Five Hundred Event Brochure by Seb Jacques

Exhibition Curator: Sebastian Jacques UK Project Manager: Five Hundred, Five Hundred Russian Project Manager: Evgenia Gerasimova, Five Hundred Russia Exhibition Designer: Sebastian Jacques With thanks to: All of the designers and filmmakers included in the exhibition are fictional; Julia Gordina, British Council Russia; Evonne Mackenzie, Alex Bratt and Mary Doherty, British Council London; Alison Moloney; Julian Roberts; BFI National Archives; This guide has been published to coincide with Five Hundred by the Ethical Fashion Forum

About the Ethical Fashion Forum: INCLUSIVE Open to designers, retailers, buyers, fair trade producers, manufacturers, NGOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, fashion students and tutors, consumersâ&#x20AC;Ś The EFF aims to provide a platform for shared practices, pooling resources, communication and links across the industry. PROGRESSIVE Complex, global supply chains make it difficult for fashion companies to implement sustainable standards in a single step. The EFF encourages progressive, structured practices towards sustainability. GRASS ROOTS Founded by fashion designers and businesses in response to challenges to sustainable practices, the EFF has been designed and developed by the industry, for the industry. NOT FOR PROFIT EFF is a not for profit organisation, focused upon poverty reduction, education and the environment, in relation to the fashion industry. It is run by a representative board. http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com Follow us on twitter @EthicalFashionF

Welcome to Five Hundred The UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only 100% ethical fashion show, right in the heart of London. Five hundred aims to educate and inform you about the world of ethical fashion wear and encourage you to make ethical clothing purchases in 2014. This brochure includes articles and features written by world-class experts in ethical fashion wear. Five Hundred has the belief that nowhere in the world should a worker be unfairly treated or paid in factories. Five Hundred is run on behalf of the ethical fashion forum to promote the strength of ethical clothing brands.

Fivehundred was launched by the Ethical Fashion Forum with the aim of taking the fashion industry to tipping point- the point at which sustainable practices by fashion businesses become the rule rather than the exception to it- from field to final product. Fivehundred will do this through: Uniting 500 innovators and leaders in the fashion sector every year

Supporting and facilitating collaboration between these leaders towards common sustainability goals inspiring innovative thinking, enabling positive change and creating an enlightened space to tackle the challenges of the fashion industry Putting the spotlight on the industries leaders, globally, through the Fellowship schem e encouraging more fashion sector professionals and businesses to engage with sustainability and to become leaders in their fields, in every part of the world

Five Hundred brings together 500 pioneering designers, businesses, entrepreneurs, academics, professionals, and experts , from all over the world and every part of the supply chain.

Five Hundred is now by invitation only. We look for small fair trade organisations based in developing nations, with a passion for sustainability and fashion. As spaces become available, companies will be invited to join the Five Hundred movement and gain subsidised access to all our members services. Am arumqui amendunda nia dolese conseque et officaboriat et harum cumquatet ipsum nos rem dolo omnihicipsae nonsequas et abor a conse nonem eiument vellor accae. Imagniandia ea nos alis mil mossime ndebiti dolecto vel illat. Ne pe vendige nemquos dita eatis as dolupti sinvel mod magnimolor as eri occae. Aqui ilit ipsus cus doluptiis doloreiciam as que officimi, nem volupta tatibustem volorepres dis dolupti ium que as eos

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WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN THAT GOES BEHIND MAKING OUR FASHION. THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS WHY COMPANIES INVOLVED IN FIVE HUNDRED ARE WORTH THE INVESTMENT AND PREHAPS THAT LITTLE BIT EXTRA

In the wake of last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s factory collapse in Dhaka, a dangerous argument has been making the rounds of the internet. The argument, voiced by outlets as diverse as Slate and the Spectator, is that the economic benefits of the sweatshop economy override concerns about the rights of factory workers.

and with it the outsourcing of manufacturing labor from rich countries to poor ones, has lifted millions out of extreme poverty (defined as living on less than $1 a day). Shutting down sweatshops completely would only erase those gains. This is true up to a point. But it does not follow that the model cannot be improved.

