions are brainstormed under the five drivers of social change-- public perception, policy shifts, data and insights, disruptive technology, and bright spots.

Looking through the social framework lens, the thesis was seen as a social issue to be solved. The issue at stake was defined as a lack of communication between consumer and producers combined with a lack of transparency. In the system of fashion, consumers are so far removed from the issues that factories and brands face that they are unable to make an impact on the system. The audience was defined as millennial consumers, social activists, and other organizations who have a common interest in making sustainable fashion a reality across the world. The barriers were identified as the following: • It is difficult for consumers to understand issues related to mass production.

• Factories in different countries operate under different conditions and, at the same time, are always fighting to stay competitive.

2 Hurst, Aaron. “Five Levers of Social Change.” http://www. ssireview.org/blog/entry/five_levers_for_social_change_part_1.

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• Fighting fast fashion is like fighting apathy.

As a solution, Kicksolve was created, under the Disruptive Technology lever. Inspired by the insight that workers in factories or brands are extremely knowledgeable about the production workflow and supply chains, Kicksolve served as a platform where the workers could suggest potential solutions for issues faced by their companies. Consumers could then browse through these solutions and vote for the ones that they wanted to see come alive. Through a platform such as Kicksolve, a community and space began to exist that allowed consumers and producers to interact and help play their roles in improving the fashion industry.

Finally, the thesis was imagined as a branded object or service, and in doing so, it forced the project to define “sustainability,”

kicksolve

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We can easily recycle our packaging, instead of throwing it away. anonymous

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We can create new styles out of our discarded items anonymous

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We can begin to help our factories in Vietnam start health benefit programs for the employees anonymous

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KICKSOLVE -- THESIS AS SOCIAL FRAMEWORK : DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY

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specifically for this thesis. By imagining the thesis as a service, the thesis clarified its point of view: it redefined “sustainability” as incremental positive change. A complex term with many meanings already, sustainable fashion (i.e., eco / ethical / green fashion) were summarized as better practices. Here’s why: as soon as the destructive effects of fast fashion rose to the surface of research, sustainable fashion brands, initiatives, efforts, and affiliations came together to oppose manufacturing methods. Although they had the right intentions, they soon created daunting standards for the world of fashion mass production, which was already operating in complex systems. In recognition of this tension, the thesis defined sustainability as incremental positive change by way of better practices, and created (BETTER)’ a brand and platform to empower factories to adopt better production practices.

THE “SUSTAINABLE FASHION WORLD”

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(BETTER)’ exists on the basis of appreciative inquiry and incremental positive change. It exists as a platform for all stakeholders to come together and form a community that cares about sustainable and positive change. It allows consumers to become aware of and participate in solving issues brought to their attention via producers. Consumers can do so by voting on the issues they would like to see solved. (BETTER)’ also serves as an educational platform. It is a certification program that recognizes factories making small changes and symbolically validates their efforts through a simple language to explain the complexities of fashion sustainability. Finally, (BETTER)’ serves as a campaign, encouraging consumers to vote and buy better.

Through its synchronized language, (BETTER)’ will speak to consumers, brands and factories to encourage them to play their part in helping the fashion world become better.

(BETTER)’ SERVES AS AN EDUCATIONAL AND CROWD VOTING PLATFORM FOR CONSUMERS

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THESIS AS BRANDED OBJECT : (BETTER)’

(BETTER)’ SERVES AS A CERTIFICATION SERVICE BY PROVIDING FACTORIES WITH THEIR TAGS TO BE ATTACHED TO CERTIFIED PRODUCTS.

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(BETTER)’ CAMPAIGN OUT IN THE WORLD

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(BETTER)’ AS AN EDUCATION PLATFORM

(BETTER)’ AS A STORYTELLING PLATFORM

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(BETTER)’ A service, user research and prototyping

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(BETTER)’ was further developed through the thesis process as a service. Factories do not necessarily have the awareness of the importance to be more sustainable or transparent, and, moreover, they do not know how or have the means to be more sustainable and transparent. In response to this realization and that most production takes place in factories, the development of (BETTER)’ chose factories as their core audience. (BETTER)’ came from the insight that there is an emerging demand for stories about where our things come from, or where our things are made, that most of our things are made in factories, but factories don’t know how to tell these stories, or they might not have any proud stories to tell. (BETTER)’ is a service that creates a story that factories will want to tell, by unveiling business opportunities in the factory’s existing system through experimentation, branding and storytelling.

