Textiles EXAM 4 (FINAL)

Textiles and the Environment

This is not a war to be won, but a situation to be managed

Pollution & History

• large organized societies have always caused polluting activities

• pollution in this case can be intervention in the natural landscape

• textiles lifecycle ended when there was nothing left

• industrial revolution

• Globalization: Cheap goods = more goods = more waste, difficult to monitor

Recycling

• products that have been used (considered waste) are used again

• feasibility of converting recovered materials, resulting product quality, and liabilities must be determined at an early stage in developing a recycling program

• Organic substances biodegrade, are recycled by nature

• landfills. Burried too deeply. Little oxygen or sunlight

• a very old and wise concept

Production Ecology

effects of production processes on people and the environment

• (Oeko-Tex 1000, Bluesign, GOTS)

Human Ecology

Effects of textiles on people’s health and comfort

• (Oeko-Tex 100; AAFA/RSL; Brand RSL)

Performance Ecology

Textile care and effect on people’s health and the environment

• EX) washing & drying clothes

Disposal Ecology

Reuse, Recycling and disposal

Green Product Characteristics

• widely used marketing term, getting cliche

• How green?

• materials, production, shipping, use, care, disposal

• Few companies/products completely satisfy all criteria to be a green product

• certification is not always passed on- organic fiber might not be using organic processes

Green Businesses

• concerned with carbon footprint. Along with cost savings and marketing

• Carbon Footprint: Measure of carbon dioxide emissions

• certifications available

Carbon Footprint

Measure of carbon dioxide emissions

Renewable Resources

• refers to materials that come from a resource that is easy to replace or replenish

• energy- wind, solar, geothermal, water

• resources- many plants/animals

• EX) wind powered knitting machine

Non-Renewable Resources

• natural gas

• uranium

• petroleum

• coal

• metal ores

Resource Conservation

• products that are made using less natural resources

• can be achieved through recycling, reducing waste, efficient processes

• Eco-labels

• Cashmere- stripping land of vegetation, overgrazing

• Fast Fashion considered disposable

Environmental Consequences of Cashmere

• stripping land of vegetation

• overgrazing

Tracking water use

food and clothing use the most water

Environmental Awareness and Fashion

• vegan: faux fur or leather

• teaming up with responsible fiber companies

• innovative eco-friendly materials used by high-fashion designers

• eco-fashion “hub” sites

• eco trade/ fashion shows

• not slowing down

Post Industrial Waste

material discarded in manufacturer

Post Consumer Waste

material discarded by consumer

Textile Waste

• post-industrial waste

• post-consumer waste

• growth in ordinary consumption: industries/people growing rapidly

• Non-ordinary consumption- a hoarder

Energy Saving

• products made using reduced amount of energy

• greater efficiency of machines, less processes

• less energy when used (ex: dry-cleaning)

• renewable fuel preferred

• pure vs Hidden energy waste

• Increased production without losing quality and energy efficiency

Pure Energy Waste

energy you know you’re using

Hidden Energy Waste

energy you didn’t think of on the front end

Nonhazardous

• refers to materials that do not adversely affect the health/safety o fan individual or the environment

• all of the “cides”, cotton

• Protective masks/clothing, air-quality controls, safe disposal of waste

• Obligation of the industry to create safe alternatives

Chemicals in Our water

• dyeing and finishing industry is the highest ranking industrial water polluter in the world

• large quantities of chemicals to pretreat, dye, finsih fabric

• extensive steam & rinse water

• Laundering

Recycling as a Business

• capitalizing on an unfortunately good opportunity

• each year in U.S., 750,000 tons of textile waste is recycled into raw materials to be used again

• Second hand clothing goes through cycles depending on consumer perception and economic environment

• obtaining, transporting, cleaning, sorting and reworking or reselling is not cheap

Each year, in the U.S., 750,000 tons of textile waste is recycled into raw materials to be used again: TRUE OR FALSE?