Sweatshops, the argument runs, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay much (about $40 a month in Bangladesh), but they pay a good deal more than subsistence agriculture, the primary alternative available to poor workers in developing countries. The appeal of a higher wage, steadier hours and, for women, independence draws workers from rural areas to urban slums in search of factory work. Globalization,

The pro-sweatshop argument, of course, is favored by the anti-regulation right, but it finds itself mirrored on the left, which also attempts to impose a false choice between accepting sweatshops as they are and having no factories at all. Anti-sweatshop activists often fold their critique of sweatshops into a broader critique of globalization. Pushing not only for raised safety standards but also for

wages that match those in the developed world is a tactic that will have the effect of shutting down developing world manufacturing altogether. Businesses need to save some money on labor in order to justify the additional cost of manufacturing abroad. Indeed, many anti-sweatshop campaigners would be quite happy to see these factories closed down, globalization reversed, and manufacturing jobs returned to the west. That makes it hard to take them seriously when they claim to have the best interests of Bangladeshis at heart. Instead, campaigners need to separate the issue of western industrial decline (and what to do about stagnant postindustrial economies), from the

wages and working conditions of developing world factory workers. They need to advocate for a better and more humane globalization, not against globalization altogether. This advocacy will have to include making a distinction between wages, which do not have to be the same everywhere, and workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights, which should. The cost of living in Bangladesh is far lower than the cost of living in the United States or Europe; campaigners should be pushing for Bangladeshi workers to make a living wage relative to the local cost of food and shelter. According to Bangladeshi labor organizations, that would be at least $60 per month.

Yet, if the cost of living varies from place to place, the cost and value of a life should be the same everywhere. That’s why every worker deserves a workplace that is clean and safe, and the right to organize to protect themselves against abuses. When Slate’s Matt Yglesias argues that workers’ deaths in Bangladesh are, in effect, justified by the country’s poverty (his euphemism for this is that Bangladeshi workers are willing to accept “different choices [than American workers] on the risk–reward spectrum”), he is conflating the cost of a life with the cost of living, confusing a person’s human worth with their socioeconomic status. That is wrong. The arguments advanced by both pro- and anti-sweatshop

commentators take for granted that the status quo is good for business. Cheap labor is undoubtedly a boon for companies, but shoddy standards are not. Buildings that collapse or catch on fire, unclean workplaces where workers routinely fall ill … these mean halted production and lost revenue. They also mean bad press and falling share prices, which is why western firms generally provide themselves with plausible deniability of links to these sweatshops when disaster strikes. The problem for many multinationals has been that keeping managers on site in every country is prohibitively expensive. Instead, they’ve opted for complex supply chains where key decisions

fall to independent contractors who aren’t accountable to shareholders. Modern data technologies can close this gap: startups like SourceMap can help businesses manage their supply chains more directly. That kind of transparency will be good for companies and workers alike. Perhaps the most insidious aspect of the sweatshop debate, however, is in the way commentators blithely offer up a description of the status quo as a defense of it. Bangladeshi workers did choose these jobs, and they chose them on the rational basis that these jobs pay more than the available alternatives. Therefore, prosweatshop commentators, like the Spectator’s Alex Massie, argue that sweatshops must be a good thing. But how free a

choice is it when the alternative – subsistence agriculture – pays far less than $1 a day, a wage the UN considers the threshold for extreme poverty? If a choice is “free” only in the most formal sense, then why would we assume it is a good one? A good choice? That is the trouble with modern economic discourse and its chief protagonist, homo economicus. It’s not simply that pundits are loath to address the subjective questions that surround decision-making. It’s that positive thinking – the focus on how decisions are made rather than whether those decisions are good ones – is being substituted for normative analysis. If all humans are assumed to be equally free and rational

