Human Rights

Human Rights as understood in the present is a contemporary concept. Even if Natural Law, an idea that goes back almost to the beginning of men history, has had more or less presence and impact in ancient, medieval and modern societies, in the sense that we give it nowadays it does not go back more than 1948 when the December 10th, 1948 UN General Assembly adopted The universal Declaration of Human Rights (Resolution 217 A (III)).Of course it has precedents; almost nothing comes out of the blue. It must be stressed that ancient societies had systems to enforce duties, they did not contemplate rights save for the rulers. Somehow Christianity was a blessing - considering all men alike but, unfortunately, this concept was only related to theological equality because in reality was not at odds with social inequality.

In 1791 Thomas Paine used the term for the first time, but not quite, in his book The Rights of man, because already in 1537 Vomerus wrote about “iuria hominum”.

The Cyrus cylinder, a broken clay cylinder written in Akkadian cuneiform in 539 B.C was considered to be the first world’s charter of human rights… History has to begin somewhere…So was the 1215 Magna Carta, after John of England perpetrated all sorts of brutalities and cruelties, but it was only and agreement among peers. Lots of similar concords were born all along Europe with little consequence. In 1679 the English Revolution brought the Habeas Corpus Act and in 1689 the Bill of Rights but its influence remained within the country boundaries, like the Scottish Claim of Rights.

Philosophers’ theories in the XVII and XVIII planted the seeds that lead the British colonies in North America revolting against British Government in 1776 and resulted in the US Declaration of Independence and the French Revolution in 1789 bringing the Declaration des droits de l’ homme et du citoyen. America Civil War (1861-1865) to end slavery did not fully achieve its goal. Officially slavery was banned in all its forms in Geneve by the Council of the League of Nations (precursor of United Nations) in a Resolution dated October 12th, 1933.

Considerable importance had the suffragettes’ movement that was established at the end of the XIX century to win the rights for women to vote, but their rôle merits an entire commentary, some other time.
After 1948, Amnesty International was born, May 28th, 1961 and was considered by many too restrictive. In 1978 the Human Rights Watch comes into view following the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2005 with several committees dealing with every aspect of the issue. Plus NGOs flourished all over. What do all these institutions managed to tell us? That the issue is still unsettled and ongoing, if it was complete there would not be need to establish new laws, ratifications, resolutions, etc. when something works there is no need to insist upon the matter. But the unsolved problem led us to insist on each one according to our possibilities and as this is what the NUD-HED label seems to be doing, whoever they might be: Congratulations!

“Every cloud has a silver lining”

…such a beautiful, soothing image… Obviously the phrase was coined a long, long time ago, before clouds delivered acid rain and the contamination of our planet was at its minimum. Rivers flowed crystalline waters without killer waste foams and malodorous emanations. All seven seas were not polluted and their fishes had not the stomach full of PVC. Manure was the fertilizer instead of chemical brands and fumigation against plagues was not another plague itself.

But all that has changed for the worst, what we have nowadays is Nature bearing contamination, pollution and every form of aggression due to men haughtiness and arrogance, convinced to be kings not only of mother earth but of the whole universe.

In the name of God Progress we cut trees, woods vanish, to build roads; miles and miles of whatever they are made of in order to go as quickly as possible from one point to another which is not bad in itself but the price we pay, is it not too high?

I am not against progress, certainly not, but it is a word that excuses every assault made in its name.

Environment conscience is a must and I found a new approach to it that pleases me very, very much, because silence gives consent I am in favor of anything that gives Nature the respect it deserves.

The NUD-HED label is what I am talking about and this time in relation to the commitment of the users to work only with organic materials: like cotton, bambuu, hemp, linen Eco fleence…in the production of their wares. Organic clothing free of chemicals and pesticides, controlled and adequate sewage treatment that reduces waste, saves energy and helps to preserve the ozone layer, according to the Europe Directive 1980/2000.

We shall conclude with one great truth “never is too late to mend”.

Ecology and Identity

Have you ever thought how our actions describe who we are in our core being?

It seems like is a time for change, time to become socially conscious and try to change the world for the better, to think in new and revolutionary ways that will form a more progressive vision on how we perceive fashion, ecology and identity.

Cultural fashion has always had a big impact on how different cultures express their distinctiveness & traditions, on how we see ourselves and how we present our selves in our daily lives. Even if our identity is partially characterised by our appearances this doesn’t seem to be always the case.

Fashion has the power to create narratives that can exist throughout the design history. However we can still maintain our individual identity while creating durable values.

By becoming ecologically conscious you respect the environment and the ecosystem; all the natural variables make our communities vibrant and integrated wholes that allow nature to act its magic.

