Comme Des Garcons Here’s a look a look at the recently opened COMME des GARCONS GOOD DESIGN SHOP. A retail space dedicated to pulling together timeless items whether they be furniture, COMME des GARCONS clothing, electronics or just about anything else. Carefully curated by Kenmei Nagaoka. GOOD DESIGN SHOP 150-0001 Gyre 2nd Floor 5-10-1 Jingumar, Shibuya-Ku Tokyo, Japan Tel: 03.3406.2323 Images: HB Samatoa - Unique Fair Trade and fashion quality clothes made from natural fibers Samatoa is an exciting fashion house which manufacture fashion quality fabrics and apparels from natural fibers in collaboration with international designers. Samatoa was founded in Cambodia in 2003 on the three pillars of sustainable development : economic efficiency, social equity and protection of the environment. Following strict ethical practices which, as symbolism of the lotus, are purification of the body, the speech and the spirit. Pioneer in the field of fair trade and fashion couture in Asia, Samatoa has thereby received the UNESCO award of excellence 2012, with a Sarong made from Lotus fabric. It is after numerous experiments and so many researches in remote villages, that Samatoa revived in Cambodia a forgotten expertise. It is not the slightest pride of Samatoa to move closer thereby, by fair trade, the world of the richest in that of the poorest, and allow training, emancipation and international recognition of the latter.
s Trend Briefing covering "7 Consumer Trends To Run With In 2014" Growing numbers of consumers can no longer escape an awareness of the damage done by their consumption: to the planet, society, or themselves. But a mixture of indulgence, addiction and conditioning mean that most can’t substantially change their consumption habits. The result? A never-ending guilt spiral. Which creates exciting opportunities for brands that combine tackling this guilt spiral with consumers’ endless status seeking (still the driving force behind all consumer behavior). Zady.com The new standard Setting the Stage The Role of Business in Society Defining Sustainability Getting to Know Mapping Materials Getting to Know Cotton Getting to Know Linen Getting to Know Wool Getting to Know Alpaca The Truth about Cashmere Polyester Fashion And Fashion x Climate Change Fashion x Water Fashion x Forests Fashion x Corruption Fashion x Animals Fashion x Soil Fashion x Toxicity Lifecycle Closed Loop, A Primer Designing for Sustainability Care for our Clothes Good Ridding roll over an object to view articles
Sable and Argent » Events The facade of S&A has been given a touch of NYC by the renowned artist Steven Powers, Powers now a full time studio artist is well known for his graffiti throughout the 90’s in NYC. He would concentrate his work on the grates of store fronts, targeting businesses that appeared to be out of business or already heavily vandalised, and by ‘99 he had painted around 70 grates. He had a smart way of going undetected, if approached he would say ”I’m with Exterior Surface Painting Outreach, and I’m cleaning up this gate”; the official-sounding name, and clever acronym was enough to ward most people off. s Trend Briefing covering "10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2013" “Local manufacturing is the new Service Economy.” In 2013, manufacturing is coming home, that is, if ‘home’ is a mature market. Driving this trend: the perfect storm of consumers’ ever-greater NEWISM, the expectation of getting just the right product (and NOW!), eco-concerns and the desire for more interesting STATUS STORIES, all combined with the spread of new local manufacturing technologies such as 3D-printing and make-on-demand. And of course, consumer embrace of AGAIN MADE HERE will be welcome news for executives concerned by rising labor costs in China, long lead times and fragile global supply chains. Just one stat to kick-start the discussion:
The ethical practices of fashion brands are facing more scrutiny than ever. How are companies wising up to this and doing the right thing? In April 2013, when the Rana Plaza clothing factory near Dhaka in Bangladesh collapsed – killing more than 1,000 workers – Western brands that sourced product there found themselves under tremendous scrutiny. The incident exposed the dubious ethics of Western clothing brands and their supply systems. Today, thanks to technology, consumers are more aware of the source of the goods they purchase. Buycott, for instance, is an app that lets anyone who downloads it check what company, and therefore what causes, a product is associated with, simply by scanning an item’s barcode.
People Tree People Tree Atelier presents a bold variety of styles, ranging from a delicately embroidered shirt to statement evening dresses. This sophisticated collection is a fresh and innovate look for People Tree. See the pieces in action in our new fashion film. s Trend Briefing covering "10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2013" “Not just transparent, but naked and proud ;-)” So what’s next for the mega-trend of transparency? Brands must move from ‘having nothing to hide’, to pro-actively showing and proving they have nothing to hide, and go beyond uttering lofty statements on 'values' or 'culture' to real, unambiguous and clear evidence, or statements about actual results. No, not all consumers will be this demanding, but as total transparency becomes a hygiene factor, even those that aren’t will expect brands to prove their ethical and environmental credentials to those that do care.
s November 2013 Trend Briefing covering the consumer trend "GUILT-FREE CONSUMPTION" November 2013 Trend Briefing: Why guilt-free is the new luxury for consumers, and the Holy Grail for businesses. This month’s Trend Briefing highlights nothing less than the future of consumerism, if not that of business at large (yes, the future of humanity will follow next month ;). Building on our recent Trend Briefings on CLEAN SLATE BRANDS and DEMANDING BRANDS, and bringing together various strands of the HUMAN BRANDS and BETTER BUSINESS mega-trends, GUILT-FREE CONSUMPTION (GFC) is a compelling answer to the current, epic quest for more aware, more ethical, more sustainable consumerism.