Ethical sports gear (1 Viewer)

[billygannon]

Shellsuits are naff , but some people quite like naff, remember naf naf?! ubercrap French label...hhmmm

I wore a shellsuit to my wedding. Are you saying I'm naff?

 

[broken arm]

Well if ya like Cow's Lane...! Jane!-Janey who sells there + in Topshop is part of the Fable label, which is brand new.

which topshop? they were working giving short concessions to some graduate designers working on recycled clothing over here. I think they only socked in Oxford street under a "vintage" line. interesting though.

 

[Space]

Check out the howies sale section it's really good, alot of the stuff is half price or similar. They don't have any retail shops, it's all done online to make sure it's done right. We (kayak club in Bangor) got our blank t-shirts off them this year then got them printed. Seem like a really nice bunch of people who are really into what they do.

 

[dowel]

I wore a shellsuit to my wedding. Are you saying I'm naff?

Nope - I like naff, was it shiny?

 

[broken arm]

Check out the howies sale section it's really good, alot of the stuff is half price or similar. They don't have any retail shops, it's all done online to make sure it's done right. We (kayak club in Bangor) got our blank t-shirts off them this year then got them printed. Seem like a really nice bunch of people who are really into what they do.

some of the better outdoor gear shops stock howies and a few other retailers are stocking them over here.

david and claire are really into what they do (david has come from a marketing background so know how to sell the brand). it hasn't been easy but now they are uber-busy and successful. Even David Cameron the Tory nonce said in an interview the other week that what the UK needs is more companies like howies.

howies are not "perfect" by any means but they are aiming in the right direction.

 

[billygannon]

Nope - I like naff, was it shiny?

It was as shiney as my wife's gold teeth. I looked so daper that day. I had a pair of brand new cream-grey slip-ons and black shirt that was fully ironed - the black shirt really emphasised the gold tie.
I was so daper, I even shaved my back.

 

[dowel]

Beoken Arm - It's Grafton Street that stocks the Irish concessions. Not sure about London. There was initially a recycling denim and other garments- buzz but it was it didn't continue. I'm confused, are ya in London or Dublin!?

 

[dowel]

Oh, I see!
It's funny how the 'vintage' stuff is so super pricey.
Don't talk to me about Harlequin prices...in Crown Alley, I got a red suede jacket there for a tenner about 5 years ago, now it'd be 80 quid probably.

 

[Unicron]

Janey who sells there + in Topshop is part of the Fable label, which is brand new.

I wonder if I'm thinking of the same person, does a lot of silk prints, lives in Chapolizod?

 

[quasiquasi]

With running gear I tend to stick to what I know - I have about five identical pairs of Saucony shorts because I know they're comfortable and don't chafe. Shoes in particular can screw everything up and cause injuries if you pick the wrong ones - I've found out through trial and error that I can only wear two models of shoe, both Asics, if I want to be able to keep running. In this case I don't really have the option of considering something unknown, especially given the cost of high-quality sportswear. If a shoe is causing me problems after a week I will probably never wear it again.

Socks, t-shirts, etc. are areas where I'd be more interested in ethical products - there are lots of higher-tech products out there but I'm just as happy with a cotton t-shirt. Not that I really need any more though, I've accumulated enough over the years. Performance running wear is (I expect) already a niche market, so it makes more sense to concentrate on all-purpose leisurewear, into which category socks/t-shirts/etc. probably fall anyway.

 

[jane]

With running gear I tend to stick to what I know - I have about five identical pairs of Saucony shorts because I know they're comfortable and don't chafe. Shoes in particular can screw everything up and cause injuries if you pick the wrong ones - I've found out through trial and error that I can only wear two models of shoe, both Asics, if I want to be able to keep running. In this case I don't really have the option of considering something unknown, especially given the cost of high-quality sportswear. If a shoe is causing me problems after a week I will probably never wear it again.

