RESOURCES | We're Eco - BUT NO HEMP ALLOWED!

Hemp's developed a pretty bad rep over the last decade or so within the fashion scene - "No Hemp Allowed" scrawled all over the front page of eco-fashion business plans.  But is it really still as bad as they think?

Hemp is said to be the most eco-fibre of all.  The cellulose fibre from hemp is used to make not just clothing products, including jeans, shirts, dresses, hats, bags, ropes and canvas, but also skin care products, building materials, paper and many food products!

Hemp grows almost anywhere.  The plant is particularly harvested all throughout Europe, Russia, China and Canada. It requires no pesticides or fertiliser and needs very little water. The plant is good both for the soil and the atmosphere.

The potential for hemp is vast - including sustainable bio-mass (power) and bio-diesel (fuel).  All the amazing things that can be made with hemp, also means that nothing is wasted in the production process: seeds are used to make oil and food supplements, while the stalks are used for fibre.  Hemp also produces more fibre per acre than trees, and can be renewed two to three times per year!  These factors make it more favourable than other fibres.

Up until the 1920's almost 80% of clothing were made from hemp textiles.  The problem we've found, is that despite all these amazing qualities, designers are trying to move away from the "bobbly-hippy-hempy" look associated with ethical fashion and interiors.  In response to this, however, slowly, manufacturers are catching on, and developing smoother, more refined looking hemp fabrics. 

A great way this has been developed is through blends, which have become a huge benefit to hemp sales and designers - creating smoother finishes, using it's slubby quality to create a more fashionable texture (think H&M jersey tops).  We're extremely pleased to provide great blends ourselves, including the ever-sought after jerseys:

Natural Jersey Knit 55% Hemp, 45% Certified Organic Cotton 

£5.70/yd

Code: B653OC

Jersey Knit 55% Hemp, 45% Certified Organic Cotton

Semi-Bleached. SBP® 100%

• Knitted
• Jersey
• Tubular

Dimensions

Width 27"

Weight

7.4 oz

Natural Stretch Jersey Knit 53% Hemp, 43% Certified Organic Cotton, 4% Spandex

 

£9.65/yd

Code: B505OC

Stretch Jersey Knit 53% Hemp, 43% Certified Organic Cotton, 4% Spandex SBP® 96%

• Knitted
• Jersey

Dimensions

Width 57"

Weight

9.5 oz

Sand 100% Hemp Canvas Basket Weave

 

£14.90/yd

Code: D602S

100% Hemp

Pre-Shrunk, No Softener. SBP® 100%

• Woven
• Basket

Dimensions

Width 57"

Weight

18.5 oz

Follow Offset Warehouse to learn more about ethical fashion and interiors and visit Resources on Offset Warehouse.com for more useful information.

D.I.Y Thursday | Feel Good Felt Good...

Make your own felt to become a wall hanging, coasters or even place mats!

About Felt:

Felt is the oldest textile known to man.  It is made without sewing or weaving and is a non-constructed fabric. The story goes:

A man was walking across a desert in the dim and distant past and as his footwear was rubbing he grabbed a handful of wool from the flock he was walking with and placed it into his sandals for comfort. The constant friction from walking, together with the combination of the moist and warm atmosphere and his sweaty feet, slowly turned the wool into a piece of felt.

Felt has been used for many cultural reasons throughout the centuries and is very prevalent in Central Asia, where it used for everything from carpets to hats.  It also produces items as diverse as shoes, tents, carpet, fine clothing, art objects, hats and jewellery.  It is such a versatile craft that it lends itself to many different treatments and new uses for it are being discovered by a new generation of artists and craftsmen.

Making felt may be an ancient craft skill, but it's incredibly easy to do at home...

What You Need :

1. Wool (Include some of different colours to make patterns)
2. Bamboo Mat
3. Hot Water (in a kettly - for easy pour - but not at boiling temperature!  It must be luke warm)
4. Plastic sheet/ Cling Film
5. Towel 

Where Can I Get Organic Felt?  

Offset Warehouse sell naturally dyed, coloured, organic wool and white, organic wool, that is not only great for felting, but also as material for toys, pillows or in other art and craft projects.

Check Out Our Other Raw Materials

How To Felt Yourself: 

