• Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Is Transforming A.I., One Leather Jacket at a Time - The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/style/jensen-huang-nvidia-leather-jackets.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_202

    J’adore les articles « style » du New York Times. Quand l’habit fait le moine.

    There’s a new tech titan in town and he’s preparing to enter the pantheon. How do we know?

    Well, Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, has the company: He co-founded Nvidia in 1993, and the market cap is now about $950 billion, though at the end of May it was briefly in the $1 trillion club, putting it in a similar league to Apple, Alphabet and Amazon.

    He has the product: a data processing chip that is key to A.I. development, which is to say, the life of ChatGPT and Bard, which is to say, the current paradigm shift.

    And he has the look: a black leather jacket he wears every time he is in the public eye, most often with a black T-shirt and black jeans.

    Mr. Huang wore a black leather jacket when he was on the cover of Time as one of its men of the year in 2021. A black leather jacket during his keynote speeches at multiple GTC developer conferences since 2018. To deliver the 2023 World ITF keynote and the 2023 Computex 2023 keynote. He even identified himself, back in a Reddit AMA in 2016, as “the guy in the leather jacket.”

    Sometimes his leather jackets have collars, sometimes they look more like motorcycle jackets; sometime a lot of zips are involved, sometimes not. But the jackets are always black. He has been wearing them, a spokesman said, “for at least 20 years.” The point is that he always looks the same.

    There hasn’t been a popularly identifiable face of A.I. yet. ChatGPT and Bard are anonymous brains. That’s part of what makes A.I. so eerie — its disembodied nature. Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, is ubiquitous, but looks kind of generic. Mr. Huang and his leather jacket are poised to step neatly into that gap.

    The jacket is an object that has become a signifier — of a person but also the great leap forward that person represents. And that association puts Mr. Huang in the same club as Steve “black turtleneck” Jobs, Mark “gray T-shirt” Zuckerberg and Jeff “Pitbull” Bezos as a chief executive who understands that the difference between a company that is a world-changing success and a company that is a world-changing success that becomes a part of pop culture may be the image of its figurehead. One that’s just enough of a caricature to work its way into the public imagination and become the avatar of a movement.

    To put this in context, Superstar Jacket sells two versions of a “Jensen Huang leather jacket,” alongside a “Fast & Furious 10 Vin Diesel jacket,” a “Snoop Dogg leather jacket” and an “Indiana Jones leather jacket.”

    But Mr. Huang is the only C.E.O. to have a jacket named after him.

    Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014. In this role she covers global fashion for both The New York Times and International New York Times. @VVFriedman

    #Style #Fashion #Intelligence_artificielle #Jensen_Huang #Pop_culture

  • Au Chili, des montagnes de vêtements usagés en plein désert
    https://www.novethic.fr/actualite/environnement/dechets/isr-rse/jeudi-photo-au-chili-des-montagnes-de-vetements-usages-en-plein-desert-1503

    Des dunes de vêtements en plein désert. Cette photo prise fin septembre par le photographe de l’Agence France Presse (AFP) Martin Bernetti a des allures surréalistes. Elle montre pourtant une réalité bien palpable, celle d’une décharge sauvage de textile située dans le désert d’Atacama près la commune d’Alto Hospicio au nord du Chili.

    Plusieurs décharges comme celle-ci existent dans la région, comptabilisant environ 39 000 tonnes de déchets. Le Chili s’est spécialisé depuis une quarantaine d’années dans le commerce de vêtements de seconde main. Mais la quantité croissante d’habits à bas coût provenant d’Asie engorge son circuit de revente et nourrit de manière exponentielle ces montagnes de textile.

    « Le problème est que ces vêtements ne sont pas biodégradables et contiennent des produits chimiques, ils ne sont donc pas acceptés dans les décharges municipales », explique Franklin Zepeda, qui a fondé en 2018 EcoFibra, une entreprise de recyclage en mesure de traiter jusqu’à 40 tonnes de vêtements par mois. Un effort bienvenu mais largement insuffisant pour résoudre l’ensemble du problème.

  • Les basses fringues Robin des bois
    https://robindesbois.org/les-basses-fringues

    La Fashion week [la semaine de la mode] déploie ses fastes, ses flashs, son buzz et ses défilés jusqu’au mardi 5 octobre. Ça clinque à Paris.

