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Fair Trade USA, the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States, today releases its 2010 Almanac. With more than 9,500 Fair Trade Certified consumer products offered by more than 700 industry partners at more than 60,000 retail locations, this yearly report serves as a barometer for the health and growth of Fair Trade in the United States.
The 2010 edition showcases record volumes of Fair Trade Certified imports, a dramatic increase in organic imports, expansion into popular new product categories, a surge in consumer demand and increased brand recognition for Fair Trade Certified goods. This continues to parallel overall growth in consumer awareness of Fair Trade, which has quadrupled in the past five years.
While the world economy saw continued instability in 2010, Fair Trade USA bucked the trend and certified nearly 109 million pounds of Fair Trade coffee, 62 percent of which was also certified organic. Not only did this growth result in over $44 million in premium funds paid to coffee farmers to date, it also reflects the ever growing desire for socially-conscious consumers to align their purchasing habits with their values. The money generated by this surge in consumer demand can be reinvested into farming businesses to build infrastructure and capacity, as well as into farming communities for schools, roads, health care and other development efforts.
"As consumer demand for ethically-produced goods increases, we're able to chip away at the cycle of poverty that grips farming communities around the world," said Paul Rice, President and CEO of Fair Trade USA. "Through their participation in Fair Trade, farming families have earned more than $220 million in additional income since 1998, $56 million of which will be invested specifically in community development programs that provide access to education and life-saving health care."
One of the most exciting advances that occurred in 2010 was expansion within both new and existing product categories, revealing increased demand in the U.S. market for Fair Trade items across the board. Just a few of these new products include apparel, green peppers, vodka and a wide array of herbs, spices and extracts. In 2010, over eight million pounds of all-organic Fair Trade pineapples were also re-introduced to the market.
In response to the increased availability of Fair Trade goods, 2010 was witness to tremendous growth in several key product categories in addition to coffee. Cocoa experienced a 67 percent growth in imports since 2009, 88 percent (3,882,000 lbs) of which was also certified organic. Fair Trade citrus saw a 96 percent increase in growth in 2010, imports of sugar rose by 60 percent (89 percent also organic), and imported pounds of certified vanilla nearly quadrupled due to recent commitments from major U.S. buyers. We're also hopeful to see additional growth after two Fair Trade wines recently achieved 90+ scores from Wine Spectator, indicating significant increases in quality and recognition from industry insiders.
The focus of this year's International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO) Congress in China, is "Sustainability – Guaranteed by Wool." Huntsman Textile Effects, with our proven track record in LANASOL CE sustainable wool dyes, will present a paper that focuses on REACH, the European Union regulation for the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, which entered into force on 1 June 2007, and the consequences this legislation has on the wool industry.
REACH has one key central aim: to protect human health and the environment from the risks arising from the use of chemicals. The scope of REACH is really extensive and impacts the entire supply chain from product design and development through to it recycling re-use and disposal.
Within the REACH legislation some chemicals are labeled as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), one of the criteria being scientific evidence of probable serious effects to human health or the environment. With most major retailers now including SVHCs in their own Restricted Substance Lists, the commercial pressure to ensure that SVHCs are not present in articles and goods is steadily growing and having a greater impact than compliance.
Chrome dyes have traditionally been the standard for wool dyeing, and potassium dichromate, the mordant used in the after treatment of chromes dyes is listed as an SVHC. Over 12 years ago Textile Effects made a move away from this hazardous dyeing method with innovative technology that allowed replacement of chrome dyes with sustainable products, and a new range of metal-free reactive dyes for wool, LANASOL CE, first appeared on the market. This range has developed so significantly that a recent industry size test proved that the LANASOL CE range outperformed traditional chrome dyes right across the board – at every level of dyeing and processing.
Seriously sustainable innovations from Huntsman Textile Effects are making a difference!
Stop Staring! Designs, a leading cocktail dress and vintage clothing inspired designs company sold in hundreds of boutiques in over 40 countries, announced they will be debuting an all new line of vintage inspired workout clothing at the Fit to Rock DVD release party.
"Since 1997, Stop Staring! has specialized in the hottest cocktail dresses, vintage inspired dresses and rockabilly clothing, and now we're expanding our line to workout wear," said Alicia Estrada, head designer and founder of Stop Staring! "Designed for rockabilly chicks and retro loving ladies who always want to look their best, even while working out, our workout wear is guaranteed to keep you feeling comfortable and looking fabulous whether at the gym, at the local yoga studio or simply jogging outdoors."
