At
Thiruvallikkeni (anglicised Triplicane) – there are famous roads – Barathi Salai, is remembered by its earlier
name ‘Pycrofts Road’. The road winds
from Presidency College / Marina Ground, Triplicane Bus stand, Victoria Hostel,
Gosha Hospital, many Book publishing shops (and platform shops selling old
priceless books in evening), till the now famous Express Avenue Mall.. ..in my
younger days, my Grandfather would take us all to ‘Popular Swadeshi Stores’ ~
where dress material for Deepavali would be bought .. happy days ! .. life has changed, we now buy brands, in
Malls, Online and more .. Colour plus, Allen Solly, Van Huseun, Louis Phillippe
.. .. .. ..
In US, wearing an Abercrombie shirt could be
considered the epitome of trendy fashion
(their competitors may think otherwise) If only it was still that simple. Now,
trends have turned flashier, fancier and — pricier. Namely, popular “haul”
videos — where beauty gurus on YouTube
reveal what they’ve purchased on a given shopping trip, whether it’s clothes,
groceries or home décor — are nothing new, but the content and price points of
these hauls have increased dramatically since the videos first started popping
up online.
Do you wear your attitude !
– often the way one dresses can
influence one’s attitude and self-confidence…
whether you believe in the dictum or not, it makes sense to dress
well….it need not be – Armani, Versace, Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Moschino, Fiorucci,
Etro, Missoni, .. .. .. yet brands do stand out !
A white shirt as a
choice needs to be impeccable – collar should not be too stiff or too sharp to
rub one’s neck. One should button the
shirt and length should be right covering the sleeves. The cuffs should not fall beyond the wrist
bone. Ideally a part of the wrist watch
should be visible when you stretch your arms.
The thread count matters in terms of richness – it simple is the number
of individual fibers found in a square inch of fabric. Rich shirts are smooth and comfortable when
worn. A 200 count Egyptian cotton shirt
is considered a connoisseur’s marvel.
The classic white shirt comes in every brand of fashion apparel like
Versace, Armani, Dunhill, Raymond, Reid & Taylor, Van Huesen, Louis
Phillippe, Arrow and more. In fact,
Ramraj Cottons set up in 1983 specialises in white garments – dhoties,
shirtings, vests, and inner wear also.
The white shirts comes in various hues and price tags. Ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the brand
ambassador promoting Ramraj trendy wear.
~ but -- when it comes to pricing, some are
costlier. It is altogether different
that some feel that only when a costly garment is worn, it would put them in
limelight.. .. the Q is what determines the price ?
·
May not be costing – i.e., rawmaterial
cost + manufacturing expenses + handling + reasonable profit
·
Theory of demand & supply
·
Availability – and competitor pricing
·
Perception cost – fashion price !
·
.. .. or not the cost of what sells –
but what remains unsold !
[~ many
of us would instantly buy a brand, if it is put on sale at 30% and if it is 50
– 60% discount, it is a steal; buy whether you need them or not; buy them, even
when you have a similar coloured one, not worn for the past few months.]
It may sound crazy,
but the practice has become increasingly common for some of the world’s biggest
clothing manufacturers. Large numbers of clothes are incinerated and destroyed
! - Why? They argue it is the most
cost-effective way of maintaining their brand’s exclusivity. The clothes that
are burned are those that don’t sell at a high enough price. Rather than watch
them go on sale at hefty discounts, the companies in question would rather set
fire to them and recoup a small amount of energy via the incineration, writes
BBC.
Burberry is one of
the most well-known firms that, until recently, did this. In 2017, clothing
worth £28.6 million was incinerated by the company – a figure that made global
headlines. By September 2018, following intense media scrutiny, Burberry
announced it had stopped incinerating clothes with immediate effect. No-one
knows exactly how much unsold stock is sent up in flames every year by the
world’s fashion houses, but many clearly feel it makes business sense. Brands
are under huge pressure to maintain the perception that their products – which
cost time and money to make – are worth paying a certain amount for.
“Selling them at lower and lower
prices perpetuates a problem,” explains Pammi Sinha at the University of Leeds’
School of Design. But incineration has some very negative consequences. Burning
clothes of course releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere, which exacerbates global warming.
A UK parliamentary committee report on sustainability and the fashion
industry published in February considered the various environmental impacts of
incineration. It said, “While incineration of unsold stock ‘recovers’ some
energy from the products, it multiplies the climate impact of the product by
generating further emissions and air pollutants that can harm human health. “Incineration
of clothes made from synthetic fibres may release plastic microfibres into the
atmosphere.” The report advised the
government to ban the burning or dumping of unsold stock if it can be reused or
recycled.
Sinha says that part
of the problem is that fashion firms are built from the ground up to produce
and sell products. The only option for much unsold stock is disposal. Entire
assembly lines are constructed with this model in mind. Naturally, that can
lead to a lot of waste. Elizabeth Napier at Georgia State University says of
100 billion garments made every year worldwide, 92 million tons become waste. This
could change, though. What if those companies had an arm tasked with taking
back clothes that haven’t been sold so that they can be disassembled,
redesigned into new products, and shipped out to the market once again? “Within
a big luxury label where their reputation rests on design, they could possibly
put together a design and production team for this,” explains Sinha.
That would require
some investment and, for the venture to be worthwhile, companies would have to
make sure the remade products are desirable so that the waste problem isn’t
simply kicked down the road. But in principle it would be a step up from simply
burning or dumping products in huge quantities. Some firms are leading the way
on upcycling – where unwanted products are remade into desirable new attire.
That can include reusing anything from old industrial fabrics to unsold
clothing from other companies.
For significant
effects to be felt, though, the fashion giants would have to take
sustainability practices, like those mentioned above, on board. It can’t be
left to start-ups and bespoke brands. That brings us to the bigger picture –
and the other major hurdle for sustainability in the fashion industry. In
essence, we have an over-production problem. According to data from the World
Bank, analysed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, while clothing sales have
risen steadily since the year 2000, clothing utilisation has fallen at roughly
the same rate. That means for every extra t-shirt that is sold, it will be worn
roughly half as much as it would have been 20 years ago.
Interesting ~ new
angle !!
Regards – S.
Sampathkumar
6th Mar
2019.
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