A Day At Printwear Live!

Ten o'clock on a Sunday morning, when all right-thinking people are contemplating a second coffee and a bite of breakfast. So, why then did I find myself...here?

What madness is this? Wait, though, there's a clue, way off there in the distance. Time to do a CSI-style zoom and enhance...

Aha, now that makes a bit more sense. Guru Ian dragged me and Pier Mascot Ali along to Printwear Live. It's the one point of contact in the year for the clothes customisation industry to meet, network and maybe do a little business. All the big distributors and brands are here, so it's important for Pier32 to get in and touch base.

Hall 20 at the NEC (for yes, readers, we were on the outskirts of Birmingham, the Midland's shining jewel) is stuffed to the gunwales with huge stalls and marquees, offering a ton of new clothing ranges and customisation technology. We were all pleased to see that organics made a strong showing this year. Well, we would be. It's how we roll.

So a visit to Stanley Stella would always be first on the agenda. A new kid on the block, they've gone all out for organic and sustainable fabrics. But they also have a keen eye on modern trends and designs.

I was especially taken with the tops made from Modal–a silky, luxurious fabric that's made from birch. It holds colour for longer than cotton and keeps that colour more intensely.

Ian also pointed out a clever design detail on a lot of clothes designed for the customisation market. Size tabs are offset from the centre of the collar or area designed to rip out, allowing you to put your own branding on the item. Neat thinking.

Another must-stop on the tour was Continental, who while independent are still able to make a big noise against the conglomos at the front of the hall. Their commitment to ethical and sustainable ranges has always made them a favourite here at The Pier. Their Salvage (made from recycled fibre) and Fair Share (paying above market price to the workers that make the clothes) ranges are tremendously popular with our clients. It helps that they've been pals of ours for years, of course!

It's always fun to wander a show and just soak up the weird and wonderful sights. If, like me, this is your first time at a particular show, there can be some real surprises. Take, for example, the guys at Oku, who had an honest-to-Betsy eagle on their stand...

Or the full-on, properly choreographed street-dance fashion shows that featured clothes from brands like Regatta and Trespass - you know, the mid-range brands you'd normally see halfway round the Snake Pass or in a tea shop somewhere in the Dales...

(OK, and AWDI, who do know their street wear).

A real eye-opener for me were the robot embroidery machines. Feed art in one end, and they'll kick into life and stitch that design onto pretty much anything. The end results can be insanely complex.

It was, to be honest, a pretty overwhelming day with lots to see and do. Guru Ian was in his element and walked away carrying his own body weight in brochures and giveaways. New trends for the coming season? Look out for retro styles that harken back to the 80s, with contrast-colours on sleeves and collars.

But the real big thing will be hexoflage–camo styles overlaid with a hexagonal grid in hot colours. Imagine future military livery. Blend in? No chance. This is the sort of colourway you slather over your Titanfall custom loadout before you stomp off to frag alien hordes.

A madcap day, then, but I walked away with a few treats (including a bottle of prosecco in a raffle–thank you, Pencarrie!) and a renewed respect for the complexity of the industry into which I dangle my writerly toes.

There are worse ways to spend a Sunday, that's for sure.

Continental: Going Strong with Pier32

Good news for Continental Clothing, one of the brands that Pier32 are pleased to support and feature. Recent figures released by the Soil Association show that Continental are their fastest growing licensee. The company have doubled their product lines and had a twelvefold increase in accredited products in 2010. That's one heck of a jump, but it's not really a surprise. Their range is top quality, and demand is growing fast for their high fashion items.
Pier32 stock a wide range of apparel from Continental. Why not check them them out?
Continental at Pier32

Ethical Brand Profile - Continental

Continental, alongside Starworld, are the names behind the two promotional clothing ranges who supply direct to Pier 32. Almost all the other brands that we have been reviewing in our Ethical Brand Profiles are supplied to us through an intermediary distributor. Starworld's ethical credentials have been the subject of many articles in this blog; Continental have featured too - but we have not yet completed a Brand Profile - so with no further ado.....

