Patients in the near future will use 'smart' fabrics to keep them healthy, thanks to a EU project that recently completed initial development of high tech clothing.
The Wearable Health Care System (WEALTHY) IST project just completed 30 months of research and development to prototype technologies at the heart of smart fabrics. Smart fabrics incorporate functional fibres and yarns into the weave, allowing researchers to develop many useful sensors for a wide variety of applications.
Intelligent use of microelectronics allows scientists and engineers to extract useful data from very simple inputs. For example, the WEALTHY project integrated temperature sensors in the armpit and shoulder of their garment to register core and skin temperature.
Europe is currently a leader in R&D on smart fabrics and interactive textiles, a market that analyst firm Venture Development Corporation believes will boom in the coming years: at $300m in 2003 the overall market growth is estimated between 11 per cent and 28 per cent through 2008 ($720 m in 2008).
posted by : http://cordis.europa.eu
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Smart Clothes
Smart clothes -- clothes and accessories into which technologies are seamlessly and stylishly enfolded -- is a big coming meme. Horizon Zero has a collection of excellent articles on the subject:
"Over the past few years, technological prostheses have gradually encroached upon the world of clothing by combining with the surfaces that protect and personalize our bodies. Communications and entertainment devices, such as cellular phones and mp3 players, have become new forms of adornment, connecting our inner world with our surroundings and profoundly altering our relationship with the world. These increasingly multifunctional and powerful accessories have contributed to a process of layering our personal boundaries with multiple strata of information and sensation while offering others the image of a hardware-equipped body. In the field of smart clothes, the trend today is towards a subtler and more complex integration of technological elements - the concept of the "second skin" - while taking our needs and desires into account. This issue of HorizonZero highlights the many achievements in the field of "ready-to-wear" technology."
While "fashionable technology" is worth keeping an eye on, the implications here extend far beyond geek couture into questions of security and privacy (and the participatory panopticon), the changing nature of urban space (and way new urbanism), the whole realm of smart-mobby politics, even, potentially, our ability to understand natural systems.
posted by : Alex Steffen
"Over the past few years, technological prostheses have gradually encroached upon the world of clothing by combining with the surfaces that protect and personalize our bodies. Communications and entertainment devices, such as cellular phones and mp3 players, have become new forms of adornment, connecting our inner world with our surroundings and profoundly altering our relationship with the world. These increasingly multifunctional and powerful accessories have contributed to a process of layering our personal boundaries with multiple strata of information and sensation while offering others the image of a hardware-equipped body. In the field of smart clothes, the trend today is towards a subtler and more complex integration of technological elements - the concept of the "second skin" - while taking our needs and desires into account. This issue of HorizonZero highlights the many achievements in the field of "ready-to-wear" technology."
While "fashionable technology" is worth keeping an eye on, the implications here extend far beyond geek couture into questions of security and privacy (and the participatory panopticon), the changing nature of urban space (and way new urbanism), the whole realm of smart-mobby politics, even, potentially, our ability to understand natural systems.
posted by : Alex Steffen
Sunday, February 17, 2008
From Paris, Clothes With a Future Look
Marithe and Francois Girbaud, the French designers, are true experimenters in the midst of a nostalgic period in fashion. At times their styles resemble the jogging suits men wear to our better jails, or the kind of protective clothing NASA technicians put on to refuel rockets.
They are known primarily as suppliers of "contemporary" clothes, a trade term that denotes sporty, perishable fashions. But the Girbauds have a more ambitious agenda.
For instance, they make "antibacterial" clothes. They also apply the nylon webbing used in basketball sneakers to clothing. Their spring collection, shown in a Paris movie theater in October, was accompanied by a film of models in futuristic Girbaud fashions walking through a rubbly landscape toward a sun-dappled dawn. It was directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
Their vision, which they call Sport City, involves clothing that is lightweight, pliable, detachable, reversible, rollable and strong, kind of an avant-garde French version of L. L. Bean.
When one thinks of fashion pioneers these days, the image is usually of slashed clothing, perhaps plastic fabrics and models smeared in dreadful apocalyptic makeup. But the Girbauds have their feet firmly on the ground; in fact, their look comes from the pavements of urban America.
"We take raw elements from the street," Mr. Girbaud explained, "the way home-boys dress and put things together."
But the clothes are very sophisticated, especially in their use of fabrics. In the spring collection, the models came out in flowing white ponchos of nylon silk with Velcro and zippers down the fronts and proceeded to rip at least five things open.