1. You will need a flat surface to work on, that you don't mind getting wet (e.g. outside, floor, counter-top or large table).  Cover the flat surface with a piece of plastic - you need enough to roll the mat out flat and to be able to fold it back over the rolled bamboo mat.
2. Pull the clean wool out into short sections.
3. Place these wool pieces evenly across the plastic. Lay them all in one direction, (vertically) overlapping each piece slightly, until you have a square about 35cm long. Repeat horizontally.
4. Repeat the layers of wool again.  Make sure each layer alternates in direction, vertically/horizontally.
5. The top layer can be decorative, using different coloured wools. 
6. Now, carefully add hot water all over the wool layers - careful not to burn yourself.
7. Roll the matt up.
8. Fold the remaining length of plastic back over the wool roll (to stop all the water going everywhere as you roll).
9. Roll the mat back and forth, working your hands evenly across the mat.  A good place to do this is in the bath tub, so you get a smooth and quick back and forth motion going.
10. Keep the mat rolling in the hot water for x-about 3 - 4 minutes.  It is friction that causes the wool to felt.
11. Remove the mat from the bathtub and place it on a towel. Carefully unroll the mat, and turn the felt 90 degrees. The felt is quite fragile at this point, so be gentle.
12. If the water has cooled or almost gone, add more hot water.  Re-roll the mat (and put it back into the bathtub if you like) for about 3 - 4 minutes.
13. Turn the felt another 3 times, and re-roll for about 5 minutes between each turn.
14. Test the felt by rubbing it with your finger. The fibres shouldn't move and the felt should be quite thick. If it is still soft, turn it again and keep rolling it in the hot water.
15. Remove the felt from the mat and rinse in cool water.
16. Roll the felt in a towel, place it on the floor and stomp on it, to remove the excess water. Lay flat to dry.

Have fun making the felt pieces and forward your creations on to us, we would love to see your decorative designs.

Follow Offset Warehouse for more eco friendly D.I.Y tips!

How To Shop Without Over Consuming AND Over Spending?

We favour organic, sustainable and fairtrade fabrics and clothing, and of course using natural dyes.  Buying these environmentally and socially beneficial clothing, however, still does not address that our over-buying is a major detriment to our environment, and also has social implications for those that manufacture them, such as garment workers forced into slave labour, in order to make unfeasible and unreasonable deadlines.

But let's get realistic, at the end of the day, we love to shop.  It's important to stay fashionable, and buying a new outfit, makes us feel good.

So what's a solution? 

Buying vintage!

Why? 

Because it is not only the most creative and individual choice around (your unlikely to be spotted in the same outfit!), it is also an extremely effective way to reduce extreme consumption. 

Recycling your old clothes and wearing vintage clothes and accessories is not only a fashion statement, it is an ecological statement as well.  By wearing vintage you can help save the planet!  (And if you needed any more persuading - you can also save a bit of money too!)

Buying vintage is being made ever easier by "swap-shopping" parties, (check out our resources for some great links), charity shops, reselling sites like ebay and retro shops like "Beyond Retro".

Offset Warehouse director, Charlie, is the queen of buying vintage.  Check out these oldies she's been rocking lately:

Cream, vintage Aquascutum jacket, passed down from her Grandmother, worn at the Observer Ethical Awards 2011.  This jacket is over 40 years old, but cinched in at the waist with a belt, looks like a current fashion statement.

Worn at a recent wedding reception (complete with silent disco - hence the headphones), 70's dress with pleated, flared sleeves, found in a charity shop and bought for £7!

Next time you throw something out, think twice - it might be a future vintage piece!

Keep following Offset Warehouse to be inspired with your ethical and ecological fashion ideas!

Offset Warehouse at the RCA Show 2011

Last week we popped along to the RCA Show 2011 exhibition to see the newest, emerging designers. Here are three of our favourites - watch out for them in the future (because they will be big!)

We thought we'd done well with our sustainable, bamboo sunglasses, but we discovered the ‘Hair Glasses’, created by Alexander Groves in collaboration with Studio Swine.  Together they've created glasses that are totally biodegradable using natural resin and human hair. As the UK’s beauty industry imports human hair to the tune of £15mil annually, and with millions increasing in our global population, the idea is simply fantastic - reducing the use of plastic with a sustainable, renewable source - human hair!

Secondly, Pia Wüstenberg made a table completely out of ‘Processed Paper’.  By layering sheets of glued paper on top of each other, she managed to create a sturdy structure, strong enough to hold up plates and glasses.  What a fabulous way to recycle paper!

And our third favourite and simply amazing - organ replacements made from the natural fibre, silk.  The designer had jaw-droppingly managed to recreate a heart using silk from a silk worm, that was genetically modified to scaffold for a donor heart instead of using a machine. This incredible design was created by Veronica Ranner, who wants the world to be more involved with the ‘inanimate’ world around us.

Offset Warehouse - brings you the latest in eco news...

RESOURCES | The True Cost of Cotton

As I'm sure you've gathered, we're all about promoting ethical materials, but do you really know what is going on even before the yarns are spun into thread?

Cotton is one of the most commonly used natural fibres in clothes; primarily because it is lightweight, soft and absorbent.

But, did you know it uses 25% of the worlds supply of pesticides, but only accounts for a mere 2% of crops grown world wide?  The nature of cotton being eaten by insects means farmers need to use extra pesticides to prevent this.

