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Informationen zum Autor Dana Thomas Klappentext Shows how the process of making, buying, wearing, and disposing of clothes has a huge impact on the environment, on the people who work in clothing factories, and on our culture. Leseprobe CHAPTER ONE: Ready to Wear Walk into a fast-fashion store—a Zara, an H&M, an Urban Outfitters, a Gap—and what do you see? A cool space with cool music and cool sales assistants who are eager to help you. But most of all you will see racks and racks of cool clothes. Dresses, shirts, pants, jeans. All affordable—even cheap. What you don’t see is how these clothes were made. Where they are made. Who makes them. You don’t know what the factory looks like. Is it clean and safe? Or a dirty, illegal, falling-down building, known as a sweatshop? You don’t know how the cotton was grown. Or how the sheep that were raised for the wool were treated. Or what it takes to make synthetic fabrics—meaning non-natural fabrics—such as polyester, nylon, spandex, or rayon. What is rayon anyway? And you don’t see where all those cool design ideas came from. What I’m about to lay out for you here are the basics of mass production, or the “supply chain”: the system of companies and people making and delivering an item. For a T-shirt, the supply chain begins with the cotton farmer, followed by the mill where the cotton is spun, the dye house where it is dyed, and the factory where it is sewn. And while I’ll be explaining how clothes are made, I could be talking about anything that is manufactured—from toys to electronics. I’ll show how the system has been corrupted by greed, and how that greed has hurt people and the planet. I will spotlight some heroes who have fought against this dark system, and have come up with a cleaner, safer, more honest way of making and selling clothing. And I’ll show you some of the amazing inventions that can take it all forward in a better way. Let’s start by looking at how the fashion business is structured. Picture a pyramid. In the small triangle at the top are one-of-a-kind, made-to-measure clothes for elite customers. For women, it’s known as haute couture (pronounced “oat co-CHURE”), a French term that translates to “high sewing.” For men, it’s bespoke (“bee-SPOKE”) tailoring. These clothes are primarily sewn by hand, and require several fittings on the customer. For women, fittings are usually done in Paris, since that’s where most haute couture houses are based. For men, it’s traditionally in London—the best tailor shops have long been located on a street named Savile Row. Haute couture prices are about the same as for cars: $25,000 and up for a suit or dress, and $100,000 or more for an evening gown. Bespoke suits cost around $6,000, and easily can run up to $10,000, depending on the choice of fabric. Haute couture designers, known as couturiers (“coo-TUR-ee-ays”), traditionally present their new designs during fashion shows in Paris each January and July. Bespoke menswear shows are usually staged in Florence, Italy, in January and June. When actors and actresses walk the red carpets at awards shows like the Oscars and the Golden Globes, they are often wearing haute couture and bespoke creations lent to or made for them by brands to generate publicity. That’s why red-carpet reporters always ask stars: “Who are you wearing?” Haute couture and bespoke are the most creative and beautifully executed clothes in fashion, and serve as inspiration for the next level on the pyramid: ready-to-wear, the factory-made clothes you find in department stores, nice boutiques, and online. (Think of it this way: Couture and bespoke is made just for you, and requires several visits to get the fit just right. Ready-to-wear is exactly as it sounds: When you buy it in a store or online, it is ready to wear. You can put it on and walk out the door!) Ready-to-wear covers a ...
