War on Want – AmeliasMagazine

Amelia’s Magazine | Rivington Place – A different take on the plight of Globalisation and the textiles industry

Check out the range of talks and discussions this week, treatment there is a chance to vent some anger at some cops in a more legitimate manner than normal as well as plenty of events pushing for action on a deal at the Copenhagen Climate Change Talks.

Illustration by Anneka Tran

Architecture and Climate Change – The Sustainable City
Tuesday 3rd November 2009 ?

Acclaimed architect, treat planner and former Mayor of Curitiba, sale Jaime Lerner, discusses his visionary ideas concerning cities and their future. Lerner’s talk will look at design in structuring urban growth as well as focusing on the importance of public transportation as well as engaging with some of the key issues affecting the built and natural environment now and in the future.

Time: 6.30pm
£8, £5 concession
Venue: RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD
?Website: http://www.architecture.com

Fast Facilitation – An action-packed taster course
Wednesday 4th November 2009

Getting a group together focusing on environmental issues in your neighborhood, or looking to take a new role in a discussion group? This course is suitable for people with little or no experience of facilitation. This course aims to help you design, facilitate and evaluate meetings or workshops that engage and include all participants effectively in order to achieve desired outcomes.

Time: 9.30am – 5.00pm
Venue: 212 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7BF
Website: http://www.the-environment-council.org.uk/training.html

Establishing a food forest: the Permaculture way
Thursday 5th November 2009?

An inspiring and practical film from permaculturist Geoff Lawton about the potential of permaculture forest gardening to design abundant human ecosystems. Part of a programme of film and events to accompany C Words: Carbon, Climate, Capital, Culture – an exhibition by artist-activist group PLATFORM and their collaborators.

Venue: Arnolfini, Bristol
Website: http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/details/416

Met open discussion about policing of the G20
Thursday 5th November 2009

The Met police will be hosting a public meeting about policing of the G20 demonstrations, chances for people to vet their anger, frustration or glee at seeing protestors get beaten up. The police will be answering questions and making sure the media see they are taking some initiative, although I’m sure continuing their oppressive tactics away from the spotlight.

Time: 9.30am – 12.30pm
Venue: London’s Living Room, City Hall

Climate Emergency Copenhagen forum
Saturday 7th November 2009

Looking everything we need to do to stop climate change in it’s tracks, 10% cuts by end 2010 and the case for emergency action. Creating a million climate jobs by end 2010, decarbonising our transport fast and looking at the Copenhagen talks, and the deal we need and the deal we’re likely to get. Plus plenty of workshops on the day.

Venue: South Camden Community School, Charrington St., London, NW1 1RG
?Time: 12 – 6pm
Website: www.campaigncc.org

Put People First G20 Counter Conference
Saturday 7th November 2009

The Put People First G20 Counter Conference will bring together academics, activists, campaigners, unions and policy makers to debate alternative policies to promote jobs, justice and a safe climate. Following on from earlier this year, where we marched in our tens of thousands to demand the G20 Put People First. However, we’ve seen nothing but a return to business as usual.

Time: 10am – 5.30pm
Venue: Central Hall Westminster SW1 9NH
Website: http://peopleandplanet.org/navid8537

Green Sundays
Sunday 8th November 2009

Bored with lazy Sunday afternoons? Why not go down to Green Sundays at the Arcola Theatre and explore environmental issues in a relaxed and chilled out manner? The event provides an opportunity for like-minded people to get together to learn about the planet while listening to live world music, film, spoken word, games and discussion.

Time: 3:00pm – 7:30pm
Venue: Arcola Theatre, 27 Arcola St, London, E8 2DJ
Website: www.greensundays.org.uk

An East London gem, buy Rivington Place constantly succeeds in delivering aesthetic art with a hidden political punch and the current show is no exception. Currently on display is NS Harsha’s installation Nations and Chen Chieh’s silent film Factory.

Installed on the ground floor, drugs the silent sewing machines of Nations are stacked three feet high, unhealthy spinning threads tangles and pools between the machines. The flags of those included in the UN hang from each poised needle. If able to match each flag to the correct country would the viewer see who is excluded from the UN and question on what grounds in today’s society a country is judged for their eligibility to join?

