Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas is an investigation into the fast fashion industry and its impacts and how we can move towards a more sustainable future in the clothing industry. This book could be used as a source of information for units on fast fashion, natural resources, carbon and water, sustainability, and globalisation.
Whilst this book is aimed at an older audience than the majority of our students, there are parts of the book that are useful for both reading as a whole class or individually and for adapting into a range of activities.
This blog post will explore how part two of the book could be used in lessons.
Field to farm
This chapter begins in Alabama, where before NAFTA, a town named Florence in Alabama was the ‘Cotton T-Shirt Capital of the World’. A Level students studying trade blocs could use this as an example of the negative impacts of trade agreements due to offshoring. Many people lost their jobs as companies closed down, but the impacts of NAFTA were much wider on the people of Florence, where it impacted almost every part of the town. Now there has been a ‘renaissance’ and a company called ‘Alabama Chanin’ is producing women’s wear which is a great introduction to the concept of slow fashion. https://alabamachanin.com/. A discussion about slow fashion could be had, what do students think slow fashion is? Why might this be more sustainable and ethical? How could slow fashion also help to solve unemployment issues within a region? Page 121 returns to NAFTA and its impacts and how this was turned into an opportunity in Nashville.
On page 107 Chanin is talking about ‘loving the thread’. Whilst reading this chapter I was thinking about how lovely it would be to sew something small with students, this may be quite time-consuming in a geography lesson but could there be some opportunity here for cross-curricular work with textiles? Re-purposing old clothing? Adding embellishments? Sending a message about fast fashion on an old piece of clothing?
Pages 109-111 detail how Chanin conducts her textile business, which is fascinating. Students could compare this to the fast fashion industry either through reading this passage (expletive on p110) or by a Venn diagram or selecting statements from a table. For example
| Mass-produced clothing. | Items are hand-printed. | Fabric is sewn by hand. | All clothing is made in the same location, usually a large factory. | Fabric is cut by hand. |
| Freelance seamstresses make the clothing. | Employees making the clothing earn very little per piece. | Children are often employed to make clothing items. | Items are made individually to order. | The entire production process can be traced. |
| Computers are used to print images onto clothing. | The clothing can be expensive to buy. | Fabric is sewn with a sewing machine. | The clothing is often a low price. | Employees making the clothing earn a fair wage. |
There are lots of examples of slow fashion processes across this chapter and it was refreshing to read. Students could discuss why this clothing is more expensive and whether it is worth paying more for an ethically sound piece of clothing. This could open up a discussion around whether fast fashion is the option for the many, whereas slow fashion is only the option for the few. Particularly when we are in a cost-of-living crisis, and therefore the price attached to many of these items is out of the reach of most of us. Students may also consider whether slow fashion is disposable? Are we likely to find those fashion pieces in the garment dumps of the Atacama Desert?
Page 115 introduces the concept of vertical integration – “from seed to finished product in the same community” Students could investigate the opportunities and challenges associated with farming a crop such as cotton and how these might change if the process became integrated. Students could then read pages 116-117 to gain a further understanding of the cotton industry and how it could work on a smaller, more sustainable scale.
Rightshoring
This chapter starts in the UK with a company called ‘English Fine Cottons’ https://www.englishfinecottons.co.uk/ . Investigating their website is really interesting, looking at their sustainability story and the variety of projects that they’ve undertaken. This would make a really good case study when looking at the industry in the UK at GCSE. A mapping activity could be carried out for the countries involved in the cotton process for English Fine Cottons. English Fine Cottons at the time of writing the book was the only large-scale cotton mill in Britain (I believe it still is).
This is also a great chapter for the GSGG topic at A Level, introducing the concept of reshoring, and giving data on how textiles and apparel was the third most reshored sector in 2014. It also brings rightshoring into context, the placement of a business’s components and processes in localities and countries that provide the best combination of cost and efficiency (Investopedia). Students could investigate the advantages and disadvantages of rightshoring using specific examples such as English Fine Cottons.
Page 140-147 introduces us to a new sustainable company ‘Reformation’ https://www.thereformation.com/sustainability.html founded in 2009 by a former model Yael Aflalo. Again this would make an excellent case study – looking at why the company was set up, how they operate, and their impacts. Students could also comment on their slogan “We make killer clothes that don’t kill the environment” There is an interesting interview here that could be used alongside the book https://metalmagazine.eu/post/reformation-killer-clothes-that-dont-kill-the-environment-alejandro-bernad-perie . Students could also compare the goods to lower-cost alternatives such as Shein – why are people still choosing to purchase clothes at fast fashion companies when there are more sustainable clothes available. Do we really care enough about our planet to make a difference?
My Blue Heaven
My initial thoughts about this chapter came with the title “Jeans to die for”, having already looked at Xintang, this chapter investigates the indigo dye used to create the infamous denim jean colour. 99.99% of the denim we wear is dyed with synthetic indigo and this is made of a variety of chemicals that are toxic to humans and wildlife. The line “pollution is the cheapest way to do business” (page 150) is so shocking but the unfortunate truth in the wider textile business. Sarah Bellos wants to change this, to ensure that natural farmed indigo is put back on the trade map. If we took the title “Jeans to dye for” students could investigate why the dye is so harmful, not just for waterways but for air quality too, using specific case studies such as Xintang but also what the alternatives are and why we should be striving to use these instead. Parts of pages 150-153 could be used as a guided reading activity before embarking on a wider investigation. Students could write speeches or a piece of extended writing on why the production of synthetic indigo and dye needs to change. These could also be letters written to fast fashion brands or jeans manufacturers. In the past, we have written to well-known names about other issues and had responses from Sir David Attenborough, King Charles (when he was the Prince of Wales), our two local MPs, the local leader of the Green Party, and the Environment Secretary. Students were really pleased they received real responses, and I would do this activity again – demonstrating the power of their voice and of writing.
It isn’t only the dying process that can be harmful, but the process of finishing the jeans too. Distressing the jeans also includes a variety of chemicals as well as an abundance of water. The embedded water cost in denim jeans is high and students could also consider this alongside the dye itself. A process on page 162 called Jeanologia is an alternative to the finishing process https://www.jeanologia.com/ and students could compare this to traditional processes. There is some room here for mathematical skills, calculating percentage differences between traditional methods and the Jeanologia method. I often find real-life examples help students to engage with mathematical content.
Page 164 describes some of the differences between a Jeanologia-equipped factory and the sweatshop that Thomas had previously visited. Students could compare the two types of garment production and consider the impacts on people and the environment. This could be through a guided reading activity or comprehension and then a table to complete with columns for positive and negative impacts.
Page 167 makes interesting reading for A Level students for the GSGG as it tackles further issues with offshoring and gives the example of Levis and their innovation offshoring in Türkiye. At A Level a variety of examples can be used to pepper the longer essays and these small examples are usually good for illustrating counter points. Page 172 also provides an example for re-urbanisation which could be used either at GCSE or A Level.
Part two of Fashionopolis contains a wealth of information that could easily be adapted to be used in Geography lessons from KS3-KS5. At KS5 copies of the book could be given to students to digest as wider reading, as there are so many synoptic links to the units that they study. If you haven’t read Fashionopolis yet, you should give it a read!
