the district

Porn star come American Apparel Model Faye Reagan aka Jillian. (get it?)

Critics of American Apparel advertising who claim that it is virtual soft-porn have recently gained some fodder for their argument. While this is apparently not new news (file under: I learn interesting things when I talk to my brother) American Apparel has at some point begun featuring porn stars in their print and online advertising efforts.  While this is hardly the venue to discuss the implications of pornography and perpetuating gender inequality, I do think its fair to assume that such a move will not be received warmly by the feminist community at large.  One has to wonder how American Apparel has continued to do so well amongst the specific class of consumers and t-shirt companies wishing to use an ‘ethical’ blank, despite the company’s continued absurd antics towards women.  (At least) 5 sexual harassment cases, pedophile-baiting photography, and now the use of porn stars for models, yet American Apparel continues to dominate as the source for blanks for socially responsible t-shirt companies and consumers.  It don’t make no sense, and those are my two cents.

Columbia Sportswear, most well known for their advertisements featuring Gert Boyle subjecting her adult sons to inhumane treatment to test their wares announced yesterday plans to install 100 kw of solar power to power their Portland Oregon headquarters.

When completed, the system will consist of a total of 570 photovoltaic (PV) panels mounted on the roof of two of Columbia’s buildings. Power generated by the system will be fed back into the power grid through a meter and credited to Columbia’s account. Tanner Creek Energy, an Oregon-based developer of commercial and industrial scale solar electric systems, designed the solar system for Columbia and is acting as the project’s general contractor.

“Columbia’s participation in this project demonstrates the growing viability of sustainable energy solutions and reinforces Oregon’s leadership in solar energy,” said Kristen Sagan, Columbia’s sustainability manager.

So we would like to salute Colombia for their plans, and also just because they have someone who’s job title is “sustainability manager.”  More clothing companies could use one of those.

The nation’s largest apparel trade show has introduced an ‘eco’ component to this August’s show with Ecollection.  The Ecollection will be one of many themed sections of Magic, which as the name implies will feature environmentally responsible labels in special recycled booths, with ‘green’ signage.  In addition to showcasing the green-labels , the show will house Lounge 22 for attendees, which will feature bammboo furniture and Cradle to Cradle certified textiles. To top off the new show, in typical Magic fashion (non pun intended) Ecollection will host its own seminar series with some very prominent speakers addressing topics of sustainability in the apparel industry such as representatives from Patagonia, and less obviously Nike’s corporate responsibility office. As usual, Magic will take place Aug 25-27 in Las Vegas.

Dear the 148 weirdos that read this page at least semi-regularly,

I apologize for my absence, I was out of town and then I had some kind of bullshit or something that I didn’t even get from making out with a girl and was just really tired for a week. Okay, maybe it wasn’t mono at all, but I was still really tired and didn’t feel like writing anything.  Don’t worry though, I am back with lots of moderately interesting things to talk about.

Love,

Brett

Believe it or not I actually read the occasional book on real printed paper, just like in the old days. When I came across Rachel Louise Snyder’s recently published Fugitive Demin, and its obnoxiously long sub-title: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade, I knew this was a book for me. I don’t know when it happened (I’m guessing grad school), but the archaic and often impenetrable world of the international clothing trade fascinates me. While given the title, I certainly did not expect a scholarly review of the subject, Snyder’s snarky and irreverant tone throughout caught me a little off-guard. Starting from the obscure cotton fields of Azerbaijan Snyder takes the reader through the strangely convoluted journey of pant production across the globe. Despite some early stumbles on the difference between thread and yarn, and a foggy explanation of the quota system, Snyder paints a deeply personal portrait of a handful of characters involved in your pants from Italian fabric designers to Cambodian factory workers. At the core of Fugitive Denim, Snyder attempts to break-down and examine some of the many complex issues affecting the international garment industry, specifically unpacking the traditional causes of social and environmental problems associated with apparel manufacturing. While far from a corporate apologist, Snyder does not take the easy road of blind criticism and finger-pointing at industry giants like Gap or Wal-mart.Instead she does an excellent job of simplifying many of the complex factors involved such as international trade policy, fierce retail competition, and long political agendas. Fugitive Denim can be at times mildly annoying in its informality, but does provide a service in making an often dry and overlooked topic significantly more accessible to the general pants-wearing public.

You can buy it here.

Firefox announced a t-shirt design contest a few days ago for their official new t-shirt. It will be printed on 100% organic cotton, and will not harm any actual or cartoon-like firefoxes. After having just spent the better part of the day trying to restore this site after some sort of hosting disaster, I am going to leave you with the contest details, and step the hell away from my computer.

For details click here.

Yesterday the LA Times ran a story on the plethora of candidate Tees circulating the web this primary season, including the Hillary shirt pictured above from Marc Jacobs. (the obama shirt is an official campaign shirt, pict borrowed from Tcritic)  While the article doesn’t report anything shocking, it gives me pleasure to read about Clinton losing at things, even if it is petty.  Having worked briefly in electoral politics, I learned two things: Alaskans like guns, and the “t-shirt” indicator is just about as accurate at predicting election results as the yard-sign count.  For the under 30 set, ordering a t-shirt online and pontificating at parties is somehow a much easier task than actually dragging one’s lazy ass to the polling station every 4 years. Anyway, speaking of being lazy here are the highlights:

So, I don’t know how I missed this one last week, but American Apparel founder Dov Charney’s Sexual Harassment lawsuit began trial last week. Efforts to arbitrate the deal (I am guessing ‘pay-off the accuser’) have fallen apart and court hearings are underway. No details yet on how long the trial is expected to last, but I will keep you updated on any news. While this is the third (or fourth?) such formal suit filed against Charney it is the first one to make it to the courtroom. Does paying your machine-operators arguably more than anyone else in the garment industry compensate for being a misogynistic douche-bag? Consumers, You decide.

San Mar announced yesterday the arrival of 25 new “earth-friendly” styles to their spring/summer 2008 line-up. The distribution giant, which also manufactures several of its own brands unveiled new items ranging from organic cotton T’s under their District Threads (no relation to DC) label to recycled polyester fleece and bamboo items under the Port Authority brand. Additionally, San Mar also announced some organic cotton baby-wear and polos under the Precious Cargo and Red House labels respectively. While none of these products on their own are particularly earth-shattering or revolutionary, it is always worth noting when such a major player invests this heavily in environmentally friendly styles. Even though San Mar is not necessarily a household name to consumers, the company is pretty gigantic in the imprintables industry.

Pricing is not yet available for all the products, but can be expected to be on the lower end of the eco-fashion spectrum. Interestingly, the company chose only to offer its blank t-shirts in undyed “natural” color, which is obviously more environmentally friendly, but hugely less marketable. It will be interesting to see if District Threads sticks with the one color option, or adds more next season. Also of note is the use of R-tek polyesther fleece, which boasts 40% recycled content (and 60% fresh light-sweet crude).

Look for the items this spring, the complete catalogue is due out sometime in early March.

P.S. (from the greenwash desk) The San Mar earth-friendly collection also includes some Modal items, which as far as I know, gains its only green-cred from the fact that it once originated from a plant before some heavy chemical processing.