In the context of East London’s own sweatshop history, the machines act as representatives of the unseen and unheard garment workers that throughout the centuries have consistently made clothes for countries both inside and outside the UN.

In terms of the textile manufacturing no country has a clear conscious that they have not broken the charter of human rights with regards to the treatment of employees. The exhibition refers to the impact of globalisation; as located within NS Harsha’s words (with thanks to INIVA’s excellent website) “This work took shape after my visit to a local small scale textile factory in which I personally experienced the realities of ‘human labour’. Hierarchies and exploitation are part of today’s global economic order. Nations engages with these socio-political complexities and cultural entanglements.”?

The exhibition is suggestive that as industry is now global, it is not enough to look after one’s own population, by choosing to outsource globally, the boundaries of countries disappear.

Upstairs is Chen Chieh’s beautiful and slightly chilling Factory. The film is located within an old textile factory, the casualty of the continuing search for ever cheapening labour. Seven ex-workers who lost their right to a pension with the closure of the factory accompany the artist. The camera pans through the monumental architectural space in a similar vein to the films of Jane and Louise Wilson (Stasi City).

Due to the women’s request the film silently traces their steps through the disused building, still occupied by the remains of their industry. Their passage through the space is occasionally interrupted by archive footage of the Taiwan textile boom, the noisy interruption highlighting those abandoned in the aforementioned search for ever cheaper labour.

The women of Factory are physical reminders of those all over the world, whose quality of life has come to depend on the presence of the textile industry within their country. It’s time that these employees were treated to the rights we so often take for granted whether it is something as simple as a lunch break or as fundamental as a living wage.

The exhibition asks us to question both our reliance and ignorance of outsourced workers at the same time as questioning our knowledge of political intricacies and deals made by the UN that effect relationships across the world.

There are many fantastic websites that continue the work begun by both artists at Rivington Place from the Ethical Fashion Forum, the Clean Clothes Campaign to Fashioning an Ethical Industry, and the War on Want. Green my Style provides daily updates on the steps been made to make the industry greener.

However as Factory so clearly shows a lot remains to be done, to protect those whose lives have come to depend on the West’s need for ever cheaper clothes.

This exhibition continues until the 21st November 2009, hurry down!

The first three photographs are by George Torode and the last three are stills from Chen Chieh’s Factory.

Written by Sally Mumby-Croft on Tuesday November 3rd, 2009 12:50 pm

Categories ,art, ,Chen Chieh, ,Clean Clothes Campaign, ,Ethical Fashion Forum, ,factory, ,fashion, ,INIVA, ,Labour behind the Label, ,Nations, ,NS Harsha, ,Rivington Place, ,textiles, ,UN, ,War on Want

Amelia’s Magazine | Fashion and Ethics – A timely discussion

Ciel (photography by Ben@bengold.co.uk)

The V&A have a knack for putting on stylish events for the stylishly minded and the “Fashion and…” lecture series was no exception. Taking off in conjunction with London College of Fashion, one that attracted Amelia’s Magazine’s was the “Fashion and Ethics” forum. The forum brought to our attention the extreme passion many people have for making a difference within the third world for garment workers. The guest speakers; designer Sarah Ratty of Ciel, Christian Kemp-Griffin from clothing range Edun and Matilda Lee from the Ecologist represented different areas of the industry. Posing the question “is green still the new black?” the talk raised awareness of what is being done and what still needs to be done for a fairer trading world.

Ciel (photography by Ben@bengold.co.uk)

Essentially the forum broached the difficult subject of responsibility. Now that we as a shopping public know about the ‘behind the scenes’ of clothing retail, should we change our shopping habits? The popularity of the talk highlights the extent to which we are aware of these issues. With ‘cheap-fashion-fix’ culture taking over, consumers are buying more and more cheap clothing, instead of investing in more expensive pieces as our grandparents’ generation did. However, the human price is far from cheap, poorly paid labour, stark working conditions and unfair treatment are all linked in order for the shops to turn out cheaper and cheaper clothing yet still make a profit. The profit is coming from the worker.

