010. That’s a Wrap: Season One Thoughts, Themes & Where to Next?

In this final episode of season 1, we reflect on our goals at the outset of the project, whether we’ve made any progress, whether our goals have changed, and the important themes we’ve identified for deeper probing in season two. [...]
04 Aug 2020
00:22:52
Manufactured
Manufactured
010. That’s a Wrap: Season One Thoughts, Themes & Where to Next?
/

We conceived of this project back in April, launched it in June, and now here we are. It’s been quite the whirlwind ride. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks for season two, but the end of season one is the perfect place to pause and take stock. In this episode, we reflect on our goals at the outset of this project, whether we’ve made any progress, whether our goals have changed, and the important themes we’ve identified for further probing in season two.

This week, the links we want to share relate to how narratives shape our understanding of the world. Some of them relate to fashion and sustainability, some of them don’t. Nevertheless, each gives us pause for thought: in what ways does the absence of diverse narratives within sustainable fashion shape our understanding of what it means and how it should be done?

• The Mind Is a Difference-Seeking Machine with Mazarine Banaji – On Being Podcast

• The Danger of a Single Story – Ted Talk by Chimamanda Adiche

• Happy Ever After: Escaping the Myth of the Perfect Life – a book by Paul Dohan

• How Racism Shapes Fashion’s Approach to Sustainable Fashion – article by Kim

Manufactured - Sustainability and the making of fashion

Photo Thiago Matos

Recent Episodes

92. How it’s made: On Cotton with Rajeev Baruah

92. How it’s made: On Cotton with Rajeev Baruah

25 Jul 2023

On this episode we’re taking a look at cotton value chains in the Indian context with Rajeev Baruah, who has worked in cotton for decades. Though his background is originally in agriculture and tea, his cotton journey started with a spinning facility back in the 90s on a mission to work with organic cotton farmers – something that, at the time, was unheard of. In the years since, he’s gone on to work in a number of different roles with different stakeholders across the value chain. Rajeev gives Kim an in-depth look at the steps that go into growing, harvesting, ginning, and spinning cotton, who the commercial actors are, and what their incentives might be within the Indian context.

read more
91. How it’s made: On Garment Finishing with Rita Castro & Dionísia Portela

91. How it’s made: On Garment Finishing with Rita Castro & Dionísia Portela

11 Jul 2023

On this episode we’re exploring one of the final stages of production in apparel manufacturing with Rita Castro & Dionísia Portela from Confetil, a Portuguese garment manufacturer that has been supplying brands all over the world since 1960. Dionísia is Sustainability Manager and Rita is Sales and Commercial Manager for four of Confetil’s customers. They tell us more about the processes that give our clothes the final look and feel that brands aim for, from solid T-shirts to those with graphic patterns or vintage looks, different types of dyes and dyeing processes, and the sustainability of these finishing processes.

read more
90. How it’s made: On Silk with Hilmond Hui

90. How it’s made: On Silk with Hilmond Hui

27 Jun 2023

To understand the process, benefits and barriers within regenerative sericulture, we go back to Kim’s conversation from November 2021 with Hilmond Hui, Vice President of international clothing enterprise PFG and its subset Bombyx. Hilmond tells us more about Bombyx, which was formed in 2018 with a focus on regenerative silk production and transforming the way silk is produced, traded and consumed. Their Nanchong Ka Fung (NCKF) facility is located in the northeast of China’s Sichuan province, and they’re on a mission to do everything from dirt to fabric and beyond.

read more