H.E.D is here to support the ‘green’ values that will create a different way of perceiving fashion, while respecting the humankind, the society and the eternity of aesthetics. Be part of our drive...

The NUD: How we came down to be H.E.D

Since time immemorial to present fashion has become an everyday item for almost everybody. And fashion is not an abstract concept only, but an industry that involves all levels of society in its making, a business that moves millions and which target goes from grandmothers to, indirectly, newly born children.

Fashion has traditionally been a domestic affair, enclosed within the boundaries of each country. There was a certain trade involving silks, wools, leather and cotton from abroad but nothing else, except the influence of great designers that were copied everywhere.

Things changed with prêt-a porter, the youth revolution, better terms for workers thanks to trade unions and globalization. National labor became too expensive in the, until now, rich “First World”. Outsourcing came as the solution for profit raise, and it meant the suppression of labor rights or equal trading conditions among people and countries.

The NUD believes in fashion as a way of change, an open window to achieve an improvement through our three core labels: H.E.D in order to achieve a fairer and more sustainable fashion business.

Our labels represent our way of promoting ethical fashion we are trying to build and it means and with each we are trying to gain a significant improvement in three different areas:

H: Human rights and fair trade commitment. This includes protection of child labour, women empowerment, fair work schedules & salaries as well as ensuring safe and healthy working environment for all the employees & designers.

E: Ecologically conscious. Uses of raw materials (e.g. cotton, hemp, linen) with the ultimate benefits to reduce waste, save energy, protect global warming and ozone layer and management of natural resources.

D: Development of Pioneer designers. Promotion of new creative and innovative talents who lack resources.

When you buy any H.E.D piece of clothing you are contributing to a better world, where working people regain their dignity, Nature gets the due respect it deserves and young, enterprising, talented designers have a saying and their place in the always exciting arena of fashion.

The concept of FASHION

The concept of FASHION, as a prevailing custom; a conventional usage in dress, ornaments, etc., a word everybody understands nowadays, has changed dramatically since it began to have meaning, at least for the elite. Before I carry on, I will only deal here with costume fashion. Fashion considered as change is as ancient as the history of men; each historical epoch has its own style, but the compelling strength of fashion is a phenomenon of recent times. In the past, only the very, very rich could be bothered by what was or would be fashionable, the majority of people had more pressing problems: food, levies, wars, punishments due to lack of justice, etc.

 France, during Louis XIV was the leader in good taste, and the rest of Europe just followed suit until the second half of the XIX century. The first fashion magazine was born in 1672, the “Mercure Galant”, French of course. Even if France had lost its hegemony over the rest of the world, still the richest people liked to be dressed by the French designers, and so they did but then 1914 arrived, and the Great War that changed a lot of things. Gone was the “Ancient Regime” with all it meant.

New times came with less formality, with women working outside their homes and entering the universities, playing sports, and fashion had to evolve into something less grand, more suited to the needs of the moment. But the rich had the upper hand and continued to be wrapped by the few top couturiers, were them in Paris, Berlin or London and the rest had to do with seamstress that tried to copy from magazines what the greatest names invented for their customers. And then the II War happens.

Europe needs to reinvent itself after the disaster and things are never going to be what they were. Recovery takes time. Fashion is not a priority, in fact “The Encyclopaedia Britannica” in its edition of 1957 does not have the word in its volume  9 EXTRACTI to GAMB. Obviously people dressed…how they could.

Time goes by, France, Italy, Great Britain and Germany too, are able to regain stability and began to enjoy the pleasures of life. Women want to look their best, after years of mourning and scarcity…Haute couture revives, seamstresses, tailors… And suddenly a miracle: “Prêt-a-porter”, clothes off the peg; no more fittings, no more waste of time, no more disappointments. You saw what you wanted and you got it right away…

May 68… the youth revolution…Mary Quant, Carnaby …Fashion in on the street even for babies…and FASHION must be forever new, must change as soon as possible and be as different as possible from the last trend or it becomes stale… New trade-marks… designers, all kinds of… and during this long history made short, no one ever cared about how the merchandise was made… Meaning? No one worried about the dress goods, about  the conditions of the people who provided them…Because  undeveloped countries had cheaper  labor  there was where the production happened…Children slaving to collect the buds to make Cashmere shawls…?...Women working themselves blind to embroider thin silks…? ... Men, women and young girls engaged hour after hour in sweat-shops seated at sewing-machines earning ridiculous salaries…?  And the philistine excuse “At least they have a job”

Synthetic Fibers.  What  to do without them?. Some good, some not so good but they are here to stay. Who cares?  Good question! And an even better answer: NUD…Tell you more next batch…Bye now