Continental go about presenting their products in a modern, polished manner. Instantly from the home page of their website there is a green environmental message coming across is all the branding. We have already featured in this blog their EarthPositive range featuring their Climate Neutral clothing collection, their role in campaigning against the exploitation of child labour in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan, the positive aspects of using organic cotton in conversion, and the eco-friendly luxury of the bamboo t-shirt.

This paints the background of a company with high eco-friendly standards. They are a private company and their UK based founders feature prominently in the various initiatives which they have followed. While their Climate Neutral clothing range directly using natural energy in its production, the rest of the company's activities are certified as Carbon Neutral by an independent monitor as a result of carbon offsetting.

Independent monitoring of their environmental claims is very evident with Oeko-Tex certification, their main line of organic t-shirts are certified organic by Skal and carry the organisation's EKO symbol and last but by no means least, their Earth Positive range is certified organic by the Soil Association.

What you get in terms of environmental impact very much depends on which brand line you go for. To concentrate on their mainstream range, "Continental Collection", and moving away from their Skal certified organic range that is part of that collection, what you get here is a t-shirt made from organic cotton in conversion. Follow the link for more information.

So there is the environment looking good. What about ethical, free trade issues? Here things are not quite so clear from the website. The supply chain of the EarthPositive range is stated to be Fair Wear foundation accredited. The same applies to the Eco Apparel range within the unbranded "Private Label" service. What about the rest? Our conclusion is that Continental have messed up their presentation

The Fair Wear Foundation website lists all its members and there you will find details of Continental. The message confirms our own long standing understanding that Continental products are manufactured in a factory in Turkey and that factory is monitored by the Fair Wear Foundation. With Continental's concern for the environment and their campaigning on child labour issue, it would have been most surprising to have discovered a chink in their ethical armour.

Know any different? Let us know!

The Climate Neutral T-shirt

"The humble T-shirt - the most basic canvas for communicating a brand name, corporate identity or political slogan, has become the environmental product"

Thus spake Continental Clothing who have just come up with the Climate Neutral T-Shirt (which Pier 32 are pleased to able to supply). These T-shirts are manufactured with power generated from wind and solar power and combined with the use of low impact organic cotton and other climate sensitive measures such as containerised ocean shipping, carbon emissions per T-shirt by up to 80-85% reduced compared with T-shirts measured by conventional methods.

More good news (as you can tell from the image) is that it's not just T-shirts - there are hoodies and polos too.

See the Climate Neutral Apparel website for more information or see the continental organic T-shirt selection on our website.

Undermining fair trade in Cotton

When people think of fair trade the first thought is that the producer is paid a fair price for what is being produced. In a world economy where everyone is competing on price then what exactly is a fair price? That's where basic ethical considerations come into play. A government of a country that is a major producer of cotton on a global scale that in an organised way enslaves children to produce cotton cheaply undermines the whole market place, forcing many ethical farmers to live in poverty or simply put them out of business.

The country - Uzbekistan. The investigative journalism putting together the video evidence was carried out of the BBC's Newsnight programme. The video is in 3 parts, first part here, the remainder can be accessed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6BnqPQGITU




Many will argue that in the end the real responsibility rests with the Western consumer. We believe the vast majority of people care enough to pay a fair price but are unaware of what is going on. Our supplier Continental is running a major campaign to raise awareness on this issue. See their site: Boycott Uzbeck Cotton

Helping farmers convert to Organic

One of Pier 32's main suppliers is Continental, a promotional clothing company based in the UK, with which we have recently set up ties.

We are very pleased with our choice because they have recently announced that their entire range is to be either made from organic cotton or "organic cotton in conversion".

So what's this 'in conversion' tag? It's important because it identifies a product that is not quite the same as pure Organic Cotton. It identifies fabric from farmers who are especially in need of support - those who choose to convert their crops from chemical production methods to those that are organic. These farmers have chosen to forsake the use of chemicals and unfortunately find themselves in limbo, unable to use the Organic label until their soil is free of all traces of chemical residues. However their cotton is not sprayed with pesticides, they no longer use chemical fertilizer and they use natural methods of pest control.

By buying products made from "organic cotton in conversion" you support these farmers at a time when their businesses are most vulnerable. If they cannot make the conversion because of financial constraints then the land is in danger of being sold and/or going back to the use of chemicals. Continental explain more in this article on Organic Cotton.