Socks, t-shirts, etc. are areas where I'd be more interested in ethical products - there are lots of higher-tech products out there but I'm just as happy with a cotton t-shirt. Not that I really need any more though, I've accumulated enough over the years. Performance running wear is (I expect) already a niche market, so it makes more sense to concentrate on all-purpose leisurewear, into which category socks/t-shirts/etc. probably fall anyway.

Same with me as far as shoes. My shoes are my shoes, though now that I have a fucking insanely amazing pair of orthotics, the fear of Buying the Wrong Shoe is a bit less, and I might be able to try out some of the 'less technical' alternatives. But generally, Saucony, Brooks and Asics are the brands with which I have the most luck.

Anyway, the whole point, though, is that most people who are into sports like cycling, running, etc, stick with what we know as far as a lot of gear goes. I wear Sugoi or Asics running shorts for the same reason you wear Saucony: they're designed in a way that suits my build, and not just my size. But tops, socks, and accessories -- hats and visors, little day pack thingies for ultralong runs, water belts, etc -- people might be more willing to experiment, and at least that way, you'd end up with some of your kit being ethically-produced, which, in my view, is better than none. Doesn't relieve us of the fact that our shoes were probably made by little seven-fingered children, but it'd be a start.

I'm sure someone, somewhere, is working on ethically-minded synthetic fabrics that rely neither on shitty corporate practices or petroleum-based products. I just want to find those people and buy things from them. I'm happy with a cotton t-shirt some of the time, but only when the weather is dry and mild. Cotton doesn't breathe as well, and it gets stiff and scratchy when it gets wet. Still, though, there must be some companies out there, and I'm sure somewhere, they've sponsored a race, or at least provided the t-shirt.




PS: I should find out what kind of orthotics I have (they're not standard stiff ones, they're made of gel) because I swear to you, my aches and pains were demonstrably less immediately, and apart from a bit of the ol' bursitis flaring up sometimes, and the lessening but continuing War On My Back Pain, I have not been in so little pain since I was a teenager. My stride is also longer, which is insane because I didn't think that could change, my posture is better, and I'm able to run more often and more comfortably. I can't believe I didn't get these fuckers ten years ago (except I don't think they've been around that long). I'll find out what they are and let you know. It's hard to describe the difference they've made without sounding like an infomercial testimonial, but it's fucking nuts.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

I'm sure someone, somewhere, is working on ethically-minded synthetic fabrics that rely neither on shitty corporate practices or petroleum-based products.


.

sythetic anything that dosnt rely on bulk chemicals devrived from oil are unlikely to be arround; you could theoretically generate the same bulk chemicals from vegtable sources, but you would need to control production from farm-to refinery-to chemical plant-to clothes factory

 

[jane]

sythetic anything that dosnt rely on bulk chemicals devrived from oil are unlikely to be arround; you could theoretically generate the same bulk chemicals from vegtable sources, but you would need to control production from farm-to refinery-to chemical plant-to clothes factory

So basically, if that were to be possible, whoever made it would have to carry out the entire process from cultivation to finished textile? Why? Is it because vegetable sources are more unstable or something? My knowledge of chemistry is very, very poor.

 

[broken arm]

on another note i may go to the ethical fashion show this year - as part of paris fashion week. missed it last time

http://www.ethicalfashionshow.com/langues.htm

Fashion is overdue to be ripped apart at the seams. “If clothes had to list their real ingredients, bad labour standards and toxic chemicals they would need their own symbols”, say the organisers of RE:Fashion. Clothes are becoming ever cheaper and more disposable; factories move from country to country for the cheapest labour and loosest regulations; and more textiles are made of pesticide-drenched or genetically modified cotton or increasingly sophisticated man-made fibres. In the UK, we spend £30 billion yearly on clothes, or about £500 a person. Yet most of the millions who produce our increasingly cheap clothes live in dire poverty, according to Tearfund’s Lift the Label campaign.

