How To Prove Where Your Products Come From And Why This Is Important

Homeworkers are the backbone of the Indian textile export industry; there are millions who carry out "piecework" from home, contributing to the global textile market from the bottom of complex supply chains. In this Lesson, learn about the hidden workers of fashion: the homeworkers working with zero contracts, no union support or employee benefits, and no regular salary, yet who provide intricate embellishment to our clothing.  

This is a segment from a full interview with Maveen Pereira, Director of Programmes at Traidcraft Exchange. 

Busting popular myths about the environmental and ethical issues surrounding leather, Kerry Senior, Director of Leather UK, the trade association for the UK’s leather industry, presents some surprising facts behind this much-misunderstood material.

This Lesson covers leather’s origins as a byproduct, its inherent connection to the agricultural sector, methane emissions and how leather stacks up against synthetic alternatives – everything a designer or business needs to know to make informed choices about their materials.

Head to part two of this conversation where we dive deeper into the topic and learn about chrome-tanning and exotic leathers.

Thumbnail image: DEFRA

Charlotte Instone, aka "Rocketman", is the founder of Know The Origin, a women's and menswear brand, that is fully traceable all the way from seed to garment. They treat their manufacturers and suppliers fairly and use ethical fabrics. Charlotte’s passion shines through her business and what she has built is truly inspiring - it makes me feel like I can do even more with Offset Warehouse - so I’m incredibly excited to share her invaluable knowledge and tips for building a transparent business model.

Designer Martina Spetlova joined us to discuss how and why she uses leather, working with and training women artisans through social enterprises, employing transparent policies through partnering with blockchain technology provider Provenance, and insight into the repair and dry cleaning of leather goods.  

In this 20 minute lesson, learn from various members of the Oritain team, a fibre tracing company rooted in forensic science, about how to prove where your products come from, and why this is important in fighting counterfeiting, greenwashed marketing claims and ethical production issues. This presentation considers in particular how there can be issues in tracing the cotton fibre from seed to product, and how Oritain themselves use forensic science to conduct tests and conclude the fibre origin.

This is part two of a two part lesson from Oritain. Part one gives you an overview of what the company does, why fibre tracing is important, and what their lab looks like.

Thumbnail: Oritain