Reflection 10/09/19

today I found the process of building real life installations and elements in front of ourselves and drawing them observationally to be successful. the way we could alter shape, size, height and colour was incredibly useful as it allowed us to fully experiment with the entire structure. this resulted in interesting drawings as they were combined with the many techniques learnt yesterday. the loose nature of how the techniques could work allowed in fluid images, which was a part of my work that I enjoyed to create and look at.

 
what I initially found unsuccessful was combining all of our acetate mark making onto one projector, as arranging and composing these pieces was particularly difficult, especially with the short amount of time given for this task. due to every work of art having a different personality and style, we tried our best to combine them to a standard. what we could have done next time is plan beforehand what types of patterns and shapes everyone is going to focus on, and maybe this would help to improve our chances of creating a composed image on the projector. however, the time constraints in the moment were difficult to include planning. surprisingly the variety of styles in our final pattern wasn't bad, and the  mark making on the large paper definitely made it better as everyone was working together, on one sheet of paper, meaning we could actively work out what needed to go where.
 
I liked working in a group today, as we were all focused on the task and had a real motivation to produce great work individually, and together. everyone contributed their part to our installation, pattern, and object discussion, which was nice. the learning from today's group session was one that I found significantly useful than previous ones. however, I do think our communication could have been slightly better when we were all working together on the big pattern sheet, as we tended to visually pick and choose what was missing and where on the sheet, instead of discussing it, which probably would have resulted in a better outcome. however, I think due to the time constraint it was stressful for most of us and difficult to communicate and collaborate effectively.
 
the work from the rest of my group members is always incredibly interesting to me, from the techniques that people choose to use and how they adapt it to fit their styles, and the general choices that they make within their work, which is the part that makes you think because its only something that they're aware of. i was inspired by the variety of materials and components that people had piled in front of them, and how they incorporated this into each drawing. one thing that first stood out to me was the large scale and loose nature of someones work, as it seemed freeing. it encouraged me to become looser with my work and allow room for hiccups in the fluidity, as im gradually beginning to understand that its a significant part of the learning process.

Reflection 09/09/19

today I liked the freedom of the work we were doing, there were no boundaries and it didn't feel restricted. I enjoyed loosely sketching rough silhouettes which I used as practice, to gradually improve with media and detail. This was useful because it allowed me to explore the silhouette in a very thorough manner, and encouraged me to experiment on how I can reflect the same shape but with different materials.

To improve, I think I could pay more attention to proportions, as it would have looked better with the realistic style of detailed drawing that I experimented with. Also, I could have incorporated other materials I brought, such as string and chunky wool, in order to outline certain areas or colour block with them, adding some interesting textures too.

I could have used wet media such as watercolours, and combine this with a pen to add detail over blocks of colour.

something that i think worked really well within my work was just drawing without thinking too much about composition, especially drawing blindly. its a technique i now use frequently when struggling to get something down, because the element of surprise when you look at what you've drawn is what makes you think less about it, as i tend to overthink on simple elements of my work, such as drawing. i will continue to use this technique in the rest of my work in the future.

Contextual Practice 11/09/19

Garment evaluation

Garment brand – Zara (Inditex – parent company)

Made in – China

Garment composition – 100% polyester

Does the garment have a sustainability report?

  • Recycled polyester and polyamide
  • Use of Lyocell, viscose and other wood-based fibres
  • 103 million 100% organic cotton items to market last year
  • 75% more organic cotton in products
  • 100% of water and almost all chemicals are recycled in the production of Lyocell
  • Inditex have supply chain statement FY2018 on modern slavery, human trafficking and transparency
  • All suppliers follow a code of conduct for sourcing which prioritises the protection of human rights
  • Global water management strategy
  • Carbon disclosure project
  • Biodiversity strategy which covers: reduced energy consumption, improved water quality, zero discharge of hazardous chemicals
  • Responsible management which pays attention to raw materials, and increases the use of sustainable alternatives such as Lyocell

Where is your garment made?

