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Learning ladderYou must:• describe what values issues means and give a variety of examples.• explain why values issues are important to the designer, manufacturer and consumer. • identify the winners and losers and evaluate the impact of a product on people and things.

You should:• identify how designers and manufacturers use values issues as a selling point to promote

products.• give a balanced view on complex issues such as ‘cheap labour’.• name bodies that are working to improve fairer trade.

You could:• discuss the pros and cons of a variety of materials and processes, and their impact on the

environment.• identify different ways that products can be more environmentally friendly and create products

from recycled materials.

Values issues

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Values issues (1)• Values issues is a general term that refers to the beliefs and

values people have: to what each of us as individuals consider to be right and wrong and how we choose to live our lives.

• Different people are likely to have different values issues and it can therefore be a complex area.

• A designer has to consider the values issues of the target market for the product they are designing.

• If they don’t it is unlikely to be a success.

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Values issues (2)• The issues relating to individuals will be different for everyone and

in particular these will change from country to country. • Global companies have to consider a range of target markets and

their needs and values in order to maximize sales. • The slides that follow will consider each values issue in more

depth. • There is often a cross-over between the different areas of values

issues, so some might come under several headings.

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Using values issues to sell products• Many companies now use the environment and other values issues

as a selling point when promoting their products.

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Social issues• Social issues often relate to the specific needs of the target market,

e.g. age, gender and any disabilities. • They also include how we are influenced by celebrity culture, brand

names, the media and the past. • Clothing or a particular style or design can identify groups of people

as being part of a team, having similar beliefs or they can indicate status.

• Where and how something is bought and sold, how it is advertised and marketed and how much it costs also link to social issues.

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Task 1: social issues• Explain the social issues

these images relate to.

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Cultural issues• Cultural issues are those linked to the traditions, culture or beliefs of

a particular culture or group of people. • Designers can use these ideas to inspire them. • They must also take these issues into account in order not to offend

their target market. • Examples of cultural issues include the meanings associated with

different colours and symbols, the types of clothes that are worn and how much of the body is shown and the use of traditional techniques, e.g. appliqué, batik.

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Task 2: cultural issues• Explain the cultural issues these images relate to.

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Moral and ethical issues (1)• Moral and ethical issues are those related to people’s beliefs and

what they think is right and wrong.• Issues can be linked to styles of clothing, rude and offensive

slogans and images used on products, the use of real fur and the working and other conditions of the people that produce the products.

• It is important not to just assume all products are made by low-paid people in poor conditions.

• Make sure you get a balanced point of view by looking at the section on globalization on the Unit 19 ‘Scale of production’ PowerPoint® for more information on this.

Source: www.ethicaltrade.org

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Moral and ethical issues (2)• As with all values issues, how the issue

is perceived depends on the individual.• What one person finds morally wrong

another might not, e.g. a t-shirt slogan that is fun to a teenager might be seen as being inappropriate to an older adult.

• Some companies such as FCUK deliberately use these types of slogans to attract a particular target market.

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Task 3: moral issues• Who is the target

market for these products?

• Who might be upset or offended by them?

• Would you be happy to work as a designer designing these products?

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Fair trade• The Fairtrade Foundation is an organization

committed to tackling poverty and injustice. • It works with businesses, other organizations and

individuals to ensure workers get good prices for their products, decent working conditions and local sustainability.

• This helps people have more control over their lives.

• The Fairtrade Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on UK products as a guarantee that they have been certified against internationally agreed Fairtrade standards.

Source: www.fairtrade.org.uk/

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Environmental issues (1)• In recent years designers, manufacturers and customers have

become increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of textiles production.

• There is also concern about our reliance on non-renewable resources and an increased desire to conserve resources for the future.

• There is an increased interest in sustainable resources that can be replaced for future generations, along with research into efficient and renewable sources of energy, e.g. wind turbines.

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Environmental issues (2)• New renewable fibres such as bamboo and

hemp are being used as well as new processes such as biostoning.

• Recycling is also now wider spread and although we still live in a very ‘throwaway’ society more and more people are reflecting on this and changing their lifestyle even if it is only in small ways, e.g. using microfibre cloths for cleaning which require no chemicals.

Source: www.demi.org.uk

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The main areas of concern • Raw materials – how are they grown, collected and processed and whether

they are renewable.• Use of water in processing and manufacturing raw materials and products.• Use of dyes and chemicals when processing and manufacturing textiles.• Use of pesticides and intensive farming methods that damage the land.• Use of energy during processing and manufacturing of products.• Disposal of waste products from processing and manufacturing.• Packaging of products and the disposal of packaging waste.• Transportation of raw materials and finished products.• Impact of the use of the product by the consumer (including disposal).• Maintaining a retail outlet, e.g. lighting, building new shopping centres.• The increased use of GM crops and the long-term impact of this.

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The 6Rs

• Reduce, e.g. reduce the amount of materials and energy used.• Reuse, e.g. can someone else reuse the product after the owner?• Repair, e.g. can the product or product parts be repaired?• Recycle, e.g. can the product be recycled into something else?• Refuse, e.g. can consumer attitudes be changed so throwaway

products aren’t bought? Can packaging be left off?• Rethink, e.g. how could things be done differently?