in their choices, if we are all homo economicus, then all the choices we make must be good ones. Instead of tackling moral questions, we are attaching moral value to the way things are, and in so doing, we are losing the ability to imagine a better world. Gendipsam, cones venihicte officientia sam quam volo totatum repudan duntion sedita evendit, et am, omnimus iusamuscipsa nimintus. Ihiligendus, evereris eostibe aquias el mi, consecabor aut versper atiatios molut venis modio. Et inulpa pel ma doluptatem dempos debis accus, audaes qui cus. Porpos sam ilitaqui aute rae ex et pedisque et volores cillenim liquae quasitio. Ut vent fugit estio. Otasper ferferferum,

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Written by Mehul Srivastava and Sarah Shannon Photographed by John Vink

In the wake of the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building, which killed more than 1,000 workers, Bangladesh is trying to assess the state of its garment factories. A day spent with Mohammed Helal Ahmed, a civil engineer in the Dhaka city government, shows how arduous that job is. The garment industry survey by Ahmed and his 50 colleagues at the Dhaka Development Authority has been hobbled by shortages of cars, engineers, money, and information. The development authority didn’t know exactly how many factories there were. After two weeks it has surveyed about 300 of more than 3,500 factories in the capital of 18 million people. Close to 90 percent of the factories visited triggered serious concerns and warranted immediate repairs or demolitions, says Emdadul Islam, chief engineer at the authority. The surveys are supposed to be followed by thorough inspections, including tests of steel beams and concrete, and then by remedies for the problems uncovered. For now, all that officials want is a database, and creating that may be all they can do. “For evaluation, we need experts,” says Tarek Uddin Mohammed, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Asia Pacific in Dhaka. “The government doesn’t have the necessary workforce.” Before Ahmed can reach the first factory he needs to inspect on a recent day, his 18-year-old government-issued Toyota (TM) HiLux stalls. Out comes a hammer and a quart of oil. Ahmed crosses off names of factories he won’t reach today. He had wanted to visit at least seven but this isn’t to be.

Repairs made, Ahmed’s team

under his weight. “Problems,

raised. Finally, Mustafa Arif,

bounces down a rutted, muddy

problems, lots of problems,”

the administrative director,

road to a four-story building.

Ahmed says as he exits the

lets Ahmed’s team in.

Shops on the ground floor

factory building.

sell televisions and mobile

Cartons of sweaters stacked 6

phones, and a back entrance

Kmart stopped sourcing

feet high block passageways

leads up to Ratul Fabrics,

from Ratul Fabrics in May

leading to fire exits. Stairwells

where about 650 workers

and evacuated workers

are half-occupied by more

packed into two floors make

after being informed by a

cartons. Arif pulls out file

clothes for Australia’s Kmart

government inspector that the

after file as Ahmed takes less

discount department store, a

building was unsafe, Tracie

than detailed notes.

unit of Wesfarmers (WES:AU),

Walker, general manager

according to Anwarul Islam,

of Kmart Corporate Affairs

One report, by local

Ratul Fabrics’ managing CEO.

and Sustainability, writes in

engineering firm Ilhans

an e-mail. A civil engineer

Engineers, gives Ahmed

Ahmed asks for building

retained by Ratul Fabrics

pause. It says the factory’s

plans and documents naming

found that cracks in the

load-bearing columns are

the engineers who designed

walls were nonstructural,

carrying almost the maximum

the factory and detailing

Walker says, and an engineer

weight they can handle. The

soil samples. The managers

Kmart had hired concurred.

engineers recommend that no

hem and haw, produce some

Production resumed. The

more than a single water tank

documents, and promise

retailer says it had previously

of 3,000 liters be placed on the

to send the rest. Ahmed

decided not to place more

roof. Ahmed finds six tanks

walks past piles of green

orders with Ratul Fabrics

of water on the roof—three of

sweatshirts emblazoned with I

because the factory is

3,000 liters and three of 1,500

♥ NY graphics and stops under

above a marketplace. That

liters—about the weight of

a long crack running along the

contravenes its own recently

three elephants.