In some cases, the models reversed the garment, changing it from a techy poncho with lots of Velcro pockets to a plain-front, very sheer nylon-chiffon dress. Some were trimmed with strips of a newly developed reflective nylon material and worn over Lycra dresses, tops and unitards. To Wear at Decontaminations
Others had hoods that completely covered the face except for a screen of fine nylon mesh to see through, like something one would wear to perform a decontamination. Very "Doctor No."
"The mood in fashion now is to take everything off, to show more skin," Mr. Girbaud said. "But perhaps in the future we will need fashion to cover up, from the deteriorating atmosphere."
The men wore nylon-silk shirts and T-shirts sewn together into one-piece tops that the designers say are antibacterial in fabric and configuration.
"Nothing wrinkles," said Mr. Girbaud, whose clothes are sold at Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus.
"If Chanel were living now, she'd do something like this," he said. "Something anti-bacterial."
By WOODY HOCHSWENDER
They are known primarily as suppliers of "contemporary" clothes, a trade term that denotes sporty, perishable fashions. But the Girbauds have a more ambitious agenda.
For instance, they make "antibacterial" clothes. They also apply the nylon webbing used in basketball sneakers to clothing. Their spring collection, shown in a Paris movie theater in October, was accompanied by a film of models in futuristic Girbaud fashions walking through a rubbly landscape toward a sun-dappled dawn. It was directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
Their vision, which they call Sport City, involves clothing that is lightweight, pliable, detachable, reversible, rollable and strong, kind of an avant-garde French version of L. L. Bean.
When one thinks of fashion pioneers these days, the image is usually of slashed clothing, perhaps plastic fabrics and models smeared in dreadful apocalyptic makeup. But the Girbauds have their feet firmly on the ground; in fact, their look comes from the pavements of urban America.
"We take raw elements from the street," Mr. Girbaud explained, "the way home-boys dress and put things together."
But the clothes are very sophisticated, especially in their use of fabrics. In the spring collection, the models came out in flowing white ponchos of nylon silk with Velcro and zippers down the fronts and proceeded to rip at least five things open.
In some cases, the models reversed the garment, changing it from a techy poncho with lots of Velcro pockets to a plain-front, very sheer nylon-chiffon dress. Some were trimmed with strips of a newly developed reflective nylon material and worn over Lycra dresses, tops and unitards. To Wear at Decontaminations
Others had hoods that completely covered the face except for a screen of fine nylon mesh to see through, like something one would wear to perform a decontamination. Very "Doctor No."
"The mood in fashion now is to take everything off, to show more skin," Mr. Girbaud said. "But perhaps in the future we will need fashion to cover up, from the deteriorating atmosphere."
The men wore nylon-silk shirts and T-shirts sewn together into one-piece tops that the designers say are antibacterial in fabric and configuration.
"Nothing wrinkles," said Mr. Girbaud, whose clothes are sold at Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus.
"If Chanel were living now, she'd do something like this," he said. "Something anti-bacterial."
By WOODY HOCHSWENDER
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Could we be constantly tracked through our clothes, shoes or even our cash in the future?
I'm not talking about having a microchip surgically implanted beneath your skin, which is what Applied Digital Systems of Palm Beach, Fla., would like to do. Nor am I talking about John Poindexter's creepy Total Information Awareness spy-veillance system, which I wrote about last week.
Instead, in the future, we could be tracked because we'll be wearing, eating and carrying objects that are carefully designed to do so.
The generic name for this technology is RFID, which stands for radio frequency identification. RFID tags are miniscule microchips, which already have shrunk to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting their unique ID code. Most RFID tags have no batteries: They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response.
You should become familiar with RFID technology because you'll be hearing much more about it soon. Retailers adore the concept, and CNET News.com's own Alorie Gilbert wrote last week about how Wal-Mart and the U.K.-based grocery chain Tesco are starting to install "smart shelves" with networked RFID readers. In what will become the largest test of the technology, consumer goods giant Gillette recently said it would purchase 500 million RFID tags from Alien Technology of Morgan Hill, Calif.
Alien Technology won't reveal how it charges for each tag, but industry estimates hover around 25 cents. The company does predict that in quantities of 1 billion, RFID tags will approach 10 cents each, and in lots of 10 billion, the industry's holy grail of 5 cents a tag.