Ciel Wool (photography by Ben@bengold.co.uk)

Two of the in-house speakers, Sarah Ratty and Christian Kemp-Griffin, were there to represent design houses that refuse to compromise on worker rights. Sarah Ratty of Ciel designs clothing alongside Peruvian farmers whose lifestyle would otherwise have died out. Creating luxurious pieces from alpaca wool, Ratty’s designs help keep the coloured alpaca stock alive as they are suffering from the popularity of their white alpaca brothers. The farmers who raise the stock are also ‘kept alive’ by Ratty’s industry as she provides them with working conditions which can allow them to continue with a way of life that has lasted for years. Ratty is a business woman and a designer, but one who wants to make a difference.

Sarah Ratty of Ciel (photography by Ben@bengold.co.uk)

Similarly, Edun, represented by Christian Kemp-Griffen, are another company whose main purpose is to aid garment workers and promote fair trade. Famously fathered by Bono and his wife Ali Hewson, the label seeks to aid sub-Saharan African countries through trade. Believing that promoting trade will put an end to the need for world aid, Edun encourages garment manufacture in countries such as Uganda. The old maxim, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat forever” certainly seems to be of utmost relevance here.

Edun

With rousing forum interchanges following the initial “speeches”, the passion of the audience for ethical fashion was evident. Debating the relative benefits of organic cotton over its abundant water usage, the speakers had to admit that they could not do everything; for success within this field, it is necessary to pick and choose a path to follow. These designers are following the path of creating admirable working conditions and promoting trade to poor countries.

The talk centred around the future of the industry, pondering the invention of intelligent and GM fabrics. While GM fabrics had a distinct “no” from both Sarah Ratty and Matilda Lee, the use of intelligent fabrics was deemed interesting for the future of fashion. Inevitably, the debate overran the allotted time slot, and our London College of Fashion host had to silence those still attempting to pose questions.

Edun

Following the success of the night, I will leave you with my main thoughts on the proceedings. In a world in which fair trade food is widely appreciated and endorsed, isn’t it time for fair trade fashion to follow suit?

Written by Becky Cope on Thursday November 5th, 2009 11:58 am

Categories ,Ali Hewson, ,Bono, ,Christian Kemp-Griffin, ,ciel, ,Edun, ,Ethical Fashion Forum, ,fairtrade, ,Fashion and… lecture series, ,London College of Fashion, ,Matilda Lee, ,Sarah Ratty, ,the ecologist, ,va, ,War on Want

Amelia’s Magazine | Fashion at Forty Winks – relax with fashion

This weeks listings; arts, website like this training, information pills films and festivals. Make sure you check out C words at some point, where Platform are putting on 50 events in the run-up to COP 15.

Illustration by Andrea Kearney

The Alternative Food Shopping Tour!
Tuesday 27 October 2009

An event to accompany C Words: Carbon, Climate, Capital, Culture – an exhibition by artist-activist group PLATFORM and their collaborators. Join James from action hero on a guided tour around Bristol’s alternative food shopping. Where to buy, what to choose, and how the hell it got there!

Time: 10.15am
Venue: Arnolfini 6 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA

Embedded! Arts, Energy and Climate Change
Wednesday 28th October 2009

Another event in the programme C Words: Carbon, Climate, Capital, Culture. This day conference is aimed at arts and cultural organisations facing up to the challenge of moving towards low impact and carbon neutral operations. Looking at the investment structure of the arts into funding into climate change as well as discussions into a radical reduction in dependency on carbon and on fossil fuel based economics

11.30am – 4.30pm
£20 / £10 concs
Website: http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/event

3rd Native Spirit Festival
Friday 30th October 2009?

The 3rd Native Spirit Festival will be held in London, it is held to promote the Cultures of Indigenous people. The annual season will include films, talks and performances. All proceedings made at the festival will go towards educational resources for schools in indigenous communities.
Venue: London, Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre
Website: http://www.nativespiritfestival.com/

Healing the wound: the struggle for truth and justice in Mexico
Friday 30th October 2009 ?

Film screening of 12.511 Rosendo Radilla case: An open wound from Mexico’s Dirty War. Q&A follows the film showing with human rights defender Tita Radilla to discuss the struggle in Mexico over the past decades.

Venue: Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ
Time: 7pm
Website: http://www.peacebrigades.org.uk/

CAAT National Gathering 2009
Saturday 31st October 2009 ?