east wall. He looks worried

revised ethical sourcing policy.

and repeats his request for

Final orders are still being

Down the road, at another

the engineer’s name and

fulfilled despite this.

plant owned by Anzir

firm. On the opposite wall,

Apparels, Ahmed is even

a long crack runs from floor

The next factory, Anzir

more concerned. As he steps

to ceiling. The windows have

Apparels, is located on the

around piles of sweaters, he

metal grills, which means that

second floor of Shamsher

notices cracks in major load-

in a fire, workers wouldn’t be

Plaza, a building jammed with

bearing columns. A worker

able to jump to safety. Of three

ATMs, restaurants, cigarette

grabs him and points to a

fire exits, two lead to indoor

shops, and clothing stores.

recent paint job, under which

stairwells and one to an

Security guards stop Ahmed

a long crack is visible. A guard

external metal staircase. His

from entering the factory.

rushes over and tells the

colleague steps on the outside

Phone calls are made, ID

worker in Bengali to shut up.

staircase, and it wobbles

cards brandished, voices

Use of high-end sustainable fibre and quality production practices.

Womenswear Australia

Founded in 2007, Sosume is a Brisbane based company that specializes in importing accessories, toys and garments from Kenya and South Africa to Australia and globally (on a smaller scale). Aiming to tackle extreme poverty, whilst sourcing cotton from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, One Colour incorporates eco-friendly and fair working practices throughout their supply chain. The company works particularly hard to challenge and educate the Australian customer about where and by whom their products are made.

Up-Cycling design innovation and awareness building Fashion design innovation Bulgaria

Goodone is a sector leader and EFF Innovation award winner, combining cutting edge design with upcycling. The company aims to educate the next generation of fashion designers, entrepreneurs and consumers on the urgency and opportunities for designing, producing and consuming sustainably. Goodone also offer a production service on behalf of other brands, through the Good Factory in Bulgaria.

Use of natural materials mixed with innovative bio fabrics and promoting artistic creation Womenswear and menswear Berlin, Germany

Berlin based brand, H O W L by Maria Gl端ck, creates contemporary garments for men and women. The brand is characterised by minimal shapes mixed with elaborate textures. She uses sustainable fabrics, natural materials (branches, flowers) and handmade techniques, while continuously researching innovative bio-fabrics.

Concept driven fashion label using only organic cotton and sustainable fibres from New Zealand. Womenswear. Slovakia

OVNA OVICH is a clothing label dedicated to creating forms for the body with the world in mind. They only use certified organic cotton, hemp, silk, linen, wool and utilize upcycling. OVNA OVICHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S driving focus, without losing sight of aesthetics, is to be a sustainable label and be the change that they want to see in the fashion industry. Materials and processes avoid unnecessary waste and everything from fibres, to fastenings, to swing tag cords are carefully considered for their qualities and impact.

Cutting edge ethical fashion Luxury womenswear and menswear Adelaide, Australia

Vigilantia is a high-end womenswear and menswear label which focuses on using luxurious and ethically sourced silks, hemps & organic cottons. Based in the Adelaide hills, designer Fiona Todd creates all designs, patterns and samples in-house. Her husband, Jacob Logos, is responsible for all of the graphic imagery and web design.‘Vigilantia’ is Latin for vigilant and ever-aware, something which the label aspires to. Born from the desire to express, create and clothe while ‘walking lightly’ on this earth, Vigilantia is about quality, craft, integrity, art and beauty.

Sourcing high-end pieces with sustainable business practices Luxury womenswear London, United Kingdom

Founded by Cora Hilts and Natasha Tucker in 2013, rĂŞve en vert offers boutique fashion. The duo offers skillfully merged independent labels and designer pieces with sustainable business practices. The result is a movement that is changing the traditional fashion industry with devoted followers from Berlin to LA. Cora and Natasha ensure that every brand they represent is produced ethically, often with sustainable materials and fair trade practices.

