Killer Fashion

 Read article here: Killer Fashion Reading

1. Do you have any stories about dangerous clothing (either for the maker or the wearer)?

2. Have you ever had a job that you now consider as being bad for your health?

3. "All the dangerous jobs mentioned in the article no longer exist."  Do you agree? Are these things all in the past?

4. In the UK, there is now a very strong culture of 'health and safety' at work. As a result, a lot of legislation has been passed to make workplaces safer. What's the situation in your country?

5. Do you think that people were more tolerant of risk in the past?

6. You've been offered your dream job, but it comes with certain health risks. Which of the below would you tolerate?

a) You've started your own small-scale manufacturing company whose processes involve using strong-smelling chemicals.

b) You work with world-leading experts in your speciality, but they are all heavy smokers, and smoking in the office is allowed.

c) You have invented a Covid testing device (the only one of its kind in the world), but its manufacture depends on making highly repetitive hand movements that lead to RSI (repetitive strain injury).

7. "We've exported all the dirty, dangerous jobs to China - it's their problem now." Do you agree?

8. What is the best way of avoiding working in dangerous environments in an economic slump?

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Situation

You are a health and safety official for your town/city. The major local employer is Andrew Industries, a manufacturer of plastic products. The local newspaper has reported on several of the firm's employees who are suffering from ill health (You decide on the symptoms). 

Meet the firm's CEO (your teacher) and try to find out if the company has any dangerous work practices. Give advice where necessary.

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Discuss quotes

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

- Helen Keller

“To know what life is worth you have to risk it once in a while”

- Jean- Paul Sartre

"No one that encounters prosperity does not also encounter danger."

- Heraclitus

“The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life - knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live."

- Aristotle

"If you graduate from university, a pen is the heaviest tool you will have to lift."

- Anon

Student Handout PDF: Killer Fashion

Photo: Bianca

Rent Your Clothes

 

1. When was the last time you bought something new to wear? How often do you buy new clothes?

 2. How do you decide when to throw clothes away?

3. How long do you think an item of clothing should last?

4. Do you think you follow fashion?

5. What do you do with your old clothes?

6. Do you ever recycle your clothes? How?

Read article here: Rent Your Clothes Reading

7. Would you consider renting clothes from Zoa or Marks and Spencer, or their equivalents?

8. When buying clothes in a store, which of the following statements best sums you up when you are thinking of buying an item of clothing?

a) "Oh, look - it's been discounted - I'm definitely buying it!"

b) "OK, but I'll check online first to see if there's a better price."

c) "You'll only wear it once and then throw it away - so don't bother."

9. Under what circumstances do you see clothing-rental companies being successful? Do you think there will be an even demand for all types of clothing? Are there any types of clothes that won't be suitable for rental? Which ones?

10. Do you agree with the following statement: “Lots of customers’ behaviour is similar to renting already. Many consumers buy an item, try it on and then send it back — or wear it just once or twice. In terms of degree of effort, this behaviour is the same as renting." What hesitations might potential customers have about renting clothes?

11. Here are some of the savings that can be made by renting: items which sell for prices between £69 (€83) and £299 (€357), can be rented for four days from just £13 (€16). Does that sound like a good deal?

12. Hirestreet is the platform that offers its services to individual retailers, and thus creates economies of scale. Do you think that individual retailers could have their own rental operations and still be profitable?

13. 'White-labelling' of products already happens across a wide range of food/household items in the UK. What is the situation in your country? Are you happy to use white-label brands, or do you insist on having the original brand? Are there differences in quality associated with products that have been branded by the supermarket?

14. Can you think of any examples of a 'circular economy' in the products/services that people in your country buy/use?

15. Is the idea of having a more circular economy appealing to people in your country? In the UK, it's still a relatively new concept that has yet to take off, but it is gaining in popularity.

16. There are apps that are designed for selling your unused clothing. Do you have such apps?

17. Can we still justify 'fast fashion' as harmless fun? Will environmental concerns outweigh the profit that it generates?

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Situation

You are the head of commercial operations at Hirestreet. Convince your teacher, CEO of clothes retailer Andsuit, to add clothing rental to his existing retail operation.

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Discuss quotes

"I like my money right where I can see it…hanging in my closet." 

—Carrie Bradshaw

"Buy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity. Everybody's buying far too many clothes."

--- Vivienne Westwood

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes."

--- Desiderius Erasmus

"Life for rent means that my life isn't really my own, I only rented it for a while, but if I don't manage to buy it, to own it, then nothing of what I think is mine is really mine."

--- Dido Armstrong

“How can anyone be silly enough to think himself better than other people, because his clothes are made of finer woolen thread than theirs.

 After all, those fine clothes were once worn by a sheep, and they never turned it into anything better than a sheep.”

― Thomas More

Student Handout PDF: Rent Your Clothes

Photo: Thirdman