It becomes unnervingly easy to imagine a scenario where everything you buy that's more expensive than a Snickers will sport RFID tags, which typically include a 64-bit unique identifier yielding about 18 thousand trillion possible values. KSW-Microtec, a German company, has invented washable RFID tags designed to be sewn into clothing. And according to EE Times, the European central bank is considering embedding RFID tags into banknotes by 2005.
copy from : www.news.com
Instead, in the future, we could be tracked because we'll be wearing, eating and carrying objects that are carefully designed to do so.
The generic name for this technology is RFID, which stands for radio frequency identification. RFID tags are miniscule microchips, which already have shrunk to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting their unique ID code. Most RFID tags have no batteries: They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response.
You should become familiar with RFID technology because you'll be hearing much more about it soon. Retailers adore the concept, and CNET News.com's own Alorie Gilbert wrote last week about how Wal-Mart and the U.K.-based grocery chain Tesco are starting to install "smart shelves" with networked RFID readers. In what will become the largest test of the technology, consumer goods giant Gillette recently said it would purchase 500 million RFID tags from Alien Technology of Morgan Hill, Calif.
Alien Technology won't reveal how it charges for each tag, but industry estimates hover around 25 cents. The company does predict that in quantities of 1 billion, RFID tags will approach 10 cents each, and in lots of 10 billion, the industry's holy grail of 5 cents a tag.
It becomes unnervingly easy to imagine a scenario where everything you buy that's more expensive than a Snickers will sport RFID tags, which typically include a 64-bit unique identifier yielding about 18 thousand trillion possible values. KSW-Microtec, a German company, has invented washable RFID tags designed to be sewn into clothing. And according to EE Times, the European central bank is considering embedding RFID tags into banknotes by 2005.
copy from : www.news.com
Clothes airer a thing of the future not of the past
The simple clothes airer began life for many hanging from the kitchen ceiling being raised and lowered using an old fashioned pulley. Still available today they look good in traditional homes but fully loaded with damp washing prove to be another obstacle to negotiate in the kitchen.
The modern alternative to the clothes airer is the tumble dryer. However most tumble dryers can only achieve the "C" energy category because despite so called sensor programmes they still consume too much energy. A leading survey calculated the average electricity usage of a tumble dryer to be 480kw h per year this means the average household is spending approximately £75 per year on clothes drying with larger families paying almost double. It would only take 5 average households to replace the tumble dryer with clothes airers to reduce carbon emissions by 1 tonne a year.
The modern clothes airer gives you a drying facility 24 hours every day of the year. That becomes especially effective when positioned over a radiator or beside a storage heater. The clothes hung on an airer will dry naturally as if pegged to a washing line on a dry warm day and what's more with a clothes airer you wont get those unsightly peg marks on your delicate clothing.For those with larger quantities of laundry to dry the "double decker" method of mounting clothes airers gives maximum drying space using higher and lower drying positions. The upper airer can be loaded with shirts, cardigans, dresses etc all on hangers while the lower airer can be loaded with smaller items such as underwear, baby clothes, socks, towels. This “double decker” method encourages the use of empty wall space in your home. It is an efficient way of increasing your drying space while maintaining floor space.
posted by : airers4you.co.uk
The modern alternative to the clothes airer is the tumble dryer. However most tumble dryers can only achieve the "C" energy category because despite so called sensor programmes they still consume too much energy. A leading survey calculated the average electricity usage of a tumble dryer to be 480kw h per year this means the average household is spending approximately £75 per year on clothes drying with larger families paying almost double. It would only take 5 average households to replace the tumble dryer with clothes airers to reduce carbon emissions by 1 tonne a year.
The modern clothes airer gives you a drying facility 24 hours every day of the year. That becomes especially effective when positioned over a radiator or beside a storage heater. The clothes hung on an airer will dry naturally as if pegged to a washing line on a dry warm day and what's more with a clothes airer you wont get those unsightly peg marks on your delicate clothing.For those with larger quantities of laundry to dry the "double decker" method of mounting clothes airers gives maximum drying space using higher and lower drying positions. The upper airer can be loaded with shirts, cardigans, dresses etc all on hangers while the lower airer can be loaded with smaller items such as underwear, baby clothes, socks, towels. This “double decker” method encourages the use of empty wall space in your home. It is an efficient way of increasing your drying space while maintaining floor space.
posted by : airers4you.co.uk
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Nanotrend Smart Clothes
A few weeks back, I discussed how nano-fabrics would be big business, I still stand-by that assessment and, in fact, I am even more confident after reading this article which discusses how researchers at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center are exploring how to employ nanotechnology to make multifunctional uniforms.