    En Afrique, c’est toute l’année le défilé des vêtements à obsolescence programmée, des soutiens-gorge fatigués et des godasses éculées. Ça coince en Afrique.

    L’Afrique est la principale bénéficiaire de la charité organisée et imposée par les économies occidentales et depuis quelques années chinoise.

    La marée des vêtements hors d’usage déferle. De la Mauritanie au Kenya, tout le continent est touché.


    Marché de Kantamanto, Accra, Ghana © The OR Foundation


    Nairobi, Kenya. © Caitriona Rogerso

    L’impérialisme de l’aide humanitaire et de l’alibi « ça pourra toujours leur servir à quelque chose » commence à lasser. Les populations ne sont plus sous le charme des balles de troisième choix qui les submergent et dont chacune rapporte 50 à 100 € aux exportateurs.

    Paul Kagamé, président du #Rwanda, a lancé en 2016 une fusée éclairante en déclarant que l’invasion des vêtements usagés était une atteinte à la dignité. Le Rwanda a imposé une taxe douanière de 5 US$ par kg de fripe importée. Les USA ont violemment réagi en rayant en 2018 le Rwanda de la liste des pays bénéficiaires de l’AGOA (African Growth Opportunity Act). L’AGOA permet des relations de libre-échange entre les USA et les pays africains. Les USA exportent pour environ 700 millions de dollars de vêtements usagés chaque année. Cette exportation massive présente l’avantage d’éviter de gérer des déchets solides, encombrants, combustibles et polluants. La destination dominante est l’Afrique. C’est sur le dos de l’Afrique que les USA font des économies.

    La France n’est pas en reste. En 2020, malgré la paralysie de la logistique internationale, elle a exporté plus de 130.000 tonnes de déchets textiles en direct ou via la Belgique, les Pays-Bas, la Tunisie, le Maroc et les Emirats arabes unis. Les statistiques douanières ne reflètent que le commerce légal. Interpol constate à l’occasion d’opérations spéciales coordonnées entre les administrations douanières de plus de 70 pays que les vêtements usagés et accessoires de mode sont après les plastiques et les déchets métalliques la troisième catégorie de déchets à faire l’objet de contrebande. En 2020, les douanes de Lagos, Nigeria, ont saisi 3047 balles de vêtements usagés, 86 de sacs à main usagés et 35 de chaussures usagées.

    Arrivés en Afrique, 2 articles sur 3 sont considérés comme inutilisables. Ils vont en décharge, sont jetés au bord des routes, érigent des falaises visitées par les vaches et les marabouts et se répandent dans les lagons et sur les plages. Les incendies à ciel ouvert sont fréquents et persistants. Ils produisent des fumées et des imbrûlés toxiques en décomposant les teintures chimiques et en brûlant des tissus synthétiques d’origine pétrochimique.


    Décharge de Dandora, Nairobi, Kenya © Caitriona Rogerson


    Lagune de Korle, Accra, Ghana Capture d’écran ABC


    Plage à Accra, Ghana © The OR Foundation

    Les experts africains de la friperie constatent une dégradation rapide de la qualité des déchets importés. Sauf des perles rares comme quelques jeans ou chemises qui ont échappé à la revente en Europe ou aux Etats-Unis ou encore des t-shirts à l’effigie de stars du football, les vêtements usagés ne soulèvent plus l’enthousiasme. Le prêt-à-porter est devenu un prêt-à-jeter.

    Le fondateur du Relais, le plus gros collecteur de textiles usagés en France, est du même avis. La « crème » revendable en France est tombée de 8 à 5 % en quelques années. Elle est captée par la vente via l’Internet, par les boutiques et les chaînes vintage. Même les grands magasins du boulevard Haussmann à Paris s’y mettent. Les lots à destination de l’Afrique vont encore s’appauvrir.
    En Afrique, les arrivages de déchets textiles hors d’usage posent les même problèmes environnementaux, sanitaires et sociaux que les déchets électroniques. Les entreprises locales du secteur textile et de l’habillement ont disparu. Les importations massives de vêtements usagés les ont tuées.