The Fit to Rock DVD release party, which will take place on Friday, May 21st from 7-11pm, will have Amie Nicole and Heidi Van Horne (star and producer of Fit to Rock respectively) on hand to sign purchased DVDs all night. The first 100 people to arrive will receive gift bags, with complimentary cocktails and a photo booth provided by Sailor Jerry Rum for all.
The highlight of the night will definitely be the fashion show from Stop Staring! in which they will debut their all new workout line. Beginning at 9:30pm, Stop Staring! models will be strutting the catwalk in all of Stop Staring!'s new retro-inspired workout wear.
"We are thrilled to debut our new line at the Fit to Rock DVD release party," said Estrada. "What better way to show off our new workout clothes than at a party celebrating the hottest, most rocking workout you have ever had."
The location of the event is 1553 N. Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood, CA.
During the global economic meltdown, top designer garment brands, which had shut down their Russia-based retail outlets, are coming back into the Russian market.
Before the onset of 2014, Italian brand ‘Diesel’, in collaboration with Li-Lu, a showroom that promotes brands such as Furla, Patrizia Pepe and others, is planning to open 30 outlets in Moscow and regional Russia.
On the other hand, UK-based Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney are in talks with Bosco di Ciliegi to launch exclusive or mono-brand boutiques in Moscow, said, Bosco Head, Mikhail Kusnirovich.
As compared to last year, when sales of international luxury brands dropped by 8 percent, experts expect that by the end of 2010 there will be an increase of 4 percent, with Russian sales expecting to touch 10-15 percent.
Last March, all of Russia-based Diesel brand outlets had shut down. But in 2011, Moscow will witness the launch of a new Diesel outlet, said Diesel brand manager, Alla Fentisova of Li-Lu showroom.
Also, as they incurred losses, Vintage Technology that represents Diesel in Russia along with Miss Sixty, Energie, Killah and others had given up on franchise outlets.
Tanya Rossi, the Italian silver jewellery brand for women recently launched their new spring/ summer collection. True to its name, the collection is ultra-feminine with colourful stones in zircons along the summer hues and sterling silver.
The collection makes a statement with its vibrant motifs and promises to offer the style diva look to all the fashionable ladies. So, if it’s a date, or a girlie night out, a lazy afternoon at the beach or your official meetings, step out in style and let the world take notice.
A collection comprising of 5 families to cater to the everyday moods & roles of the urban woman, the Spring/Summer jewellery in Earrings, Rings, Pendants, Chains and Charm Bracelets is a must have in every woman’s fashion wardrobe.
The Tanya Rossi woman is the power lady at work in ‘ESSENTIAL’; she is ultra-feminine in “BLUSH”, multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan in “MIX ‘N’MATCH”, techno-modern in “URBAN” and retro-romantic in “CHARMS”.
Available at India’s leading fashion accessories lounge – Watches and More… across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore & Kolkatta & in leading lifestyle stores.
adidas football superstars Leo Messi and David Villa proudly presented the F50 adiZero; adidas’ lightest ever football boot, during a speed themed event at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. The revolutionary new boot weighs an astonishing 165 grams and features industry-leading technologies, making it the lightest and fastest adidas football boot ever made.
Lionel Messi will be the first player to wear the distinctive chameleon purple, white and electricity colourway during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.. The FIFA World Player of the Year says “I am amazed at how light the new F50 is; I can barely feel them on my feet. Speed on the pitch is a really important part of my game and wearing the world’s lightest boot will hopefully make me faster and enhance my performance during the most important games of the year!”
David Villa, who will wear the black and sun version, added “Speed is such an important part of my game and I am so excited about being even faster when I’m playing in South Africa against the best in the world in just a few weeks time.”
The need for speed in modern football has never been greater, where millimetres or a fraction of a second can make the difference between winning and losing. adidas has responded to this athlete request by reinventing the rules of speed and turning the iconic F50 boot into the lightest adidas boot ever made.
Aubrey Dolan, Senior Product Manager for adidas Football comments “Players like Lionel Messi and David Villa consistently told us they wanted boots that would enable them to be faster. Players wanted to be first to the ball, so we decided that the best way forward was to make a lightweight product which could be used at the highest level.”
The F50 adiZero will be worn by players during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The chameleon purple, white and electricity boot will be worn exclusively by Lionel Messi with Steven Pienaar (South Africa), Jozy Altidore (U.S.A), Shunsake Nakamura (Japan), Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast), Arjen Robben (Holland) and Lukas Podolski (Germany) wearing the sun, black and collegiate gold colourway and David Villa (Spain), Samir Nasri (France), Jermain Defoe (England) and Johan Vonlanthen (Switzerland) wearing the black and sun version. The boot will hit retail on May 24th 2010 in all adidas Sport Performance stores, as well as at leading e-retailers and selected sports retailers around the world.