The advances that the center is investigating go well beyond what companies such as Nano-Tex are doing to make pants and shirts stain-resistant. Specifically, the Army is interested in incorporating batteries and sensors directly into soldier’s uniforms. Today, it has been estimated that the average soldier carries about 30-pounds of batteries into battle, and these batteries do everything from power night-vision googles, laser-range finders, advanced radios and networked computers. Obviously, it is important that these devices don’t run out of juice during the heat of the battle.
By directly incorporating nanomaterials into polymers and fabrics, the Army is hoping to either capture the photons from the sun to help keep the batteries powered longer or, alternatively, use the thermal heat generated from a soldier’s body to augment a battery’s longeveity.
The technology is still a ways off, but the Natick facility is reportedly close to testing some of these technologies out in the field. I would encourage executives in the clothing, textile and retail industries to keep abreast of these advances because in the near future I see people powering their iPods, laptops, cellphones and other electronic devices not just from the batteries in those devices but from the batteries in their clothing. It might sound odd today, but if you ”jump the curve” I think you’ll agree that it is almost destine to happen—just think after going for a long run with your Nike+iPod system that your device will come back with even more power than when you left!
Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequenter speaker on future trends, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and associations.
posted by : www.jumpthecurve.net
The advances that the center is investigating go well beyond what companies such as Nano-Tex are doing to make pants and shirts stain-resistant. Specifically, the Army is interested in incorporating batteries and sensors directly into soldier’s uniforms. Today, it has been estimated that the average soldier carries about 30-pounds of batteries into battle, and these batteries do everything from power night-vision googles, laser-range finders, advanced radios and networked computers. Obviously, it is important that these devices don’t run out of juice during the heat of the battle.
By directly incorporating nanomaterials into polymers and fabrics, the Army is hoping to either capture the photons from the sun to help keep the batteries powered longer or, alternatively, use the thermal heat generated from a soldier’s body to augment a battery’s longeveity.
The technology is still a ways off, but the Natick facility is reportedly close to testing some of these technologies out in the field. I would encourage executives in the clothing, textile and retail industries to keep abreast of these advances because in the near future I see people powering their iPods, laptops, cellphones and other electronic devices not just from the batteries in those devices but from the batteries in their clothing. It might sound odd today, but if you ”jump the curve” I think you’ll agree that it is almost destine to happen—just think after going for a long run with your Nike+iPod system that your device will come back with even more power than when you left!
Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequenter speaker on future trends, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and associations.
posted by : www.jumpthecurve.net
Sunday, February 10, 2008
From Paris, Clothes With a Future Look
Marithe and Francois Girbaud, the French designers, are true experimenters in the midst of a nostalgic period in fashion. At times their styles resemble the jogging suits men wear to our better jails, or the kind of protective clothing NASA technicians put on to refuel rockets.
They are known primarily as suppliers of "contemporary" clothes, a trade term that denotes sporty, perishable fashions. But the Girbauds have a more ambitious agenda.
For instance, they make "antibacterial" clothes. They also apply the nylon webbing used in basketball sneakers to clothing. Their spring collection, shown in a Paris movie theater in October, was accompanied by a film of models in futuristic Girbaud fashions walking through a rubbly landscape toward a sun-dappled dawn. It was directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
Their vision, which they call Sport City, involves clothing that is lightweight, pliable, detachable, reversible, rollable and strong, kind of an avant-garde French version of L. L. Bean.
When one thinks of fashion pioneers these days, the image is usually of slashed clothing, perhaps plastic fabrics and models smeared in dreadful apocalyptic makeup. But the Girbauds have their feet firmly on the ground; in fact, their look comes from the pavements of urban America.
"We take raw elements from the street," Mr. Girbaud explained, "the way home-boys dress and put things together."
But the clothes are very sophisticated, especially in their use of fabrics. In the spring collection, the models came out in flowing white ponchos of nylon silk with Velcro and zippers down the fronts and proceeded to rip at least five things open.
In some cases, the models reversed the garment, changing it from a techy poncho with lots of Velcro pockets to a plain-front, very sheer nylon-chiffon dress. Some were trimmed with strips of a newly developed reflective nylon material and worn over Lycra dresses, tops and unitards. To Wear at Decontaminations
Others had hoods that completely covered the face except for a screen of fine nylon mesh to see through, like something one would wear to perform a decontamination. Very "Doctor No."
"The mood in fashion now is to take everything off, to show more skin," Mr. Girbaud said. "But perhaps in the future we will need fashion to cover up, from the deteriorating atmosphere."