Some 40 million people work in clothing and textiles worldwide, or about 14 per cent of jobs; and many are young women in developing countries who work in sub-standard conditions.

Wages in China may be as low as 17 pence an hour, according to the National Labour Committee. Indeed China, notorious for appalling human rights, is increasingly dominating the industry. Guaranteed quotas – under the so-called Multi-Fibre Agreement – for less-powerful countries such as Bangladesh expired at the start of 2005.

Mass-produced cotton is especially egregious, although the main alternative is polyester, made from oil and which is now in more than 80 per cent of clothing.

Global cotton prices are half of what they were in 1960, in part because of the huge subsidies given to US cotton producers. In fact, America’s cotton subsidies were worth almost £2 billion in 2002, says Oxfam, nearly twice the US’s foreign aid to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Yet an estimated 100 million rural households depend upon cotton worldwide. The World Health Organisation estimates that 20,000 people die from pesticide poisoning yearly; and cotton is the most heavily sprayed crop. “What’s happening in cotton is completely scandalous,” says Harriet Lamb of the Fairtrade Foundation.


The shift towards ethical fashion is long-term, trend analysist Roger Tredre told the Financial Times. Spending on ethical fashion rose by 17 per cent to £273 million in 2003, according to the Co-op Bank. In another sign of the times, the second Ethical Fashion Show will be held in Paris in October during fashion week.

As many as 40 designers are expected, compared with 25 last year from Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Madagascar, South Africa, Philippines, Brazil, the UK and France. And early in 2005, the RE:Fashion event in London, featuring fair trade, organic and recycled clothing, was not only hosted by hip broadcaster Miranda Sawyer. It sold out.

Marks & Spencer is adding organic cotton to its garments. And in a key development, clothes made of Fairtrade certified cotton from West Africa – Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Cameroon – and Pakistan are now in shops in France, Belgium and Switzerland. Certified cotton is already a hit: within one month, Mali’s Fairtrade suppliers sold out, said Harriet Lamb. Certifiers are also currently working with farmers in India and Peru. In the UK, clothes made from Fairtrade Mark cotton will appear in shops within a year.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

So basically, if that were to be possible, whoever made it would have to carry out the entire process from cultivation to finished textile? Why? Is it because vegetable sources are more unstable or something? My knowledge of chemistry is very, very poor.

not so much that vegetable sources are poorer per say, there both just sources of carbon compounds, its just that as the bulk chemicals industry currently is completely geared to produce chemicals from oil products the whole infrastructure would have to be changes from the bottom up.
Im biologist, not a chemist myself, but Im fairly sure this is how it goes(ie. vague memories of organic chemistry lectures in first year).

 

[c0De_n1NjA]

on another note i may go to the ethical fashion show this year - as part of paris fashion week. missed it last time

http://www.ethicalfashionshow.com/langues.htm

you could do with some new threads alright - green is so out.

 

[broken arm]

you could do with some new threads alright - green is so out.

tell me about it.

 

[Franco]

Hey, Broken Arm, what's the verdict on these guys:

http://adbusters.org/metas/corpo/blackspotshoes/

do they get your seal of approval?

 

[broken arm]

Hey, Broken Arm, what's the verdict on these guys:

http://adbusters.org/metas/corpo/blackspotshoes/

do they get your seal of approval?

i'm no judge of anything. i don't think i'm in a position to give seal of approval, especially as I don't know much about the company.

but, I like the principle but I'm not hot on the design. They sell them in a shop in town over here.

 

[Franco]

i'm no judge of anything. i don't think i'm in a position to give seal of approval, especially as I don't know much about the company.

but, I like the principle but I'm not hot on the design. They sell them in a shop in town over here.

They sell them in Dublin in Buddah bag. Lots of people seem to think they're disgusting looking. i reserve judgement, because, er, i own a pair. a good few disgrunted customers on the forum give out about them falling apart. mine have held up so far. they're talking about making a sandal next or something.