Multiplatinum selling recording artist and acclaimed music icon Mary J. Blige, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, and its Chairman, Jimmy Iovine, have joined forces with Orange 21 Inc. to develop Melodies by MJB, a signature line of fashion sunglasses set to debut in Fall 2010. The first Melodies by MJB collection will feature four styles with a total of 20 color options. Each unique style will represent a specific facet of Blige’s life. Select retail partners for Melodies by MJB will be announced in the near future.
Nine-time Grammy Award winner Blige has sold more than 40 million albums in a career spanning almost two decades, becoming a major influence on popular culture. Orange 21, a Southern California eyewear company, designs, manufactures and sells sunglasses under the Spy Optic, Margaritaville and O’Neill brands. Orange 21 has been manufacturing and distributing high quality eyewear since 1994.
The innovative and creative collaboration was nurtured with the guidance and support of Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Blige’s record company and a division of the Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company. Melodies by MJB is the second major artist-centric brand Iovine has helped bring to market. With recording artist Dr. Dre, Iovine also recently developed Beats by Dr. Dre, which has quickly won a significant share of the premium headphone market and has included a partnership with electronics giant Hewlett-Packard.
Said Iovine, “To reach out beyond music, an artist has to become involved with something they're already associated with and truly feel passionate about and not just stick their name on someone else's product. As her fans know, Mary loves fashion and she especially loves sunglasses, making Melodies by MJB a natural fit for her."
Added Stone Douglass, CEO of Orange 21, “We are incredibly excited to work with someone such as Mary who has such phenomenal influence in all aspects of the entertainment world. However, the most exciting element is how much Mary loves eyewear and how committed she is to driving her new brand.”
A second, more extensive, collection for Melodies by MJB will launch in Spring 2011.
Genesee Country Village & Museum has acquired what has been regarded by some to be the best privately held collection of historic clothing in the United States.
More than 2,000 items of rare, mostly 19th-century garments and accessories were recently purchased from Susan Greene, a well-known authority in American costume study.
The collection is meticulously documented with photographs, history and detailed descriptions that will be a resource for improving the accuracy of the reproduction clothing worn by the museum’s interpreters at what is among our nation’s largest living history museums. In addition, elements of this superb collection will be the subject of future exhibits in the museum’s John L Wehle Art Gallery, as well as a resource for historic clothing scholars.
“Naturally I am sad to part with the costume collection that my husband, Bruce, and I assembled over the last 25 years,” Greene said. “Nevertheless I am delighted to see it move on to a greater existence serving a large audience at the Genesee Country Village & Museum, which so poignantly captures the flavor of 19th-century western New York State.”
“This collection represents 25 years of research and study, assembled with the purpose of highlighting salient features of style, textile, construction and purpose for a period which happens to coincide closely with that of the museum. The individual items stand on their own as objects of interest, yet each illuminates and enhances the meaning of the others. Placed within the historical context of the museum, the collection will help connect more history dots.”
Karen Augusta, appraiser for the Antiques Roadshow, calls the collection “a gem” that “stands alone as one of the finest collections of its kind in North America. I have never seen another such costume collection so carefully edited either in private or public collections.”
As the first major museum acquisition since the early years when the museum’s founder John L (Jack) Wehle (1917-93) was collecting works of art, Charles LeCount, the museum’s senior director of programs and collections, says that “this acquisition has the potential to influence the direction of future exhibits and programs at the museum for years to come.”
Most of the clothing dates from between 1800 and 1860. Although there is some formal attire, the focus is on items once worn by ordinary people in everyday situations; clothing, that rarely survives. Unusual, too, is the large representation of men’s, children’s and adolescent ware, found far less often then women’s clothing. All of it is in very good condition and with excellent provenance.
“Generally the elegant clothes of the upper, generally urban, classes are most strongly represented in museum collections,” explains Lynne Z. Bassett, former curator of textiles and fine arts at Old Sturbridge Village. “So the Greene collection is particularly important for information it offers on the working classes of people of the rural Northeast.”
Most of the items in the collection were acquired or have a history in Upstate New York or New England, including an unusual number of items belonging to Quakers.
The Greene collection comes complete with its own storage containers, as well as an illustrated, searchable database, an advantage to any researcher. Most items will remain in storage until renovation of the Wehle gallery is complete. Meanwhile, the gallery will be closed this season as the work progresses.