• For more information see the information worksheet ‘Values issues’.

When thinking about designing with the environment in mind you can use the ‘6Rs’ to help you think about the impact a product has on the environment.

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Eco-labels• As consumers demand more environmentally

friendly products, manufacturers are using various methods to tell the consumer about the environmental impact a product has.

• The Eco-label is a voluntary European code of practice telling the consumer about the environmental impacts of using a product.

• A lifecycle analysis or ecological footprint evaluation can be made. This is often called evaluating a product from ‘the cradle to the grave’, as it analyses the impact of a product from the raw materials stage, through production, use and disposal.

Source: www.eco-label.com/

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Throwaway fashion (1) • Throwaway fashion is where people buy new products because

they want the latest styles and not because the old products have worn out.

• Many shops such as Primark sell products very cheaply and it is easy for consumers to buy things they will only wear once or twice and then throw them away.

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Throwaway fashion (2)• Some manufacturers also deliberately produce products

designed to have a short life span either because parts will wear out or because trends will change and consumers will want the newer version.

• This is called planned obsolescence.• It stimulates demand by encouraging purchasers to buy a new

product, but there is the potential backlash from consumers who are now much more aware of the environmental impact of goods they throw away and who increasingly want products to last longer.

Many textiles products are only fashionable for a short time.

• What are the environmental issues related to the manufacture of ‘throw away’ products?

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Extension (1)

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Cotton – what’s your opinion?• Cotton occupies 3% of global farmland but uses 25% of the world’s

pesticides. Many of these pesticides are carcinogenic and damage the health of local farmers.

• Large amounts of water are used – one t-shirt uses 257 gallons of water. This water is often diverted from other crops and from the local population.

• Intense farming leads to damaged top soil and poor quality land.• Organic cotton is grown without chemicals and pesticides from

plants which are not genetically modified. It is more expensive to produce but kinder to the environment.

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Polyester – what’s your opinion?• Polyester is made from a non-

renewable source.• Its production creates greenhouse

gasses and uses lots of energy and water.

• It is also non-biodegradeable so it doesn’t disintegrate quickly in land-fill sites and can last for over 100 years.

• Plastic bottles can be melted down and recycled into polyester fleece fabric.

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Tencel® – what’s your opinion?• Tencel® is the brand name for a high-performance, engineered

Viscose fibre designed in the 1980s, that is considered environmentally friendly. It is also known as Lyocell.

• It is made from fibre made from wood pulp from sustainable forests and the solvent the wood pulp is dissolved in can be recycled and re-used. The fibre is also biodegradable.

• The fibre is absorbent, breathable, strong, reduces bacterial growth, strong when wet and requires limited ironing.

• It can be made into shirts, dresses, underwear, nappies and medical dressings.

Source: www.tencel.at/index.php?id=61&L=1

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Biostoning – what’s your opinion?• These are biological finishing

processes that use enzymes on cotton and viscose.

• Biostoning is used on denim to give a faded effect.

• It is a more environmentally friendly version of the traditional stonewashing process, where the fabric is rubbed with pumice stones.

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Dyes – what’s your opinion?• Originally dyes came from natural sources

such as plants and so on, but now synthetic dyes are used in most cases.

• Any vegetable or plant that stains can be used as a dye, e.g. onion, beetroot, blueberries.

• Although natural dyes are sustainable, very large amounts have to be collected. Energy costs for collection and preparation can be high and production rates slow.

• Synthetic dyes are chemical based but a wider range of colours are available and their production can be more precisely controlled.

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Recycling – what’s your opinion?• Recycling is where products and materials that have

already been used are reprocessed and used again. • It must be remembered, however, that recycling

processes also require energy and produce their own waste, so it is important recycling systems are efficient and cost effective.

• In general, however, recycling saves energy and raw materials as well as reducing pollution.

• Textiles materials can be recycled by being reused, e.g. through Oxfam. They can also be shredded and made into insulation materials and mattress fillings.

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Extension (2)• Discuss the impact of textiles items on the environment.

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Task 8: research and presentation

• Use images to show the types of products that are available and the companies that are producing them.

• Compare environmentally friendly/fair trade products to ordinary products. Do they cost more? Are they less fashionable?

• Imagine future developments. What if more consumers demanded this type of product? Is it realistic for manufacturers to go down this route?

• Summarize your findings in a short presentation to your group.

www.stepin.org/index.php?id=ft_researchSources: www.peopletree.co.uk/

Does eco fashion have a place in modern society? In groups research companies who produce environmentally friendly and/or fair trade textiles products.

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Task 9: winners and losers• Who might the winners and losers be for the products in the images below?

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Extension• How do you ensure your fabrics and components are as

environmentally friendly as possible? • Name three responsibilities of a designer. • Discuss the impact that both polyester and cotton have on the

environment. • Suggest alternatives to polyester and cotton giving reasons why

these fibres are more environmentally friendly. • Describe biostoning and compare it with the traditional technique of

stonewashing. • Explain the purpose of a lifecycle analysis.