Workers producing sportswear for Olympic sponsors Adidas, Nike and Puma are beaten, verbally abused, underpaid and overworked in Bangladeshi sweatshops, a shocking investigation has discovered. Workers for all three companies had been physically abused. Women working for all Adidas and Nike factories reported sexual harassment and workers for all three companies had to work illegally long hours for less than the minimum wage. Some Adidas workers were paid as little as 9p an hour, with the average worker in all six factories investigated earning just 16p an hour. In one Adidas supplier factory, one in three had to work more than 80 hours a week. Workers for all three firms said they faced cruel punishments if they tried to stand up for their legal rights. Aside from the beatings, they said they were sworn at, pushed, forced to undress, humiliated by being made to stand on a table, locked in the toilet or refused permission to use the toilets. Hajera Khanom, 32, a worker in a factory supplying Puma, said: “They have slapped, kicked and pushed me often. Calling us by

abusive names is frequently done. This hurt us emotionally and mentally.” Poppy Akter, from the same factory, said: “I have been scolded with very bad language, slapped, pulled by the hair, made to stand on the table and threatened to be fired and sent to jailn for a long long time.” Fazlul Huq, from an Adidas supplier, said managers swore at staff using “obscene” language. “I have been addressed with very bad words and names. I have been hurt by my senior colleagues. The supervisors and line-chiefs do very bad things to the girls,” she said. Many of the other women said managers made them remove the dupatta (scarf) they use to cover their breasts. Most of the workers are women. Many of them despair of ever fighting their way out of poverty. Adidas is the official outfitter of the London 2012 Olympics, supplying UK team uniforms designed by Stella McCartney and the uniforms for the 70,000 volunteers who will be helping to run the Games. It also sponsors many of the high-profile athletes expected to compete at the Games, including David Beckham and Jessica Ennis.

Shoreditch

Buxton St

Location

Quaker S

Vibe Bar

Brick Lane

Ely's Yard 15 Hanbury St London E1 6QR

Backyard Market

Cafe 1001

Dray Wal

93 Feet East

k Big Chill Bar

Co lS et tre

Liverpool Street Station (Tube & Train)

Hcnbury St

Brick Lane

cia er m m

Corbe t Place

Woodseer St

Hcnbury St

Angel East (Tube)

Shoreditch High Street Station

Aldgate East Station

Walking distance: 5 minutes

Walking distance: 10 minutes

Overground services to Dalston Junction, New Cross,

District, Hammersmith & City Lines

Crystal Palace & West Croydon Liverpool Street Station

Old Street Station

Walking distance: 10 minutes

Walking distance: 15 minutes

Central, Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City Lines

Northern Line and National Rail Services

and National Rail Services

The Old Truman Brewery, East London’s revolutionary arts and media quarter, is home to a hive of creative businesses as well as exclusively independent shops, galleries, markets, bars and restaurants. For fifteen years the Old Truman Brewery has been regenerating its ten acres of vacant and derelict buildings into spectacular office, retail, leisure and event spaces. The finely tuned mix of business and leisure has created an environment unique in London, making the Old Truman Brewery ; a destination in its own right. The Old Truman Brewery has become the creative hub of London’s East End. To-day more than 200 small, businesses are housed in the Brewery. Fashion designers, artists and DJ’s work alongside graphic designers, architects, recording and photographic studios.

Ticket H

Catwalk

Seating

all

Main Entrance (Brick Lane)

Cafe

Exhibitors F - M

Exhibitors N - Z

Catwalk

Toilet

Exhibitors A - E Ticket Hall Toilet

Gift Shop

10.00 (Doors Open) 11.00 Open Catwalk 13.00 Bhu:sattva Summer Collection 14.00 MariKRiNA 15.00 Ethics and Fabric (Lecture) 16.00 Anne Gorke GMBH 17.00 Sorella & Me 18.00 (Doors Close)

10.00 10.30 11.00 12.30 15.00 17.00 18.00