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Evaluation...

During this project I have developed a lot as a communicator, I have worked well with my partner Sabrina throughout the project and i think we have come up with a brilliant idea and concept to help a great social cause but also an environmental one. My work personally i think is some of the strongest i have created, the photoshoot went really well and i am pleased that i did all the photography and editing myself as it meant i could really show my vision and direct it well. I think i have come up with innovative ideas for the Promotional pack, help guide and look book creating an overall coherent look. I have worked well with time and deadlines and me and Sabrina communicated well for when the product needed to be ready for in time to shoot and for me to create all editorial content. Over all this project has gone really well and my time management and team building skills have improved a lot by communicating with my partner.

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This is our HYGGE logo that I have used throughout all the branding to keep it coherent throughout everything.

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Promotional boards, look book and event space.

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These are my Graphic and social media guideline boards, showing my care labels, business cards, the ragbag, label and typo graphics along with my website designs for phone and laptop and my Instergram account.

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The Ragbag...

This is my Rag Bag design I have created, this is for customers when they receive one of our products it is delivered in this and then they can turn it the other way and send us back unwanted sleeping bags and waterproof items to be used in our process. People can also request these bags off our website free of charge so they can send us items even if they are not buying from us.

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Costings...

This is a table of the costings we have spent to make our product, I think this is a really effective price and cheap to produce and would be cheaper in production of the product bc we would be donated the fabric to make the sleeping bag instead of using the fabric from scraps. 

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Scraps is the local fabric shop just outside of Leeds where we got the material to make our product for this product. scraps is 100% recyclable they have a beautiful mill shop which is open to everyone, full to the rafters with discarded materials, originally destined for landfill.​ These materials are sold at very low prices and reused for art and play purposes. 

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Swet Shop

There was a recent event on at Hyde Park Book Club called SWETSHOP which is designed to take the stigma away from sustainable issues by highlighting consumerism, the importance of up cycling and promote local businesses. I think this would be a great event for our type of company as we can network with other local businesses in Leeds and for people to get involved with us and discuss any ideas that they have and support us in any way possible. Events like this would also be good for us as people could bring unwanted sleeping bags and waterproof items to donate to us. 

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As Stella McCrtney is one of the good companies I spoke about earlier, when researching in to the company I came across this interview with her all about sustainability which is really interesting and covers a lot of different matters within the world that need to be looked at within the fashion industry and how we can address them. 

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When researching in to the good, the bad and the ugly i came across this web page on Marie Claire discussing the best ethical fashion brands which i found really interesting and i discovered some new brands that are lovely.

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Printed check list.

Newspaper lookbook

Postcards

Business cards

Brand ethos book- cover, writing and photos

Fold out help guide for the homeless

Package shell

Press release 500 words

stickers

event postcard

event poster

folding sleeping bad instruction card

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...

The Ugly

Forever 21 is the typical fast fashion, high street teenage paradise. This brand not only have 0 personal identity but is also considered one of the worst brands when is comes to sustainability. It's hardly surprising that a company that churns out hundreds of “new” looks a month isn't the most ethical brand out there.

I have been researching  to find out the pros and cons of many brands, however, forever 21 has no pros, only cons.

The cons are as such :

forever 21 shares absolutely no information about their suppliers or their supply chain

the brand's social responsibility tab has not been updated since 2011

in 2012 the US Department of Labour found forever 21 products to be produced in sweat shops like conditions

they have brought out a new range titled F21 red, some of the items can be as cheep as $1.80

So they are clearly 100% unethical but that is clear to see throughout their collections and campaigning.

Their clothing is completely generic, showing absolutely no personality. If I did not know I would easily think these garments belonged to that of New Look or Top Shop. You can see from the garments available on a screen that very little money went into their production, creating these cheap looking items for a cheap price.

Again throughout their campaigns there is a sense of," do it on the cheap". The location is in a studio with a bright pink filter and simple hair and make-up are used but at least they know who they are, they are not trying to be impressive.

It is unfortunate but there is a real demand for clothing like these, cheap clothing with a questionable background. As a student with no income my only options is to shop in high street stores similar to this. I am aware of how these products got to be here but I have no option right now and nor do millions of others. We do not live in the most affluent of times, the wealthy can afford to look down their noses at us and judge us but often sustainable clothing  are both far too expensive and I find it rare to find a sustainable brand in the budget that actually appeals to me.

The words Paul's Boutique immediately conjures up memories of the “popular” girl gathering around a table in the cafeteria and seeing a sea of gold embroidery and animal print bag.    

Looking through their website, Paul's Boutique has drastically changed its image since I was at school when the bags and coats were the must have item of clothing. The Paul’s Boutique I remember and whenever the name is hushly mentioned is that of garish and tacky prints, typically some kind of animal print, on something of the synthetic kind adorned with clashing patches and pins.

The jackets give the impression of active wear, horse riding coats. They have been designed and made for girls who want to appear better than they are, the type who ride horses in their fancy, expensive coat.