A number of the pieces, however, will be on display on June 26, during the museum’s War of 1812 in the Genesee Country event. Parts of the collection will also be the focus of several workshops at the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums (ALHFAM) regional conference at the museum next March. A larger exhibit will be mounted after the Wehle gallery reopens.
There are 2,214 items, dating from the mid-17th century to 1915. Among the very earliest are lace edgings that date to 1650.
The collection includes: belts, buckles and jewelry; coats, vests, waistcoats, shawls, capes and caplets; chemises and shirts; aprons, pinafores and bibs; drawers; dresses; fans, gloves and mitts; hats, hoods and caps; kerchiefs, cravats and scarves; collars, hoops, bustles, petticoats and underskirts; pants; suits; parasols, purses and pockets; stockings; banyans, tea dresses, night shirts and dressing gowns; swimwear; shoes and booties; buttons, ribbons and lace.
The collection is nationally recognized by the historic clothing and textile community with elements of it having been exhibited at various museums across the country. It has also been featured in several costume books and used for the production of patterns for historical reproduction clothing by various pattern makers. The collection will remain available to museums, researchers and pattern and reproduction clothing makers in the future.
Greene is the owner of American Costume Studies in Alfred Station (Allegany County), a collections management consultant and the author of Textiles for Early Victorian Clothing, 1800-1855. In 2011 she is expected to publish a book on historic textiles that will feature the museum’s new collection.
A Taiwanese footwear design student at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester, UK, will be spending her summer working alongside one of the world’s most renowned shoe designers Professor Jimmy Choo OBE.
I Cheng Lin (Nikki), from Taichung City, Taiwan, impressed Choo so much during a workshop in March that she has now been offered a three month internship (starting from July) at his renowned Couture House in London, where he still actively works with his team in the design and production of bespoke handmade shoes.
Nikki’s talent in shoe design won her the workshop at Choo’s Couture House when he visited DMU in November 2009 to give a masterclass to its footwear students.
A firm supporter of education, Choo regularly mentors young shoe designers like Nikki at his studio. He said: “Nikki showed great promise when she spent two days with us in March. We are very pleased to offer her this internship and hope to build on the knowledge she has already gained from her experience with us.
“We will continue to show Nikki how the whole process of couture works, from dealing with individual clients, right through to the design and creation of their shoes.”
The 21-year-old final year student will spend her time observing Choo and his team and helping out with day-to-day tasks.
She said: “I had a great time with Jimmy Choo and his team and I am very grateful for the opportunity to spend another three months there after I graduate. It’s an exciting way to start my career in footwear, and who better to learn from than one of the industry’s most iconic designers.”
DMU offers the only single honours footwear design course in the UK, and has won support from Choo, who also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University.
Aquascutum announce the appointment of Joanna Sykes as Design Director for Women’s, Men’s and Accessories.
Sykes says of her appointment:“To be working at the design helm of a brand with global recognition and over 150 years of history is incredibly exciting for me. Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Greta Garbo and Humphrey Bogart were all dedicated Aquascutum customers. My aim is to continue to create beautiful, relevant, understated clothes and accessories with subtle detail and the unconventional sexiness for which I am known. I want to combine this with a respect for Aquascutum’s heritage, an appreciation of the ground breaking fabrics the brand has pioneered and of course a celebration of the tailored suit, outerwear and the iconic trench coat.”
Belinda Earl, Chief Executive of Aquascutum states:“We are delighted to announce Joanna’s appointment as Designer Director. Joanna has a fantastic eye for detail and cut and she produces clothes we would all want to wear – a perfect fit for Aquascutum. We are also exceptionally pleased that a young British Designer will continue to direct the design of this iconic British brand. Whilst it is too soon for Aquascutum to be showing at London Fashion Week in September, Joanna’s influence in the brand will begin as of now and be fully reflected in the men’s, women’s and accessories collections next year.”
Sykes graduated with 1st class honours from Central St. Martins in 2001 and after six years designing for Giorgio Armani and Alberta Ferretti, she launched her eponymous label in London in 2007. Most recently Sykes was awarded a second season of the New Generation Designer support from the British Fashion Council. The Sykes collection sells to a select group of the best retailers around the world. Joanna will continue to produce her own label alongside her role at Aquascutum.
Aquascutum makes some of its outerwear in England at our Corby, Northamptonshire factory underscoring the company’s support of the British textile industry and ensuring impeccable standards are maintained.