The New Jocks, Ethical Fashion Project

Today was my final presentation of the semester! For my Product Development and CAD class we've been working on a semester long project with the knitwear company, Gildan and the Fair Labor Association. The class was divided into three groups, mine being the New Jocks, and we designed and produced ethical fashion. The goal was to create collections that are sustainable in ways different than just being made out of organic materials.

My group focused on several ways of creating a more sustainable collection:

• Two-in-one Look- Garments that can be worn in multiple ways, such as skirts that can be transformed into tops
• Versatility- Garments that are easily interchanged
• Waste management- many of the pattern pieces are rectangular so they can be placed next to each other and minimize scraps.
• Use of scraps- scraps that are produced are used within some garments in a knotting technique
• Large pockets- one cardigan has huge pockets that can take the place of a purse
• End-of-life- our company would produce a website that gave end-of-life suggestions to do with garments once they have worn out, such as latchhook and crochet t-shirt rugs. Also donation to charities would be encouraged.

Our collection was designed with Californian Hipsters in mind.

• 18-25, student
• conscious of world events, concerned with sustainability, educated consumer
• blogs and posts on forums
• off-beat when it comes to fashion, music, and culture
• laidback, casual but edgy
• feminine but not girly

The entire collection was knitwear. It was definitely a great experience and I learned a lot. I was the team digitizer, so in addition to helping with research, designing, and sketching, I learned how to use Lectra's Modaris. It was a very frustrating experience, but I eventually got the hang of it and I think it will be good to know the program.

To see some images and learn a whole lot more about this project go here: http://ethicalfashionproject.wordpress.com/the-new-jocks/

The exciting thing is that our collections will be showing at the Esethica Fashion Show in October.