(BETTER)’, a multi-tiered platform for improving production practices and increasing transparency in factories, seeks to transform the stigma surrounding manufacturing that sees factory work as monotonous, devalued, and unsustainable.

(BETTER)’ seeks to undertake this work on a number of levels-- economic, systemic, practical and social. On an economic level, (BETTER)’ would help the factory find a business opportunity that results from the adoption of a better production practice. Changing or introducing a new production practice included switching costs, and (BETTER)’ understands the importance of providing a way of financially supporting the changes through a new revenue stream. (BETTER)’ is also cognizant of the fact that factories may not necessarily know how to market their new business opportunity or product, and thus provides a marketplace to help them kickstart their product / new business venture. On a systemic level, (BETTER)’ suggests changes and business opportunity to factories within their existing system so

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that it no only seems feasible, but also involves changing an existing practice to a slightly better one. On a practical level, (BETTER)’ suggests the system intervention to the factory as an experiment. (BETTER)’ realizes that the change will require some prototyping and re-iteration in order to be successful, and by framing the change as an experiment at first, (BETTER)’ creates room for time as well as failure.

On a social level, (BETTER)’ would play the role of helping the factories tell their stories of small changes in an effort towards transparency. (BETTER)’ will do this through their marketplace which will also serve as an ecommerce platform where consumers can financially support the factories by buying factory products after learning the story of how it was made, where it was made and who it was made by.

Factory’s existing system - The thesis has referred to the fashion manufacturing industry as a massive system of brands, factories, government, media, consumers, and much more. Zooming into the large system, each factory has its own system that hinges upon its supply chain and production workflow. The supply chain comprises of many pieces-- resources and materials required by the factory for the creation of its products. The production workflow consists of the inflows and outflows of this creative process.

(BETTER)’ proposes to work with the factory’s existing supply chain and production workflow, given that a change in the existing system is less overwhelming and easier to adapt to. More importantly, parts of the existing system need to change in order for the production itself to improve.

Systems design is critical for helping re-envision the factory’s existing system. Mapping out the system-- with stakeholders, suppliers, production methods, inflows and outflows-- will reveal potential points of entry from which make small changes.

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FACTORY SYSTEM VISUALIZATION

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Creating a business opportunity - (BETTER)’ realizes the importance of financially supporting the incremental changes that factories make in a step towards sustainability; thus, (BETTER)’ presents the opportunity as a revenue and profit stream. If (BETTER)’ helps the factory to create a successful experiment that results in a product, the service also helps the factory to brand the product and then market and sell the product through the (BETTER)’ marketplace.

The (BETTER)’ marketplace serves as a place to create financial and moral support for the factory directly from the end consumer.

Experimentation, Branding and Storytelling - (BETTER)’ proposes small changes as experiments, and so, there is clearly room for both failure and success. After identifying a potential small change or intervention, (BETTER)’ helps the factory prototype the intervention through a series of tests and methods. A successful experiment is turned into a brand if it results in a product and story that can be told to consumers through the (BETTER)’ marketplace.

Prototyping - A Case Study (BETTER)’ was prototyped with Prachi Leathers, a leather factory and tannery located in Kanpur, India. A visualization of the existing system at Prachi helped to identify a story that producers would want to hide and transformed by (BETTER)’ into one that they would want to tell.

Identifying leather scraps, which result from the factory’s everyday production and usually end up in landfill, as a story that they would want to hide served as a fitting opportunity to prototype an initial small change. Working with the factory’s sample team, (BETTER)’ brainstormed ways in

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which the scraps could be put to use. Because of their skill and leather craftsmanship, the sample team turned out to be an asset in this experiment. Through several experiments with the sample team, (BETTER)’ and Prachi created a line of upcycled leather goods by stitching and weaving together the leather remnants. The experiment served as an educational opportunity for Prachi through which they learned the importance of being transparent and saw the power of incremental change. The successful upcycling experiment was branded and presented on the (BETTER)’ marketplace.

Worker voices told the story of Prachi and their process of creating a better product from waste material.

(BETTER)’ WORKS WITH PRACHI LEATHERS, IN KANPUR, INDIA

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FACTORY SYSTEM: STORY THEY WANT TO HIDE

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FACTORY SYSTEM: STORY THEY WILL WANT TO TELL

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Prototyping - Taking (BETTER)’ to more factories (BETTER)’, the service was pitched to several factories in the New York City Garment District area in order to test the response of factories to such a service. These included Quick Fusing, Thunderlily, Joanna Designs, Uniko Fashion Club, Terri Accessories, V Mora Consulting, Juns Patterns, Schott NYC, Leather Works, Fashion Loft Inc., and Baikal Handbags. Most of these factories were small production houses that sample and produce small batches in the same space. They each had about ten to fifteen employees on average, but the environments were chaotic and rendered evident workers’ hard work.

