Week 7: You Choose ... 6. Community &. 7. Less (pg 137 - 166)
Wow, we are half way through the book! This week we are looking at Community and Less. If you want to come chat about these two topics our meet up is this Sunday at the 16 Footers Belmont 2:30pm - the Blend Café.
Lets start with defining the two scenarios:
- Community is imagining that consumers purchase to make a difference and seek out social enterprises. Like we did today on our field trip to the Rag Traders Pop up shop today.
- Less imagines that we own fewer and fewer clothing items because consumers want to reduce their ecological footprint.
Also, before we start with Clare's book, I want to share a quote that I personally love and think fits perfectly here:
“What business entrepreneurs are to the economy, social entrepreneurs are to social change. They are the driven, creative individuals who question the status quo, exploit new opportunities, refuse to give up, and remake the world for the better.” – David Bornstein, Author, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas
This week’s questions:
Community
In the book it talks about collaborations such as (if you want to check them out click on the links to their web pages):
- Making For Change a UK social enterprise that works with women in prisons for more about this go to https://bethany-williams.com/blogs/manufacturing/making-for-change.
- San Patrignano (Italian) group who use weaving textiles as a way to rehabilitate people out of drug addiction, to read more about this see https://designlab.sanpatrignano.org/en/weaving .
- Mending For Good based in Millan see https://www.mendingforgood.org/ .
- Manusa who trains and hires refugees and new immigrants. https://www.manusa.eu/en/homepage/ .
- The Social Outfit who offer sewing and retail training programs for women from refugee backgrounds and CALD migrant communities - https://thesocialoutfit.org/ .
Q. Discuss the statement that said that to survive they need to work together with other social enterprises. In the book it is described as “growing the web of connections” p 140.
Q . Does fashion have the ability to change lives? Before you answer, consider this quote, “ ‘I didn’t have a retirement fund before’ says Fatima. ‘I now know more about my rights and what you need to work in Australia.”
Q. One of the issues is that social agendas can clash with commercial – How can this be alleviated? “The money has to come from somewhere”pg148. According to the World Economic Forum, “nearly 40% fail in the first year” (social enterprises).
Here are some ideas we have for survival:
- Government assistance
- Extra fundings via charity fundraising
- Donations
- Sponsorship
- Marketing of product explains that cost of product is the “therapy” and “training” and the result of rehabilitation for the producers. You are wearing someone’s reason for hope.
- Give credit to the maker so that there is a connection to the artisan’s story.
- Fundraisers . Look at “Wear The Change” example: https://thesocialoutfit.org/pages/wear-the-change .
Q. Is the answer B Corp for profit driven businesses ? Consider this quote; “ B Corp offers a tangible and transparent framework for keeping businesses accountable and setting industry benchmarks” p 150
Q. Do you think the cultural zeitgeist is shifting from maximizing profits to maximizing purpose? Is this driven by consumers or businesses?
Less
Imagine if “fashion is seen as a vehicle for political activism and personal storytelling. DIY culture makes it creative.” “When we do buy we choose well because we know it’s got to last”
Q. How much do we really need in our wardrobe?
Q. How does the idea of less make you feel?
Q. Degrowth? Is it possible to stop overproduction?
Quote: “ We must grow out of growth…The only solution is less stuff. There are no other options” – Kate Fletcher pg 156.
Q. The commons is defined as “a resource + a community + a set of social protocols’. Pg 157. An example of this model in practice is Fashion Act Now https://www.fashionactnow.org/ . Discuss how this is a “vibrant, creative social system” pg 158.
Q. Can you think of other communing in practices. The book gives these examples; “gift economy; open access journals for scholarship; CSA (community supported agriculture…..repair cafes and crowd funding” pg 159.
Q. One of the interviewed people in the book says that for fashion to become about “less” to “we will need to redefine status” – It will need to reflect social responsibility somehow. We need to not look at less as a sacrifice rather as more authentic connections. What do you think?
Q: How can small businesses survive if they can’t sell enough clothes to pay for rent, staff etc p165?
Q: DIT (Do It Together) will that become a commodity rather than a new outfit. Let’s discuss a date and organize one of these to do together :D.