This brand gives the fashion industry a bad name, all of their older collections were tacky, yet incredibly popular with my generation.

But they were clearly doing something right, as any girl in year 8 who was anyone had something from Paul’s Boutique be it even a purse.    

For me Juicy Couture has to be one of the most garish and aesthetically unattractive brand in the fashion industry.

Juicy Couture was founded in 1997 in California and it remains very ahead of its time. The brand displays the image of a very loud and full company. Everything about this company is over the top and bright. The brand maintains the gold all the way through their collections, website and perfume. On their website the words Juicy Couture are in gold, the perfume bottles are adorned with gold trinkets, the clothes and bags have gold covering them. Calling themselves “couture” and overusing gold feels like an attempts to portray themselves as something they really are not or perhaps they are simply just aiming at a wannabe market.    

On their website they do describe themselves as a “glamorous” brand for the “decidedly fashionable”, they also discuss the fun lifestyle of the brand.

Something I actually agree with, you can't say when seeing the hot pink, flower head pieces and tens of butterflies that this brand isn't fun, even the biggest JC hater can see that. When looking at their campaigns I do feel a sense of joy, they are not taking themselves too seriously as a brand and this comes across, more throughout their newer collections.    

Nowhere on their website does it discuss any kind of sustainability, through fabric sourcing, labour or charity work.

The brand has previously been accused of having “confusing labels”. This top states:“manufactured in the glamorous U.S.A” , however, the small tag at the top reads: “made in Vietnam” countering up questions as to where their products are actually made?

Victoria secrets has a Luxurious aesthetic which is at the forefront of their company But knowing now that they have been caught out for failing to ensure good pay for their workers and many other factors that come with un-ethical exploitation standards. 

Victoria's Secret has made some small steps toward greater transparency in the types and amounts of hazardous chemicals discharged by the production of their bras and other products. I feel like their items are really expensive and I also find some of the branding really cheap. The ‘pink’ side of the company I think can look really childish and sometimes chavy and I think the price of the clothing doesn’t reflect the look of them.

Boohoo is originally from Manchester it is one of the fastest growing international retailers, boohoo.com has quickly evolved into a global fashion leader of its generation.

They say their philosophy is pretty simple: we don’t take fashion or life too seriously. Whether you like to keep one step ahead of the trends, or if subtle style is more your thing, we’re sure we’ve got something you’ll love. And with up to 100 pieces hitting site every day and a new collection each week, we never stop - it’s 24/7 fashion at its best.

But BooHoo have been dodging many ethical policies and been producing their garments for as little as possible. One many different websites BooHoo fails every criteria that enables a brand to be ethically aware. They fail at areas such as workers welfare, empowerment and wages, keeping track of the relationship with their supplier(s), monitoring the final stages of production and many more. 

In terms of their branding and logo, it really doesn’t interest me. I think the logo looks cheap and basically shows what the rest of the companies clothes are like. I have had clothing from them before and they have felt really cheap and i didn’t like it at all. I also don’t like the styling and the shoots that they create I don’t think the shoots are very imaginative or have a story to them.

The shoe brand Hush Puppies have a lack of information published about their policies of sustainability which is essential for every brand. In order for them to be seen as a positive brand in terms of sustainability, every brand must publish the things they do in order to be a sustainably aware brand. There are very few brands now that don’t do at least one thing sustainable. I think their branding is very poor and hasn’t evolved over the years, their website is very bland and not eye catching to the consumer.

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...

The good.  

Toms are a very unique brand located in California. They are a for-profit brand started in 2006. The brand began with shoes and has now developed into producing bags and eyewear.    

To date Toms has given 60 million pairs of new shoes to children in need. Giving children in need a simple pair of shoes is much more than that, the shoes are protecting them from deadly parasites and the open ground. Toms are also very involved with health care and ensuring it is really available for anyone who may be in need of it. Not only are they investing in medical care but also education. There has been an increase of 1000 students in  Liberian classrooms since Toms began their mission.

I think this brand is one of the best in the world when it comes to sustainability and social responsibility. Every aspect of this brand had been thought about from how it can help and what it can do for others.

I really like the one for one idea about this brand, it's a good principle to think that simply buying one pair of shoes can contribute to all of these initiatives.

Fat face began in 1988 with a simple idea of selling sweatshirts in the French Alps as a way for two friends to continue their traveling adventure together. 1992 was the first time a store was opened and now they can be seen on every high street across England.  

The company set up the Fat face foundation. The foundation works alongside other organisations and charities to enable people to actively enjoy  and respect the outdoors just as much as the original founders do. The foundation focuses on cleaning up and caring for the land so many others can enjoy nature. Alongside the foundation, many of their members also work for other charities.