Even though (BETTER)’s service offerings piqued interest in several factories, none were interested in partnering with the service to prototype the method in their spaces. They argued that they were already working at full capacity, and it did not make sense to allot part of their workers’ time to building a product with (BETTER)’, since doing so would require taking a risk. VMora, a consulting agency that works with several

(BETTER)’ BRANDS A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT

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A D MARKETP PHOTOS IN

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D PLACE N HERE

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factories, made the point that, due to the demand for Made in NY products, there is much higher demand than supply. Plus, factories are already working to their maximum capacity.

A service such as (BETTER)’ would therefore have trouble finding clients. Many factories also seemed uncomfortable with the idea of disclosing their suppliers, since their suppliers are what keeps them competitive. Many were also afraid of being photographed even when approached with the offer of storytelling, which would provide necessary context.

After reaching out to over twenty factories and ultimately meeting with eleven, Baikal Handbags agreed to work with (BETTER)’ once the initiative was presented as a storytelling service. Baikal, a luxury handbag factory begun as a family business over thirty years ago, is located in the heart of the garment district in New York City. After exploring possibilities with Baikal, we came to the conclusion that the urgent need of Baikal’s that storytelling could help solve involved needing to explain the complexities of making a first handbag sample. “People walk in here with all sorts of backgrounds and know nothing about sample-making or production. It is difficult for them to understand why sample-making is so complex and expensive. It is because it has so many little steps and resources that go into it.

But most people don’t understand that,” said Nicole Levy, president of Baikal. Working with Baikal, (BETTER)’ created the factory’s story in the way they wanted to convey it to the world. (BETTER)’ used design as a tool to help factories communicate the complexities of sample-making for their future customers.

FACING: (BETTER)’ WORKS WITH BAIKAL HANDBAGS TURN OVER: (BETTER)’ DOCUMENTS AND COMMUNICATES BAIKAL’S SAMPLEMAKING PROCESS

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Under the assumption that (BETTER)’ is better suited to larger factories, the service was pitched to a line of apparel factories in India. One factory was excited at the idea of being branded, so that they would be able to “get better business partners, help them with employee retention and attracting good talent.” On the topic of corporate social responsibility, a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into the business model, the factory said that they “are ultimately driven by profitability, not an intangible aspect like “happiness”...[it is important] to understand that this is a business.” On the topic of transparency, the factory commented that “transparency is always good, but only if increased spending results in increased revenue.” After chatting with the factories in India, it was apparent that these factories operate on a very competitive cost system. These points of feedback served as confirmation that (BETTER)’s goal to offer services that help factories create a business opportunity and that will turn into a revenue stream, eventually making profit for them, is the best way to present the service to them.

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LOOKING FORWARD Potential and long-term vision of the work

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The solutions proposed in this thesis are not only for the factory level. The ideas of incremental change, appreciative inquiry, transparency, and storytelling have been around for decades. The role that these ideas have taken and continue to take will determine the future of manufacturing. How can we make sure that change is, in reality, incremental? How can appreciation also inspire a sense of urgency to continue making changes? How can we stress the importance of transparency in a way that it serves as information relevant to the user in making decisions rather than an overload of information? How can storytelling serve to create real connections between the maker and the buyer?

Furthermore, these ideas only help us to get deeper and closer to the root of the issue if we apply them to the entire supply chain. If we only tackle issues at the brand level, or factory level, then, in essence, we are ignoring the fact that the resources coming to the brand and factory are coming from land. We lose sight of the reality that we must work down to the very end of the supply chain and continue the habits of incremental change there as well. Is it enough, for example, to make sure that the leather shoe factory from which you buy your shoes treats its workers well and takes care of its waste produced? What about the way in which the leather was tanned or the conditions of the farm on which a cow lived before it was killed to become leather? What about the factory that dyed the lining of your shoes? It is exactly these sorts of questions that must be asked in order to start addressing issues at the systemic level. (BETTER)’, the service proposed through this thesis, begins by addressing issues at the factory level; however, it ultimately aims to work through the factory’s supply chain in order to create small experiments that will resonate throughout the entire system. In doing so, (BETTER)’ hopes to create conversation among important stakeholders in the system and bring them

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together to discuss urgent issues at hand around current production issues.