Ok, so those of us who are a little more "in the know" about eco materials, probably know these facts already; but do you know what happens in the countries that mass produce cotton?  Take the example, Uzbekistan, a small country situated near Afghanistan and Iran. With the GDP$3100 per capita, run by a group of dictating elites, the poor stay poor and the rich get richer.   It was around 2007, when their unethical and unsustainable production was exposed:

Uzbekistan's main exports include cotton, gold, uranium and natural gas; and cotton takes up 1.3 million hectares of their land producing 1 million tonnes to be sent to manufacturers overseas, who make the clothes for our high street brands.  During harvest time, students are forced to stop studies to help harvest the crops as farmers, and the government refuse to invest in machinery to harvest them.  The environmental damages, lead to morbid social consequences: The Aral sea has been all but eradicated due to the water needed to sustain cotton production and the remaining land is contaminated with salt and pesticide residues.  The diseases caused by the pesticide contaminated dust, include tuberculosis and cancer.

For the full story and video, check out this resource, that explains more in depth, just how the Uzbekistan citizens are suffering from this business:

http://www.offsetwarehouse.com/resources/view/317/the-true-cost-of-cotton

PLEASE support organic cotton, and prevent the continuation of this kind of behaviour in countries similar to Uzbekistan.

Follow Offset Warehouse for more resources on all things ethical and visit Offset Warehouse.com for more information on different materials.

D.I.Y THURSDAY| Do it like Gwen Stefani – Tie Dye! (...without the horrid chemicals of course)

There's no two ways about it - Tie dye is in!  So we're going to show you how to recreate these designs without all the harsh chemicals and dyes!

 

What you might not know is that you can create your own tie dyed garments in the comfort of your own home, using things around the house!  Things such as tea leaves, peaches and raspberries, can create the same effect as what you would find in the shops.  What better way to both control the colour you want on your creation, whilst saving you a little money too!?

Things you will need:

1. A plain piece of clothing (from T- shirts to leggings - preferably eco-friendly - why not give an old garment a new life, rather than it throwing away?)
2. A large old pot
3. Salt Fixative (For berry/ fruit dyes) – Half a cup of salt mixed with eight cups of water
4. Plant Fixative (For plant dyes) - One part vinegar to four parts water
5. The berries or plants that you wish to use
6. String (natural materials – nothing plastic, as it might melt)

Instructions:

1 - Add fabric to the fixative and simmer for an hour. Rinse the material and squeeze out excess. Rinse in cool water until water runs clear.

2 – Tie the string where you want it to not stain

3 - Place wet fabric in dye bath. Simmer together until desired colour is obtained. N.b. The colour of the fabric will be lighter when it’s dry.  Also note that all dyed garments should be washed in cold water and separate from other clothing (or it may run).

REMEMBER!  Always wear gloves when dying material, because it can stain your skin!

N.B - Muslin, silk, cotton and wool work best for natural dyes and the lighter the fabric in colour, the better; and white or pastel colours also work the best.

To make different colours try using the following ingredients:

Orange – Onion Skin

Brown – Tea Bags (You can recycle the ones you used in your morning cuppa!)

Pink – Strawberries

Purple – Red Cabbage

Red – Elderberry

Grey / Black – Rust Nails (and Vinegar and set with Alum.)

Green – Spinach

Yellow – Bay Leaves

This is just a small list – experiment using anything you find in the house – that is edible/ usable.

Show us how fantastic your designs turn out by emailing them to us at: info(@)offsetwarehouse.com!

Follow us for more useful D.I.Y tips on how to be environmentally friendly, and check into Offset Warehouse for more information on how products are produced.

RESOURCES | Exactly how ETHICAL is Viscose?

At Offset Warehouse, we're always thriving to find the latest fabrics that are both eco-friendly and socially beneficial, but no fabric is 100% "ethical", which is why education is central to our ethos: it is vital to first understand the pros and cons of a fabric and make decisions whether to use them, based on this knowledge.

Recently, we've noticed a little confusion surrounding VISCOSE - so today, we'll hopefully shed a little light and get some facts straight...

Viscose (aka artificial silk) is a synthetic material made with a natural fibre – WOOD PULP.  This is one of the pros to Viscose, as the wood pulp is taken from crops of spruce or beech, which are monitored to ensure that trees are replaced.

The cons come with the chemicals used to process the fibre; the pulp is first soaked in caustic soda, and then shredded and allowed to age.  Caustic soda is extremely damaging to human tissue, plants and animals, so is vital that the fluids are not let out into rivers and seas.  The pulp (which is turning more and more into a liquid cellulose substance throughout this process) is then treated with carbon disulfide – which is BAD for the environment, and is one cause of acid rain, that consequently also leads to acid erosion.

After this, the pulp is treated again with caustic soda.  Throughout the process so far, acetate dope is used to ensure the viscose is silky and soft to skin.

During this process, the liquid cellulose is forced through a spinneret, and once in a coagulating bath the cellulose is regenerated and solid cellulose filaments are formed.  The physical structure of the filament can be changed by modifying the spinning process, to produce different types of end result.

Visit the Fabric and Haberdashery shop for a huge variety of ethical fabrics!

Read this article in our  Resources section, and  browse Offset Warehouse's resources  to discover more!

Keep following Offset Warehouse for all you need in ethical fashion and interiors... and visit our website   OffsetWarehouse.com