To browse Academia. Skip to main content. You're using an out-of-date version of Internet Explorer. Log In Sign Up. Julie Lantry. Any help that I have received in my research work and the preparation of the thesis itself has been acknowledged. In addition, I certify that all information sources and literature used are indicated in the thesis.
Thanks must go firstly to the students and artisans who participated in this project. Their creativity and openness to new ways of thinking was a constant inspiration. Thanks to my principal supervisor Dr Jacquie Lorber-Kasunic for her patience and my associate supervisor, Ms Alana Clifton Cunningham, who advised, guided, and played a key role in the fieldtrips. I would also like to acknowledge Ms Cecilia Heffer for her input and close guidance through the fieldtrips and to Ms Donna Sgro for her assistance in Tour Four.
Also, thanks to Dr Sally McLauglhin for assisting the initial stages of setting up this thesis, to my editor Dr Geoffrey Gartner for his precise attention to detail, and to graphic designer Ms Seaneen Kelly. A special thank you goes to Robyn Beeche for her help and fabulous photos. I wish to also acknowledge the contribution of designers Easton Pearson, Kissing Cousins, Jiyo and Anu for sharing their handcrafted garments, especially to Michelle Jank for her collaboration with Ashok Ladiwal.
This project is dedicated to Robyn Beeche whose passion and generosity has been a guiding inspiration for this research. Photo by AFC. Photo by Julie Lantry Photo by student designer Joanna Photo by student designer Felicity Photo by student designer, Bonney Photo by Julie Lantry.. New Delhi. Photo by student designer Natalie Photo by student designer Traci Photo by Woolmark Photo by Tree of Life. Photo by student designer, Felicity Photo by student designer, Scarlett.
Photo by Akira Isagowa. Photo by student designer, Maureen Photo by student designer, Scarlett Photo by Fiona Wright Photo by Ayurvastra Photo by student designer, Marissa Photo by student designer, Mandish Photo by student designer, Traci. Photo by ANI News Photo by Robyn Beeche. Photo by Julie Lantry. Photo by Alana Clifton-Cunningham. Photo by Robyn Beeche Photo by Manish Arora Photo by student designer, Joanna The garment is tied for dying, then unravelled.
Photo by student designer, Marissa. Photo by student designer, Kaevi. Image by Julie Lantry However, many researchers still consider the garment-making manufacturing system to be ethically and ecologically unsustainable.
There are multiple factors contributing to this view, including overconsumption, waste accumulation, poor working conditions, low wages, and health and safety issues. This thesis explores how industry connections between emerging Australian designers and traditional artisans in India can foster new possibilities for ethically sustainable collaborations between Australia and India. Much of the research emanates from a series of curated tours, where Sydney-based tertiary students undertaking undergraduate degrees in fashion and textile design were encouraged to collaborate with individual artisans, ethical manufacturers, and environmentally sustainable producers in Northern India.
Simultaneously, Indian textile artisans were encouraged to apply their traditional technical skills to contemporary design, thus enabling new opportunities for these processes to enter the global market. Using a combination of participant observation strategies and semi-structured interviews, this research draws on data collected from students and industry professionals between July and September This data was supported by my own experiences as a fashion practitioner working with Indian manufacturers. In this thesis I argue that firsthand experience for students working with artisans, suppliers and ethical manufacturing practices will increase awareness of the complexities of a sustainable fashion future.
This research offers a sustainable model of collaborative practice for future generations of emerging designers, which will build a deeper understanding for better ways to source and design. For artisans, the significance of this thesis could be to build an economically sustainable practice considering contemporary design.
It suggests ways to engage in ethical and sustainable practices working with Indian artisans. The outcome of this research aims to contribute to a growing field of ethical practice in fashion and textiles. These shawls display special designs and patterns made using block printing by stamps.
Carbon footprint: The amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization, or community. Closed-loop system: system of production that embraces the circularity of materials; the notion that all component parts of a product can and should be broken down at the end of its useful life to be reconstituted into new products. Fair trade: Trade between companies in developed countries and producers in developing countries in which fair prices are paid to the producers.
Fashion miles: Distance a garment is tracked during its manufacturing process. Fast fashion: System of production whereby designs quickly move from catwalk to consumer in order to capture current fashion trends.
Fast fashion clothing collections are based on the most recent fashion trends presented at Fashion Week in the spring and the autumn of every year.
An organic certification organisation. Greenwash: Disinformation disseminated by an organisation so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. Low impact dye: Dye that has been classified by the Oeko-Tex Standard an international certification process as eco-friendly. Natural dyes: Colourants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals.
The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes derived from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens. Offshore: Made, situated, or registered abroad, especially in order to take advantage of lower taxes or costs or less stringent regulation. Outsourcing: To obtain goods or a service by contract from an outside supplier. Peace silk: Form of silk manufacture that allows silkworms to emerge from their cocoons to live out their full life cycle.
The silk is degummed and spun like other fibre instead of being reeled. The resulting yarn is soft, fluffy, and light. Slow fashion: Movement that embraces a slower pace of trend and production. Supply chain: Sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a commodity. Sustainable fashion: Design philosophy which seeks to create a system of fashion production that can be supported indefinitely in terms of environmental and social responsibility.
Transparent supply chain: Information for end users given by companies about their suppliers and sourcing locations. Zero waste: Practice of pattern making that creates little or no wasted fabric when cutting. Meanwhile, there is enormous potential for clothing manufacturers to engage in alternate models of practice which reduce environmental concerns and positively affect economic and social conditions, particularly in developing nations Hoffman ; Wood This study explores how developing industry connections between emerging Australian designers and traditional artisans in India can foster new possibilities for ethically sustainable collaborations between Australia and India.
Through a series of curated fashion and textile tours where Sydney-based tertiary students undertaking undergraduate degrees in fashion and textile design were encouraged to collaborate with individual artisans, ethical manufacturers, and environmentally sustainable producers in Northern India. The tours took place between and with an average of ten students per tour. Students completed a variety of workshops over a period of two to three weeks, collaborating with twenty-one traditional artisans and ethical manufacturers in North India.
The research draws on a combination of ethnographic methods including participant observation and semi-structured interviews, and reflects the experiences of students and artisans. Names were de-identified as outlined in ethics application. The project encourages students to develop industry links with individual artisans whose practices are based on traditional artistry.
These traditional textile techniques - such as hand embroidery, weaving, printing, and dying - offer students a unique proposition that can not be achieved in an industrialised modern industry. The project also aims to provide a path for sustained economic stability for Indian artisans and encourages alternative contemporary designs that utilise traditional skills.
This could potentially provide artisans with a living wage, social sustainability and the ability to be resilient to change in a globalised world. In addition to the tours, I have drawn on twenty-five years of personal experience in the fashion industry as a designer and ethical practitioner. During this period I have had the opportunity to work with artisans in India and conduct numerous textile tours where designers have collaborated with artisans to create contemporary textiles. Over the past five years I have taken over one hundred tertiary fashion and textile students to India, exposing them to traditional artistry and connecting them with ethical manufacturing partners.
This has decreased the awareness of ethical and environmental compliance from factories in countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, or Sri Lanka Khosla Many Australian fashion companies have been unaware of ethical misconduct in their supply chain, such as poor working conditions, child labour, or unsustainable 1 UTS HREC reference is A.
It was the potential for creative collaborative partnership that initially led me to India. I first went there in to have hand worked garment samples produced for my fashion label, Bulb, after unsuccessfully trying to get them produced in Australia.