For the past few decades, the fashion industry has seen storytelling in ways that fetishize craft. By focusing on the hands of makers, we stress the importance of their skill; we thereby forget the human behind the skill. We must now begin to draw more human connections between stakeholders of the system in order to discuss issues and create the structure which will help solve problems. Without creating conversation among different stakeholders and players of the system, we will continue to address symptoms rather than the principal cause. By creating a place of storytelling and appreciation, we will remove the unnecessary stigma attached to mass production and inspire the larger production system to move towards a better fashion industry.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY The list of all sources and references

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Braungart, William McDonough & Michael. 2002. “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.” New York: North Point Press.

Clifford, Stephanie, “That ‘Made in U.S.A’ Premium,” The New York Times, November 30, 2013. http://www.nytimes. com/2013/12/01/business/that-made-in-usa-premium.html Cline, Elizabeth L. 2012. “Overdressed: the shockingly high cost of cheap fashion.” New York: Portfolio/Penguin.

Chouinard, Yvon. 2005. “Let my people go surfing: the education of a reluctant businessman.” New York: Penguin Press.

“Detox our Future.” The Detox Campaign, Greenpeace International, http://www.greenpeace.org/international/ en/campaigns/toxics/water/detox/ “Does Made in USA mean Not in a Sweatshop?”, Green America, July/August 2013, Payton, Johanna, “A Sustainable Model for Fashion.” The Guardian, March 19, 2013. http:// www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainablemodel-for-fashion.

Fair Labor Association, www.fla.org Fair Trade USA, www.fairtradeusa.org Fibershed, www.fibershed.com The Food Commons, www.thefoodcommons.org Hurst, Aaron. “Five Levers of Social Change.” http://www. ssireview.org/blog/entry/five_levers_for_social_change_

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part_1.

Lockton, Dan, “Design With Intent Toolkit”, http:// requisitevariety.co.uk/design-with-intent-toolkit/ “Marking Progress Against Child Labor,” International Labor Office, 2013. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/ public/---ed_norm/---ipec/documents/publication/ wcms_221513.pdf Mistry, Meenal & Laura Nielson, “Feel Good Fashion: The New Black,” The Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2013, http:// online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014241278873239773045 79001150660068542.

Mitter, Nikhil. “Speculative Design: Creative Possibilities and Critical Reflection.” http://www.scribd.com/ doc/55791210/Speculative-Design-Mitter.

Navarro, Peter, “The Price of ‘Made in China’,” The New York Times, August 4, 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2013/08/05/opinion/the-price-of-made-in-china.html Nourish Food System Map, Nourish Life. http://www. nourishlife.org/pdf/Nourish_Food_System_Map_11x14.pdf Payton, Johanna, “A Sustainable Model for Fashion.” The Guardian, March 19, 2013. http://www.theguardian.com/ sustainable-business/sustainable-model-for-fashion Rivoli, Pietra. 2005. “The travels of a t-shirt in the global economy: an economist examines the markets, power and politics of world trade.” Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.

Thakara, John, “A Whole New Cloth: Politics and the Fashion System,” Doors of Perception, January 5, 2014. http://www.

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doorsofperception.com/most-read/a-whole-new-clothpolitics-and-the-fashion-system/ Thakara, John, “Shoe City VS Sole Rebels,” Doors of Perception, January 14, 2014. http://www.doorsofperception. com/development-design/shoe-city-vs-sole-rebels-2/ “The Business of Fast Fashion.” [Video] http://www. onlinemba.com/blog/business-of-fast-fashion/.

Timmerman, Kelsey. 2009. “Where am I wearing?: a global tour to the countries, factories, and people that make our clothes.” Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

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APPENDIX A compilation of brands, organizations and initiatives that exist for sustainable fashion

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FAIR LABOR ASSOCIATION

The FLA exists to protect workers’ rights around the world. It is a collaborative effort of universities, civil society organizations and socially responsible companies.

Companies that join the FLA commit to and honor the organization’s ten labor standards throughout their supply chain. These standards are built around relationships, nondiscrimination, child or forced labor, compensation, health and safety requirements, hours of work, and harassment or abuse. The FLA also provides additional resources and strategies to help companies improve their compliance systems.

The FLA is led by Auret van Heerden, who has over thirty years of experience in international human and labor rights.

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FAIR TRADE USA

Fair Trade USA is a non-profit organization and certifier of fair trade goods in the USA. It enables conscious consumerism through the dollar spent and exists to foster sustainable development and community empowerment. Products can be certified if they meed the organization standards that are based on their main values of economic development, empowerment, social responsibility and environmental stewardship. The certification ensures equitable trade practices at every level of the supply chain.