TRUE

From Thrift to Fashion: Dress Practices in Zambia

• due to importance of appearance, not economy

• second hand markets- worn imitation of the west

• media blaming everyone involved in industry (donators, organizations that resell, importers/exporters, consumers)

• Not supporting domestic business/ westernization

• Salaula- selecting from a pile by rummaging

Geotextiles & the Environment

• installed into environments to perform certain tasks

• filtration.protection, reinforcement, seperation

• end use often to benefit environment, but…

• Long term effects are still being determined

• acidity in soil can cause polymer chains to breakdown

• additives to increase resistance to UV rays

Reusable Hygiene Products

• time and energy commitment

• how much is the environment worth?

• 6,000 diapers/baby

• 15,000 feminine products/female

Culture

defined as a set of human-made objective and subjective elements that in the past have increased the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction of the participants in an ecological niche, and thus became shared among those who communicate with each other because they had a common language and lived in the same time and place.

Cultural Syndromes

• Cultural complexity (how many different associations and how developed is that culture)

• Cultural tightness (rules of the group are so tight that people tend to stay within the culture)

• Individualism (pride individualism)

• Collectivism

Cultural Authentication

(in dress) Process of assimilation through which a garment/accessory external to a culture is adopted and changed

• Steps

1. selection

2. characterization

3. incorporation

4. transformation

Dress in Geography

• Textile traditions are never static nor geographically fixed, they constantly change 

• Can explain movement of peoples 

• Convergence of attitudes, values, and behaviors among consumers worldwide 

• Older generations form strong bonds wirth traditional textiles/dress - security/reassurance in a dynamic world

Generalizations of Geographic Textiles

• India: brilliantly dyed cotton, detailed chintz designs using lavish and exotic materials 

• China: silk and intricate paterrining, renowned for early technical genius 

• Africa: strong heritage of storytelling and symbolism 

• America: geometric native american textiles/pioneer and the settler

Rites of Passage

• Religion has played a significant part in defining imagery/differences between textile traditions 

• Birth, puberty, marriage, death, etc…

• Magical functions 

• Navajo incorporated a slaw into the border of a rug, which permitted the weaver’s soul to flow out on completion 

• Sumatran women weave circular warps to ensure the continual cycle of life 

• In Thailand when a young man left his village he was given a piece of silk cloth woven by his mother to protect him from destructive spirits

Sumptuary Laws

• Textiles display pride for one’s heritage 

• Attempts to subjugate cultural groups by banning their traditional dress 

• Socialist dress

Cultural Acceptance

• Ethnocentrism: judging people from other cultures and backgrounds by one’s own cultural standards and beliefs 

• Pluralism is the acceptance of differences in other while not necessarily wanting to adopt those style differences for the self 

• Dominant culture always believes that it exists outside of culture 

• If humans are the agents of cultural destruction, we can also be the facilitators of cultural survival

Ethnocentrism

Judging people from other cultures and backgrounds by one’s own cultural standards and beliefs

Pluralism

The acceptance of differences in others, while not necessarily wanting to adopt those style differences for the self

Fair Trade Options

makes sure that people making the textiles are being paid

• Nomadic Thread Society

• John Robshaw Textiles 

• Jason Home Flea 

• Love Adorned 

• Imports from Marrakesh 

• Pat McGann Gallery

Khanga

• Means “guinea hen” in swahili- originally from sewing together portuguese kerchiefs with white spots on a dark background 

• Symbol of womanhood - given for many occasions 

• Tanzania - before independence, written words expressed social messages and traditional wisdom

Chullo

• Knitted andean hat made from llama/alpaca 

• Unmarried men advertise availability 

• Tightly stitched, many colors, ear flaps, tied under chin (very thick, not too stretchy)

• Center for Traditional Textiles of Cuzco (CTTC): non profit to preserve textile traditions and provide knitters with a place to sell their work

Huilpil

• Loose fitting tunic commonly worn by women from central mexico to central america 

• 2-3 rectangular pieces of fabric joined together 

• Traditionally made on backstrap loom, heavily decorated (most around neckline)

• Has undergone changes

Hijab

• Refers to a veil that covers the head and chest, also a practice of modesty by muslim men/women 

• Debate over how much of a woman's body should be covered 

• France outlawed burqa from public 

• Lady Gaga and “Burqa Swag”