The men wore nylon-silk shirts and T-shirts sewn together into one-piece tops that the designers say are antibacterial in fabric and configuration.
"Nothing wrinkles," said Mr. Girbaud, whose clothes are sold at Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus.
"If Chanel were living now, she'd do something like this," he said. "Something anti-bacterial."
By WOODY HOCHSWENDER
They are known primarily as suppliers of "contemporary" clothes, a trade term that denotes sporty, perishable fashions. But the Girbauds have a more ambitious agenda.
For instance, they make "antibacterial" clothes. They also apply the nylon webbing used in basketball sneakers to clothing. Their spring collection, shown in a Paris movie theater in October, was accompanied by a film of models in futuristic Girbaud fashions walking through a rubbly landscape toward a sun-dappled dawn. It was directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
Their vision, which they call Sport City, involves clothing that is lightweight, pliable, detachable, reversible, rollable and strong, kind of an avant-garde French version of L. L. Bean.
When one thinks of fashion pioneers these days, the image is usually of slashed clothing, perhaps plastic fabrics and models smeared in dreadful apocalyptic makeup. But the Girbauds have their feet firmly on the ground; in fact, their look comes from the pavements of urban America.
"We take raw elements from the street," Mr. Girbaud explained, "the way home-boys dress and put things together."
But the clothes are very sophisticated, especially in their use of fabrics. In the spring collection, the models came out in flowing white ponchos of nylon silk with Velcro and zippers down the fronts and proceeded to rip at least five things open.
In some cases, the models reversed the garment, changing it from a techy poncho with lots of Velcro pockets to a plain-front, very sheer nylon-chiffon dress. Some were trimmed with strips of a newly developed reflective nylon material and worn over Lycra dresses, tops and unitards. To Wear at Decontaminations
Others had hoods that completely covered the face except for a screen of fine nylon mesh to see through, like something one would wear to perform a decontamination. Very "Doctor No."
"The mood in fashion now is to take everything off, to show more skin," Mr. Girbaud said. "But perhaps in the future we will need fashion to cover up, from the deteriorating atmosphere."
The men wore nylon-silk shirts and T-shirts sewn together into one-piece tops that the designers say are antibacterial in fabric and configuration.
"Nothing wrinkles," said Mr. Girbaud, whose clothes are sold at Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus.
"If Chanel were living now, she'd do something like this," he said. "Something anti-bacterial."
By WOODY HOCHSWENDER
Intelligent clothes - gimmick or market trend? - and virtual real estate takes off
So i-pod is selling an add-on for Nike, allowing runners to see output on the i-pod generated from the electronics in their trainers. Gap is selling a hooded garment with speakers in the hood itself…. And the there is virtual real estate itself.
Some of these are fads and others are for real.
OK so the market for digitally enhanced clothing is small and likely to remain modest, but gaming is a whole new story. According to Catherine Smith, Linden Lab (owner's of Second Life) director of marketing, "In January of 2006, Second Life residents exchanged $1,384,752,765 in-world 'Linden' dollars, or over $5 million U.S. dollars.
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2006/id20060502_832540.htm
“If you haven't heard of Anshe Chung yet — you will. She's a "real" estate agent... but not your ordinary "real" estate agent. She's not real, at least not in the flesh and blood sense. She's merely the online avatar for a Chinese-born language teacher living near Frankfurt, Germany. But her virtual business is very real. Second Life members pay "Linden dollars" (the in-game currency) to rent or buy virtual homes from Chung. However, Lifers can convert that "play money" into real U.S. dollars by using their credit card at online currency exchanges. Today Chung's firm currently has about $250,000 U.S. dollars worth of virtual land and currency holdings.”
posted by Dr Patrick Dixon
Some of these are fads and others are for real.
OK so the market for digitally enhanced clothing is small and likely to remain modest, but gaming is a whole new story. According to Catherine Smith, Linden Lab (owner's of Second Life) director of marketing, "In January of 2006, Second Life residents exchanged $1,384,752,765 in-world 'Linden' dollars, or over $5 million U.S. dollars.