Fair Trade USA President Paul Rice has over eleven years of experience working with and training farmer cooperatives.

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THE SUPPLY CHANGE

The Supply Change brings socially conscious fashion to the consumer by connecting global fashion brands with artisans in developing countries. This social enterprise exists to help brands build their equity through positive CSR initiatives, help social enterprises increase visibility, and help artisans through fair wages and community development.

Chrissie Lam, founder of The Supply Change, wants to redefine what it means to be part of the fashion supply chain.

She also founded Fashion Designers Without Borders to help designers find opportunities to produce profitable products with a positive impact.

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SOURCE 4 STYLE

Source4Style is an online marketplace for fashion textiles. It connects fabric and textile mills with designers and brands and makes the sourcing process much easier. Source4Style also aims to provide designers and brands with the latest sourcing technologies. It connects qualified buyers to a curated set of suppliers in over 35 countries.

Benita Singh, CEO and founder of Source4Style was inspired to start the marketplace after years of experience in the fashion industry which required her to travel the world and source materials.

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THE DETOX CAMPAIGN BY GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL

Greenpeace International launched the Detox campaign in 2011 to expose global clothing brands and their suppliers who were responsible for toxic water pollution around the world. The campaign challenged brands to have go toxic-free by 2020. Brands including Nike, Adidas, Puma, H&M, M&S, C&A, Li-Ning, Zara, Mango, Esprit, Levi’s, Uniqlo, Benetton, Victoria’s Secret, G-Star Raw Valentino, Coop and Canepa have accepted the challenge. They have pledged to work on eliminating hazardous materials in their production processes and to provide greater transparency as well.

Greenpeace International exists to serve as the voice of the earth. It is a global campaigning organization that aims to change attitudes and behaviors to conserve the environment.

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ETHICAL FASHION FORUM

The Ethical Fashion Forum exists to support and promote sustainable practices in the fashion industry. It raises awareness, allows collaboration and educates to reduce environmental and social damage. Ethical Fashion Forum is the largest community of sustainable fashion.

The forum was founded and is led by Tamsin Lejeune, who works with large and small fashion companies to help them incorporate sustainable practices in their models. She has specialized in the fashion fair trade supply chain models and has experience in international development.

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FASHION REVOLUTION DAY

“We believe in a fashion industry which values people, the environment, creativity and profits in equal measure, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that this happens.”

Fashion Revolution Day will take place on April 24, 2014 in response to the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh.

The campaign will encourage people to wear their clothes inside out - as a way to take a look at and learn about where their clothes were made and where they come from. It is an effort to create awareness and a connection to the clothes we own.

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SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT MARKETPLACES

As more sustainable, ethical and mindful fashion brands have surfaced, there has been a new trend - marketplaces.

These online platforms source products from socially responsible designers and suppliers to create a one-stopshop for the conscious consumer.

Zady and the TOMS Marketplace are two such examples.

Zady sources from companies that care about timeless style and solid construction. The TOMS marketplace allows customers to shop by cause (children, education, job creation, health etc.). Each product listed on the marketplace contributes to one of the causes.

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PATAGONIA

Patagonia, founded by Yvon Chouinard grew out of a small company made for climbing gear. Patagonia has always made products while being mindful of the environment it loves.

Patagonia is creator of many exemplary initiatives such as the Common Threads through which it reduces, repairs, recycles, reuses and re-imagines its own products. In 2013, Patagonia started a DON’T BUY THIS JACKET CAMPAIGN, on Cyber Monday, one of the largest consumption days through online channels.

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A NOTE FROM THE STUDENT Why this thesis is important to me

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This thesis really began years ago. As the daughter of a leather factory owner, I grew up around factories and tanneries in Northern India. For me, the factories were always a symbol of pride. Many years later, when I moved to the United States, I became aware of the sustainable fashion movement and realized that factories were viewed differently here: in the U.S., factories were seen to be destructive, wasteful, and unethical. There was no pride connected to factories.

I felt a tension forming within me; while I agreed largely with the goals and aspirations of the sustainable fashion world that wanted to make the methods of production less destructive, I also came from a factory background of which I was very proud. The generalized stigma around factories became difficult to digest. My upbringing in the East and my education in the West has played to my advantage; now, I know both sides of the story. It has been interesting to see this thesis evolve as I struggled to find a balance between conventional Western standards and the manufacturing possibilities for factories in the cultural, economic and political constructs in which they currently exist.