Within China, there are 1,185 suppliers with a production for Inditex of over 20,000 units. There are 3,481 factories.

Do they comply with sustainable and ethical laws?

  • 21% of their investment in social programmes is made in Asia and the rest of the world
  • Improvement of access to education in remote rural areas with China’s Youth Development
  • Academic collaboration with Tsinghua SEM University
  • Grants programme with Beijing Normal University

 Who made it?

The brand is not clear on the exact locations of each factory and what materials are made there, so I just included a table of minimum wages around China for 2019, which is when I bought my garment.

At the moment, Shanghai has the highest minimum wage.

Minimum-Wages-in-China-2019.jpg

Source: https://www.china-briefing.com/news/minimum-wages-china-2019/

What fabrics/components/components is your garment made from?

My garment is 100% polyester.

'Over the years, production of polyester fiber has migrated to Asia, which now accounts for 94% of global capacity. Most polyester fiber consumption has also now migrated to Asia, where the fast-growing textile industry has been consuming increasing amounts of product. China is by far the largest consumer of polyester fibers, and exports large amounts of finished goods, including apparel, curtains, and bedding, around the world.

Northeast Asia is expected to remain the major actor on the global polyester fiber stage through 2022, accounting for nearly 80% of the new capacity and 75% of the demand growth. Nevertheless, as Chinese wages are gradually increasing, a gradual shift of textile production toward other less-developed but developing Asian nations (Vietnam or Bangladesh) is expected in the longer run, which will partially limit polyester fiber demand growth in China.

The Indian Subcontinent will retain its position as the second-largest producing region, and Southeast Asia, capitalizing on its still-low labor costs, will pursue growth in the market and remain the third-largest producer globally.

Outside of Asia, polyester fiber production and consumption will remain extremely limited.'

Source: https://ihsmarkit.com/products/polyester-fibers-chemical-economics-handbook.html

Are the fabrics/components sustainable?

Polyester is not biodegradable, and part of it is derived from petroleum, and the oil industry is one of the world’s largest pollutant. As polyester fabrics are stain resistant, the dyes used on them are not environmentally friendly that is insoluble, and they do not readily decompose. Leftover water and chemicals also cause toxicity problems to plants and animals. Additionally, the dyes are also somewhat toxic to humans, as dye workers worldwide report higher incidences of cancers and lung disease than the general population. The energy-intensive heating process to make polyester requires a lot of water for cooling, resulting in reductions of clean drinking water, particularly in less economically developed countries.

The microfibers in polyester are also tiny, so they easily escape sewage treatment plants. The fibers are eaten by fishes, and then eaten by humans which will ultimately cause harm to us, that are yet to be discovered.

Analysing my findings

Regarding the sustainability around the making of my garment, I was enlightened to learn that the brand Inditex are transparent about the materials and workers that they employ. Although the exact locations of the factories are not clear, they do make it clear that they are dedicated towards ethics through their education access programmes etc. I wasn’t aware of a lot of this, and now I think the garment has more value to me, and I now feel the need to make a sustainability report on all of my garments.

The initial findings of my garment were good, and then when I began looking at the materials, the environmental impact of polyester wasn’t good at all, and this disappointed me. I definitely want to pay more attention to the types of garments that I purchase in the future, however I felt that I wasn’t able to do that growing up as my background gave me different priorities. However, learning so much about just one of my garments has really opened me up to the varieties of ways in which I can personally try and do more sustainable things, and I want to make an effort on this.

Overall, I appreciate the ethical sustainability that Inditex have been transparent about regarding the making of not only Zara clothing, but all the brands they work with for example, Pull & Bear. They are actively trying to use more sustainable materials too, however this seems quite minimal to me, as mostly everything I have purchased from Zara in the past do contain non environmentally-friendly materials. I have also noticed the increase of sustainable collections in Zara stores, which used to be a very slim market for them, but I have recently seen collections that are quite affordable and accessible through the variety of styles that they make.

Updated on October 5, 2025; 178 page visits from 26 October 2019 to 06 October 2025