Fashionopolis

*NYTBR Paperback Row Selection * The Independent's Best Fashion Book on Sustainability* An investigation into the damage wrought by the colossal clothing industry and the grassroots, high-tech, international movement fighting to reform it What should I wear? It’s one of the fundamental questions we ask ourselves every day. More than ever, we are told it should be something new. Today, the clothing industry churns out 80 billion garments a year and employs every sixth person on Earth. Historically, the apparel trade has exploited labor, the environment, and intellectual property—and in the last three decades, with the simultaneous unfurling of fast fashion, globalization, and the tech revolution, those abuses have multiplied exponentially, primarily out of view. We are in dire need of an entirely new human-scale model. Bestselling journalist Dana Thomas has traveled the globe to discover the visionary designers and companies who are propelling the industry toward that more positive future by reclaiming traditional craft and launching cutting-edge sustainable technologies to produce better fashion. In Fashionopolis, Thomas sees renewal in a host of developments, including printing 3-D clothes, clean denim processing, smart manufacturing, hyperlocalism, fabric recycling—even lab-grown materials. From small-town makers and Silicon Valley whizzes to such household names as Stella McCartney, Levi’s, and Rent the Runway, Thomas highlights the companies big and small that are leading the crusade. We all have been casual about our clothes. It's time to get dressed with intention. Fashionopolis is the first comprehensive look at how to start.

Que vais-je porter ? C’est l’une des questions fondamentales que nous nous posons chaque jour. Aujourd’hui, l’industrie textile produit 80 milliards de vêtements par an et emploie une personne sur six sur terre. Historiquement, le commerce du vêtement a accumulé les profits en bafouant les droits du travail, de l’environnement et de la propriété intellectuelle. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, avec le déploiement simultané de la fast fashion, de la mondialisation et de la révolution technologique, ces abus se sont multipliés de façon exponentielle. Nous avons grand besoin d’un tout nouveau modèle, plus humain. Dana Thomas a parcouru le monde pour rencontrer des créateurs visionnaires et des entreprises qui sont en train de propulser l’industrie vers un avenir plus positif en revenant vers l’artisanat traditionnel ou en développant des technologies durables de pointe afin de rendre la mode plus vertueuse. Dans « Fashionopolis », elle met en lumière le renouveau du secteur à travers un ensemble de développements technologiques, comme l’impression de vêtements en 3-D, le traitement du denim plus respectueux de l‘environnement, la fabrication intelligente, l’hyperlocalisme, le recyclage des tissus et même la fabrication de matériaux en laboratoire.

A look at fast fashion and its impact on the environment and social justice, perfect for middle grade classrooms Did you ever think about where your jeans come from? How about the people who made your T-shirt, or what happens to the clothes you grow out of when you're done wearing them? The fabrics clothes are made of, the way they are designed and sewn and shipped around the world, and the way we consume them and get rid of them--every step in this process has a big impact on our environment, on the people who work in clothing factories, and on our cultures. This nonfiction book shows us how the clothes we wear--and throw away--every day are made, and what that means for our planet and for people around the world.

'A gripping blockbuster... Thomas researches meticulously and writes with simmering even-handed anger' TELEGRAPH. Fashionopolis is the definitive book on the cost of fast fashion, and a blueprint for how we get to a more sustainable future. Fashion has blighted our planet. Today, one out of six people on earth work in fashion, churning out 100 billion garments a year. Yet 98 percent of them do not earn a living wage, and 2.1 billion tonnes of clothing is thrown away annually. The clothing industry's exploitation of fellow humans and the environment has reached epic levels. What should we do? Bestselling author and veteran journalist Dana Thomas has travelled the globe to find the answers. In Fashionopolis, she details the damage wrought by fashion's behemoths, and celebrates the visionaries – including activists, artisans, designers, and tech entrepreneurs – fighting for change. We all have been casual about our clothes. It's time to get dressed with intention. Fashionopolis is the first comprehensive look at how to start. Reviews: 'Fascinating... Powerful... Thomas has succeeded in calling attention to the major problems of the fashion industry' New York Times 'Thomas takes a story most of us think we know, but tells it better and in compelling, readable detail' The Times 'Engaging and thorough... Fashionopolis has implications beyond cloth and thread' Financial Times 'Thomas is a conscientious reporter – as evidenced in her research, which is studded with statistics' Times Literary Supplement

Since the democratisation of the clothing industry in the early 19th century, buyers have become increasingly disconnected from the creative and human aspects of the production of clothing. Arguably clothing is now valued less for its aesthetic qualities or because of the hours spent in its making, but more for the extent to which it serves current 'fashion'. In a climate of increasing anxiety about the environmental and social impact of the contemporary global fashion industry, Rachel Worth suggests that, rather than seeking solutions only in the present, looking to history can assist in understanding better the challenges consumers face today in making decisions about the contents of their wardrobes, which, in turn, will impact on the nature of the future global fashion industry. She does not seek to offer simplistic historical solutions to contemporary problems, but explores ways in which it might be possible to bridge divides between knowledge of the past, current individual choice, and possible directions for future action. The more we know about our clothes, the less likely it is that we will wear an item of clothing only a few times before replenishing it with newer purchases that are 'on trend'. By taking ownership of our personal clothing choices rather than feeling pressurised to respond to sophisticated marketing and to 'influencers', this book suggests how we might rethink our wardrobes in philosophical and practical ways in order to create a sense of order and beauty in our lives and to wrest control back from the increasing chaos of seemingly endless choice that perpetuates unsustainable, impersonal and fast fashion.

A call to action for consumers everywhere, Consumed asks us to look at how and why we buy what we buy, how it's created, who it benefits, and how we can solve the problems created by a wasteful system. We live in a world of stuff. We dispose of most of it in as little as six months after we receive it. The byproducts of our quest to consume are creating an environmental crisis. Aja Barber wants to change this--and you can, too. In Consumed, Barber calls for change within an industry that regularly overreaches with abandon, creating real imbalances in the environment and the lives of those who do the work—often in unsafe conditions for very low pay—and the billionaires who receive the most profit. A story told in two parts, Barber exposes the endemic injustices in our consumer industries and the uncomfortable history of the textile industry, one which brokered slavery, racism, and today’s wealth inequality. Once the layers are peeled back, Barber invites you to participate in unlearning, to understand the truth behind why we consume in the way that we do, to confront the uncomfortable feeling that we are never quite enough and why we fill that void with consumption rather than compassion. Barber challenges us to challenge the system and our role in it. The less you buy into the consumer culture, the more power you have. Consumed will teach you how to be a citizen and not a consumer.

"A groundbreaking, deeply reported work from CNBC's Julia Boorstin that reveals the key commonalities and characteristics that help top female leaders thrive as they innovate, grow businesses, and navigate crises--an essential resource for anyone in the workplace"--

Slow Culture and the American Dream: A Slow and Curvy Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century is divided into an introduction, six chapters, and a conclusion. In making its case for the philosophy of slow, the book first chronicles the origins of the Slow Food movement in Italy in the 1980s followed by various outgrowths: e.g., Cittaslow (slow cities), slow fashion, slow travel, and slow parenting. The book explains why the slow movement is in many ways at odds with the prevalent American Dream so committed to growth, speed, and acceleration.