Tapa Cloth

• cloth made by stripping a whole sapling of its outer bark

• outer layer is separated from inner layer

• inner layer is soaked and beaten - felting

• strips are pasted together and painted or stenciled with sap of trees

Burqa

a long loose garment that covers a woman’s body and face, with a mesh opening for the eyes

Niqab

a veil worn by Muslim women that covers the face, excluding the eyes

Choli/ Shisha

• cropped blouse, usually worn with a sari

• Mirror-work embroidery seems to have originated in the Indian subcontinent

• Cut geometric mirrors held into place by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal threads (tension important)

• top stitches sewn in , based stitches get pulled toward edge of mirror

Kimono

• traditional Japanese garment, appears to be a simple T-shape form

• traditionally made form a single bolt of fabric without cutting

Bojagi/ Pojagi

• abstract and very old Korean textile art - a form of quilt

• Prominent in the daily lives of all classes

• made of silk/ ramie

• used to cover, store, carry items, wrapping gifts

• embroidered pojagi are subo

• connecting small pieces of cloth is associated with long life

Peshtemal

• authentic Turkish bath towel - woven with hand tied fringe, often striped

• thin, light, easy to dry, get better with use

Shirvan Rug

• of floor covering form ancient historical region Shirvan (in Caucasus)

• thin and desnely knotted

• decorative elements in dense arrangments, complexity of composition, phenomenal patterns

Dhurrie

• large woven textile from India, had many functions, now usually a floor covering

• simple geometric patterns

• lightweight, easy to clean

• stems from the daily practice of drawing religious texts/ emblems on the floor of one’s home

Globalization

• The act or process of globalizing

• Globalize: to make (something) cover, involve, or affect the entire world. To begin to operate throughout the world

• Process by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion commodities and ideas, is becoming standardized around the world

Reasons to enter the global market

1. opportunity for growth

2. relaxation of protectionism

3. rise of economic communities

4. increases in global consumers

Cultural factors

differences in…

• values

• language

• behavior

this being said, if these did not have to be overcome, everything would be homogenous

• loss of culture

Legal and Political Factors

Trade Barriers

• Embargo

• Quota

• Tariff

• Import Duty

• Local Content Rules

Embargo

refusal sof goods when quota limits have been reached

Quota

quantity limits on the amount of goods that can be imported into a country

Tariff

a tax charged on imported goods from a country to make the goods more expensive in the foreign market

Import Duty

an import tax or an additional charge levied on imports

Local Content Rule

must have certain % of content made in the host country

Dumping

Pricing goods for sale in another country below the cost of manufacturing or below market price in the country of origin

Transshipping

• goods are transferred to a 3rd party before reaching final destination

• a legal activity, but used illegally to disguise intent

Black/Grey Market Goods

evade tariffs/emabrgos, and move illegal product

General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GATT)

• 1947-1994

• designed to provide an international forum that encouraged free trade

• 1949-1967 tariff reductions

• 1973-1979: non tariff barrier codes were also established

• its policies exist as the WTO’s umbrella treaty

World Trade Organization (WTO)

• works toward liberalizing trade

• open markets, binding contracts

• serves as a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements & settle disputes

North American Treaty Agreement (NAFTA)

• Implemented in 1994 to improve trade relations between US, Mexico, and Canada

• Created largest free trade area in the world

• especially benficial to U.S. exporters of food products

• Trade with Mexico = Faster Delivery, ease of accessibility

• from 1994-2007 the U.S. textile and apparel- manufacturing industry lost more than one million jobs

Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA)

• introduced in 1974 as a short-term measure intended to allow developed countries to adjust to imports from the developing world

• establishment of quotas on specific textiles/apparel (imports allowed to grow at 6% a year)

Human Rights Issues

• monotonous, back breaking processes

• harm caused by materials/ environment

• activists: governments, international organizations, labor unions, religious leaders