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2006/id20060502_832540.htm
“If you haven't heard of Anshe Chung yet — you will. She's a "real" estate agent... but not your ordinary "real" estate agent. She's not real, at least not in the flesh and blood sense. She's merely the online avatar for a Chinese-born language teacher living near Frankfurt, Germany. But her virtual business is very real. Second Life members pay "Linden dollars" (the in-game currency) to rent or buy virtual homes from Chung. However, Lifers can convert that "play money" into real U.S. dollars by using their credit card at online currency exchanges. Today Chung's firm currently has about $250,000 U.S. dollars worth of virtual land and currency holdings.”
posted by Dr Patrick Dixon
Friday, February 8, 2008
In the UK
The UK CCC's project is called "Fashioning an Ethical Industry" (FEI). In the two years since it started, FEI has been running student workshops and training events for educators involved in fashion-related courses. They have been providing teachers with resources to help integrate ethical issues related to garment manufacture into their teaching. The UK CCC ultimately hopes to embed ethical issues into the curriculum of all fashion courses across the UK.
A one-day FEI conference called "Creating an Ethical Future for the Fashion Industry", held in March 2007 at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London, successfully attracted students, teachers, and course development teams from twenty universities and colleges across the UK. Speakers included Noemi Flores Rivas of the Maria Elena Cuadra Women's Movement in Nicaragua, Lakshmi Bhatia, director of Global Partnerships for Gap, and Arabella Preston, PR manager for People Tree, as well as other clothing industry stakeholders.
One teacher commented, "The information received from you and the conference has already been of great benefit to our students as I have been able to direct queries to the literature and bring the subject into teaching and discussions I have had with the students".
A previous training event for educators, in December 2006, looked at "fast fashion" and the impact of buying decisions on working conditions within the garment industry. Their next conference, planned for Manchester in March 2008, will be on the theme of the rise and impact of ethical consumerism.
According to FEI's co-coordinator Hannah Higginson, fashion students and teachers are interested in all areas of sustainable fashion, from fair trade to recycling. FEI is supported by a steering group made up of teachers and students of fashion-related courses from across the country. Students are encouraged to become FEI "student reps" to help shape the project and to stimulate awareness among fellow students.
Future Fashion Trend: Ethical!
CCC reaches out to fashion students and educators to raise awareness
CCC coalitions and partners in the UK, Netherlands, Austria, and Poland have all begun to work with fashion colleges.
The aim is "to inspire students - as the next generation of industry players - to raise standards for garment workers in the fashion industry of the future", according to Labour Behind the Label (the UK CCC).
In each country, work has begun to engage not only with students but also those teaching fashion-related courses. The groups are encouraging discussion on the impact of the fashion industry on working conditions in garment manufacture and how improvements can be made to garment workers' lives. Above all, they are hoping to foster a more ethical and responsible approach among the students as they enter the industry.
The UK activities started in 2005; in 2007 they were joined by the three other countries in a joint project funded largely by the European Commission. Within the project, which runs until 2010, they will mainly concentrate on activities in their own countries. But they are also keen to share best practices and will be developing educational resources together. Towards the end of the project, they will host a Europe-wide conference, hoping to attract groups from across the continent interested in learning from their experiences.
posted : cleanclothes.org
Clothes Of The Future!
Feels Good, from New Nomads
Advanced weaving of conductive threads combines tradition and technology for the enhances well-being and comfort of the user. The cream kimono has a conductive embroidered spine at the back, which is able to disperse an electrostatic charge via the fibres on the inside. This creates a tingling sensation that relaxes the wearer. Inside the pocket there is a remote device with a number of different settings for the various levels of relaxation. Biometric sensors monitor the degree of relaxation and adjust the level of
ICD+ Wearable Electronic garment
ICD+ is the first wearable electronic garment that was ever put on the market for consumers. Co-developed and designed by Philips Design, Philips Research and Levi's, the range of jackets contains entertainment (music) and communication (mobile phone) functions, seamlessly integrated in the garments. All hands free and voice activated.
No kidding!, from New Nomads
These garments uses mobile phone and camera technology to help parents pin point their kids' position, but also fabric antennas, radio tagging and miniature remote cameras to allow children to play exciting games outdoors. Physical characters with identity chips can be attached to the respective garments. The child sees the character that represents another child on his screen and as children move around their characters also move on the screens, allowing them to create their own stories or hide and seek situations.
posted by :www.futurephysical.orgDesigner Tags Children's Clothes for Safety
From Baseline: Lauren Scott California: At the Seams of RFID, the designer is tagging their children's clothes. Tagging clothing is a case study often seen at future home labs, to identify clothing to a washing machine. The designer is already getting much commentary, positive and negative. To be linked to readers in the home, and (as yet nonexistent) readers in places like hospital emergency rooms. Working with Smartwear Technologies of San Diego, whose site strongly plays the anti-abduction benefit. A nice study of the approach, with a quick economic analysis. Not too far from RFID implants.
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