Culture & Celebrity (books)

Sustainable Fashion and Textiles is the bold, oxymoronic title of an upcoming book from Kate Fletcher in the UK. It’s due out around January 2008 and may quickly become the bible on this slippery subject. For two reasons. One being that Kate, whom we noted was involved in the Perfect T-shirt project, is a very well regarded researcher, and importantly long time practitioner in the greening of the rag trade. Secondly the industry has a dearth of relevant publications, unlike say, graphic, architecture or industrial design.

(The few that were printed are no longer readily available, like the European Design Centre’s cute little booklet, Textiles and the Environment, or Guideline: A Handbook on the Environment for the Textile and Fashion Industry, by the Sustainable Solution Design Association. Though fortunately you can still get Organic cotton: from field to final product from Pan UK. And there is SRO’s S4, sustainability trends in fashion magazine.)

Kate’s publishers say her 256 page book “not only defines the field, it also challenges it, and uses design ideas to help shape more sustainable products and promote social change. Each chapter combines long- and short-term solutions that deal with making changes to industry as it exists today, whilst articulating a new vision for the sector based on sustainability principles.” It will cover the gamut of material cultivation/extraction; production; use; disposal; service design, localism, speed and user involvement. We look forward to seeing it help to change hearts and minds in an incredible wasteful industry. Discounted pre-orders are now being taken. ::Sustainable Fashion and Textiles.