As well as the foundations they have set up, Fat face also only deal with ethical trade. Since starting the business in 1988 they have worked hard to ensure all aspects of the company and products are ethical, all employees are treated fairly. The members of the team take time to learn how to effectively train others. Fat face works closely with their suppliers to ensure all of the factory crew are treated equally. The company has put in place a code of conduct that all suppliers must follow to the letter. The code covers areas such as child labour, working hours, health and safety, discrimination and more.    

Fat face it still not satisfied with their work thus far. They intend to partner up with key suppliers to really enforce the brand's sustainability and to really improve the lives of others.

I personally am drawn to the company due to its care of the earth and land. We, as humans, are destroying this planet and I find it comforting to know that people and companies are really trying to make a difference. This would 100% encourage me to spend money with Fat face.    

Beaumont Organic began when, in 2006, Hannah  graduated with a degree for fashion and textiles marketing. She moved to London but before long had created a collection of 8 100% organic cotton undyed T-shirts.  

Beaumont Organic was launched in 2009 and won “best organic textile award”. Due to this success their brand began to wholesale in Japan. The brand started to rapidly grow in size and now works with a range of PR agencies in London.

In 2012 the brand relaunched their website and now offers a 60 piece collection.

Their ethics include :

Bamboo

Organic cotton

wool

linen

end of rolls

natural leathers

made in Portugal

made in England

This brand is very focused on using only natural organic fabrics within their collections.  

Beaumont Organic has also set up a foundation. The founder Hannah was determined to set up a foundation as a result of spending time teaching maths in Fiji. She was shocked to see how none of the students had a pen or paper and the general facilities of the school. The foundation was set up in 2008 and pledged to donate 1% of their annual profit to the people and children of Taveuni with the hope of making their lives better.

Patagonia

The first company that i have looked at is Patagonia. They are a well known brand that creates outdoor clothing for all sorts of activities. The brand is known for considering the environment in many different ways. Their mission statement is “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

The Footprint Chronicles examines Patagonia’s life and habits as a company. The goal is to use transparency about their supply chain to help them reduce their adverse social and environmental impacts – and on an industrial scale. They’ve been in business long enough to know that when they can reduce or eliminate a harm, other businesses will be eager to follow suit. They consider the materials they use, corporate responsibility, their impact on the planet and question what is a living wage vs the minimum wage?

Older brother

Older brother fuses natural processes with playful spirits to create contemporary classics. They are the intermix between men/women, play/sophistication, and contemporary/nature-based design. Their universal garments, tailored to fit men, women and those in-between equally. No gender, gender-neutral, unisex et cetera.

Each naturally hand-dyed garment is subtly unique and completely free of heavy metals, salts, and toxins. After being loved to death, they can be buried in your backyard to organically decompose.

They work exclusively with eco-conscious textiles that range from small batch organics to renewable plant-based synthetics. They also carefully select their textiles based on quality, environmental impact and social responsibility. Their garments are cut, sewn and dyed in sunny Los Angeles. Through their insistence on the most premium and transparent methods of garment creation, they occupy the forefront of the slow clothing revolution.

I love older brother, I think their brand is amazing and their clothes are beautiful. They are a modern brand that are selling clean fresh clothes that are made with such care and attention.

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney designs clothes that are meant to last. She believes in creating pieces that aren’t going to get burnt, that aren’t going to landfills, that aren’t going to damage the environment. For every piece in every collection she is always asking what have we done to make this garment more sustainable and what else can we do. It is a constant effort to improve.

Their philosophy is that it is better to do something than nothing. For her, it’s about the basic principles: Sustainability is important, as is recycling. Everyone can do simple things to make a difference, and every little bit really does count.

It’s really the job of fashion designers now to turn things on their head in a different way, and not just try to turn a dress on its head every season. Try and ask questions about how you make that dress, where you make that dress, what materials you’re using. She think’s that it is far more interesting. She think’s that the way to create sustainable fashion is to keep asking these questions while making sure to make desirable, luxurious, beautiful clothing and accessories that women want to buy.

Stella McCartney is a high fashion brand that focusing on sustainability really well while creating beautiful high quality garments, not using fur or real leather she takes in to consideration different factors that contribute to becoming a sustainable brand.

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Folding Guide..

When we did the shoot for our garment me and Sabrina realised that it would be beneficial to created a folding guide for people that they will receive when they purchase our product, this means the customer knows exactly how to use our product. Sabrina did the technical flats and I produced the design and layout.

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Our Launch Party!

I created an A3 poster to promote our product launch event, I printed it off and pinned it up at university, i think it looks really eye catching with the bright colours and strong image, I also think my typo graphics are strong.

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The other week we went on a trip for our new media module to colours may vary in Leeds and i came across this fold out which I love. I think the style of it and the way images and text can be presented together works well. I took pictures of how this was folded together and made my own net for it on indesign working out measurements and folding techniques. I thought it would be a brilliant idea for the Homeless help guide for different cities as i could show a lot of information on it about help centres and websites. This is also a very cost effective way of printing as your not waisting paper with it being double sided and not having to cut the paper size down and making most of the space.