Join Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) supporters from around the country for a day of speakers, discussion and inspiration!
There will be an array of workshops on topics from arms fairs to corporate mercenaries to challenging the arms industry’s jobs argument. The event will have opportunities to hone your skills in making the most of the media.
With an election looming and BAE Systems taking advantage of the recession to claim it invests ‘more and more in UK manufacturing’, this year’s event will provide the facts, skills and passion you need to challenge government support for the arms trade and tackle the arms industry’s spin.

Time: 10.15am – 5pm
Venue: Toynbee Studios, London, E1 6AB
Website: www.caat.org.uk/events/nationalgathering/

Training for Gaza Freedom March
Saturday 31st October 2009

Seeds for Change are putting on training for those interested in taking part in the Gaza Freedom march. There is a central London venue, crash-pad accommodation available on Fri and Sat evenings.

Website: http://www.gazafreedommarch.org/

Croydon Eco Veggie Fayre
Sunday 1st Nov 2009

The Croydon Eco Veggie Fayre is a superb day out for the whole family and is the perfect introduction into an eco friendly veggie friendly Fair Trade way of life. Over 50 stalls now allocated, to browse, buy and

Venue: Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, Croydon, Surrey CR9 1DG
Admission £3 for adults, £1 for Kids under 14
Website: http://croydon.ecoveggiefayre.co.uk/

Designers are always looking for the perfect location to showcase their collection, viagra 40mg so when what German Vogue describes as ‘the most beautiful small hotel in the world’ opened its doors to the fashion crowd during London Fashion Week, shop designers were fighting to get in.

40 winks is the boutique hotel and home of London interior designer David Carter. Recently he has been opening up his gorgeous abode for a series of Bedtime Story soirees- guests relax in their vintage pyjamas, whilst sipping on some champagne and listening to bedtime stories red by professional actors. The success of these nights and the hotel’s increasing popularity amongst the fashion crowd led David to launch the London Fashion Week ‘pop-up’ showroom.

Visiting the event felt a million miles from Somerset house– the soft lighting and intimate atmosphere ,divine furnishings and artwork, cocktails served in vintage crockery and sweet treats from Vintage Patisserie all added to the ambience.

Designers spread their wares thoughout the rooms, as models sported some of the more show-stopping pieces. My favourites were the red, metal dress by Alexandra Kaegler, as well as the tweed skirts and jackets by Timothy Foxx, jazzed up with printed linings.

Katherine Wardropper‘s sculptural fabric creations made true statement pieces of jewellery. The talents of Lisa Gibson, Ruti Danan and Atelier Annick were also on show- all names to watch!

If you missed 40 Winks over fashion week, don’t worry! Fashion is back for the exclusive new event ‘TART’, brought to you by vintage guru Naomi Thompson, pin-up queen Fleur de Guerre and the dandyesque David Carter. In the fabulous 40 Winks setting, you’ll be able to slip into a vintage gown from Vogue favourites Vintage Secret, have your hair and make-up done by Lipstick and Curls, and make-up artist to the stars, Bella Cruikshank, whilst sipping on some bubbly and nibbling on cakes and chocolates from Vintage Patisserie.

Naomi and Fleur will be on hand to transform you into your inner starlet. Inspired by your new look? Update your wardrobe with some of the cool creations from young designers including Minna, milliner Katherine Elizabeth, and eco couture jewellery from Seraglia.

All a little too taxing? Relax with a massage from the well-trained hands of Xhilarate. What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon?! The dates are 14th November and 12th December; if this isn’t the perfect present to give your mum/sister/best friend, or indeed to ask for yourself, I don’t know what is!

All Photographs except the “Tart” Image and Seraglia were taken by Paula Harrowing

Written by Katie Antoniou on Monday October 26th, 2009 5:05 pm

Categories ,”TART”, ,Alexandra Kaegler, ,Atelier Annick, ,Bella Cruickshank, ,David Carter, ,Forty Winks, ,German Vogue, ,Katherine Wardopper, ,Lipstick and Curls, ,Lisa Gibson, ,London Fashion Week, ,Ruti Danan, ,Timothy Foxx, ,Vintage Patisserie, ,Vintage Secret, ,vogue

Amelia’s Magazine | Rivington Place – A different take on the plight of Globalisation and the textiles industry

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