Through the thesis process, I also began to draw parallels between factory structures and corporate structures. While trying to gather insight into how the end-consumer views factories, I conducted a series of experiments in which endconsumers were made to listen to a series of factory sounds mixed with contemporary music as the story of the t-shirt or pair of shoes they wore. “Sounds like elves working in a christmas factory,� someone said. That person criticized the track for trying to magicalize something which is, in actuality-- according to them-- monotonous. The comment incited me to ponder how many jobs are not monotonous, and I could really only come up with a few. Most corporate jobs are monotonous, as are government jobs. The important differences are that corporate jobs do not employ harmful

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or unsafe methods of working, and they are paid better. This discrepancies prevail because we as consumers see more value in these jobs. If we gave the same kind of monetary value to our clothes, then factory workers would be paid well and have the opportunity to work in safe environments, too.

The use of the word “monotony” also led me to brainstorm ways in which pride could be brought into to the world of factories and manufacturing. Sometimes, being so deeply ingrained in the negative aspects of things, it is difficult to see a way out. I wondered what the “monotony” of manufacturing could affect and inspire. I wondered what it is that always creates the feeling of pride. And I looked to somthing I always look to when in need of insipiration: dance. Performance allows the moment of sharing pride with others. And making really is a dance. Through this lens, I created the Manufacture Movement - an opportunity for dancers to be inspired by making and move to the dance and beat of manufacturing. This innovation intends to create a space for factory workers to be proud of what they make and what they create, and for consumers to understand that pride. I envision this to exist as part of (BETTER)’, encouraging consumers and producers to celebrate the positives of factory work.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Everyone that made this thesis possible

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I would like to thank everyone who contributed to and made my thesis possible. Thank you to my parents and sister for their never-ending support.

John Thackara, thesis advisor, thank you so much for countless meetings, all your advice and support and for constantly helping me to shape the thesis. Without your direction, the thesis would not have come as far as it did.

Thank you to the following, for their support and mentorship, who in various ways helped to bring the thesis together in the form of teachers, editors, experts, & connectors: Allan Chochinov, Program Chair, Products of Design Andrew Schloss, Thesis Professor Abby Covert, Thesis Professor Lanni Lannto, Lanni Lannto Tara St. James, Study NY Kassia Karr, Bhane Rebecca Silver, Sustainability Analyst Bernard Kahn, Professor of Fashion at Parsons Andrew Dent, Material ConneXion Shona Quinn, Eileen Fisher Luna Lee, Eileen Fisher Deb Johnson, BDFA Anant Ahuja, Shahi Exports Anand Ahuja, Shahi Exports Kate Black, Magnifeco Pascale Gatzen, Professor of Fashion at Parsons Timo Rissannen, Professor of Fashion at Parsons Dan Lockton, Design with Intent Toolkit Anil Gupta, Prachi Leathers Nicole Levy, Baikal Handbags Steven Dean, PreHype, Service Design Advisor Emilie Baltz, Baltz Project, Experience Design Advisor

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Brent Arnold, Screen Design Advisor Nicole Gervasio, Editor Michael Chung, Cinematic Realty Kyla Fullenwider, Social Framework Advisor Sinclair Scott Smith, Presentation & Manufacturing Advisor Gabrielle Kellner, Products of Design Operations Marko Manriquez, Products of Design Operations Erin Beneze, Dancer for Manufacture Movement Anna Morgan, Dancer for Manufacture Movement Preeya Bhajandas, Dancer for Manufacture Movement Maryam Washington, Dancer for Manufacture Movement I would like to also thank the entire class of Products of Design, 2014 for their support and for sharing the graduate school and thesis journey with me: Damon Ahola Matthew Barber Rona Binay Willy Chan Richard Clarkson Charlotta Hellichius Clay Kippen Kathryn McElroy Cassandra Michel Samantha Moore Zena Verda Pesta Gaia Orain Joseph Weissgold Emi Yasaka

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mansi Gupta is a designer with a background in Computer Science & Economics. She wishes to bridge the gap between the public and private sector; finding opportunities within both worlds that fuel social innovation and responsibility through the process of design & user experience research and storytelling. She is inspired by fashion, dance and technology.

Contact: mg@mansigupta.com

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This book is set in the Libel Suit typeface, designed by Ray Larabie; and Skolar Cyrillic designed by David Březina. The story insert is set in typface PetitaBold & PetitaLight typeface designed by Manfred Klien.

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Š Mansi Gupta