• they have not made conditions good, but better

• americans have reservations about working conditions in overseas factories

Core Human Rights Issues

• freedom from forced labor or labor coercion

• freedom from underage labor

• freedom from harassment or abuse

• nondiscrimination

• the right to health and safety in the workplace

• freedom of association and collective bargaining

• fair wages and benefits

• reasonable hours of work

• overtime compensation

Mill Fires

• 1911: Triangle Shirt waist factory fire in NYC, 150 died

• improper building codes/working conditions

• Bangladesh 2012, 115 died

• Savar, Bangladesh- deadliest factory accident in history, 1129 died

• subcontracting- losing control in the supply chain

Abrash/Mottling

• color variations in hand-made rugs

• yarns dyed in smaller batches, each batch contained its own concentration of dye stuff

• also, how tight the yarn is spun

• accentuated over time with sunlight/fading

• might be strategically placed, an intimate and complex characteristic

The Textile Designer

• wrok closely with manufactures

• can include engineer, scientist, designer

• fabric construction, image manipulation, performance

• still a business: they receive guidelines from agent, client, studio

The Designer Maker

• designing items for production: design approach permits subcontracting aspects of manufacturing/assembly

• post-industrial phenomenon

• freedom of artist + modern industrial design

The Craftsperson

• essentially and absolutely a craftsperson is a maker

• similar mode of business as the designer-maker

• business still consider craft as long as make by hand

• dexterity of hands/fingers provide the craftsperson with creative opportunities not matched by machinery

• touch

• meditative/frustrating at the same time

The Textile Artists

• fiber art or soft art, generally used to describe textile works in galleries/public spaces

• 2nd half of 20th century, became more organized, identifiable

• Conceptual vs Traditional Technique

• can benefit the broad cultural status of textiles

• new forms within fine art that could not previously be accomplished

Arts & Crafts Movement

• Industrialization as “soulless”

• investigating historic or cultural textiles, using them as standard-bearers

• helped to ensure that art textiles would be produced alongside technology throughout the 20th century

• Technology plays an important role in artistic invention

Elsa Schiaparelli

• one of the first textile artists, known as a designer-maker as well

• good friend of Salvador Dali

• Figures in his works often “dressed” in her creations

Nominees for best costume design

• Cate Blanchett

• La Dolce Vita

• Great Gatsby won best costume design

Christo & Jeanne-Claude

• “land art” & “environmental art”

• large scale wrapping of environments

• creating beautiful ways for people to see familiar landscapes

Pocketing

permits the incorporation of small devices within a garment

Embedding

embedding technology in fabric/ sandwiching for incorporating smaller devices or wiring

Hybrid Assertive limb

suit worn to increase the human ability to lift things and to jump to new heights and to have ultra human strength

The Wearable Motherboard

• the first garment to incorporate both fiber optics and conductive fibers into a garment that could be used to monitor health

• monitor soldiers health, health monitoring vests for babies at risk of cot death, monitoring elderly via internet

Nanofibers

• the smallest man0-made devices encounter the atoms and molecules of the natural world

• nanometer: one-billionth of a meter

• direct result in the advancement of microscopic

• ideas taken from observations of surface design in nature (onmolecular level)

Burton Audex Jacket

• allowed snowboarders to listen to their music whole going down the slopes

• example of pocketing

Pre-Consumer Waste

any material that is discarded before ot reaches the consumer

is a textile designer given freedom from the agent or client?

NO, normally has guidelines from the client

one culture adopting another culture’s dress and transforming it into their own is…

Cultural Authentication

Tappa Cloth comes from…

• the bark of trees

• felting the fibers

• fiji islands

The Hal Suit is…

empowering

• builds up physical abilities

Best way to describe a craftsperson would be a…

Maker

Which art Movement did Lisa Schiaparelli belong to?

surrealism

What happened in the art movement?

paintings and sculptures were invested into more because they seemed to be more permanent than textile art

What is Globalization?

the diffusion of goods, services, and ideas

Which of these does the World Trade Organization condemn?

Dumping

Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA)

• introduced in 1974 as a short term measure intended to allow developed countries to adjust to imports from the developing world

Purpose of Multi-Fiber Arrangements

• to keep imports coming in slowly

How many textile jobs were lost from the nafta movement?

lost over 1,000,000 american textile jobs