    . . . . . la suite : https://robindesbois.org/les-basses-fringues

    #Fashion_week #pollution de l’#Afrique #obsolescence_programmée #aide_humanitaire #impérialisme #dignité #déchets #déchets_textiles #décharges #éco-organisme

    • Quelques chiffres
      2018. Importation de vêtements usagés au Kenya : 176.000 tonnes (source : Comtrade Database).
      2018. Importation de vêtements usagés au Ghana : 134.000 tonnes (source : Comtrade Database).
      2018. Exportation depuis la France de près de 90% des textiles « réutilisables » dont la plupart en Afrique (Source : rapport CGEDD/CGE, juillet 2018)
      2019. Marché mondial des vêtements usagés : 4,46 milliards d’US$ (source : The Observatory of Economic Complexity).
      2019. Importation de vêtements usagés au Ghana : 250.000 tonnes (sources : Comtrade Database et The Observatory of Economic Complexity).
      2020. Arrivées hebdomadaires dans le port de Tema (Ghana) de 15 millions de vêtements répartis dans plus de 100 conteneurs. 40% partent immédiatement dans les décharges (Source : OR Foundation).
      2020. Exportation depuis la France de 95% des textiles et chaussures « réutilisables » sous la tutelle de Refashion.

  • “Rare Photographs Reveal British Soldiers Manning Anti-Aircraft Guns in Full Drag in World War II” "This set of photographs, taken by John Topham while working in RAF intelligence, was censored by the British Ministry of Information when they were taken during the Second World War. The images were captured during a visit to the base of the Royal Artillery Coastal Defence Battery at Shornemead Fort, near Gravesend, in Kent."

    https://www.vintag.es/2020/01/soldiers-in-drag.html

    #fashion #clothing #world_war_II #transvestite

    • Pourquoi est-ce que c’est progressiste ou sympathique d’exhibé des dominant·es qui se déguisent en dominé·es ? Pour les #blackface il n’y a plus grand monde pour trouvé cela amusant de voire des blancs se fendre la poire à tourné en ridicule des noirs. Pourquoi c’est si bien vu que des soldats se déguisent en danseuse de revue ? Les soldats s’appellent aussi parfois entre eux « les filles », faut il y voire une remise en cause des normes de genre ?

      #misogynie #sexisme #racisme #drag

      Ici un article qui essaye de répondre à cette comparaison sans que je trouve les réponses convaincantes
      https://contreculturemagazine.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/les-drag-queens-sont-elles-sexistes

      L’argument : Les drag queens seraient des voleuses. Du voguing jusqu’à une supposée culture féminine noire ces dernières s’approprieraient des cultures qui ne leur appartiennent pas. Cet argument considère en effet qu’avant d’être des performeuses qui questionnent leur genre les drag queens sont des hommes majoritairement blancs et cisgenres. L’Union des étudiants anglais a ainsi fait passer une règle interdisant aux hommes gays blancs de s’approprier les « manières, tics de langage et les phrases souvent attribuées aux femmes noires« . Jouissant de ce double privilège d’être à la fois hommes et blancs ils ne pourraient donc pas se revendiquer, ou s’inspirer, d’une culture dont ils sont exclus par leur position de domination.

      La critique : Les cultures sont issues d’hybridations, d’échanges, et il peut vite s’avérer dangereux d’assigner une population à une culture supposée. Le principe même d’appropriation nie la possibilité pour quiconque d’élargir ses horizons culturels. Le débat est ici différent de celui qui entoure le blackface. Non, les drag queens ne font pas de girlface. Il y a ici, derrière les performances, de réels questionnements sur l’identité de genre, sa fluidité, et la manière dont elle s’articule avec une fibre artistique. Ce qui n’est pas le cas pour les auteurs du blackface. Lorsque certains prêtent des caractéristiques outrancières aux personnes noires, les drag queens, elles, se jouent de la normativité du genre et non pas des femmes.

      ...
      Je pense qu’une personne déguisée avec une blackface pourra soutenir aussi qu’elle se joue de la normativité raciale et non pas des noirs. Elle ajouterait qu’elle a un ami noir aussi probablement mais ca rendrait pas son argument recevable. Si une femme blanche se maquillait en Josephine Baker pour se produire en spectacle burlesque, est ce qu’elle ferait du dragqueen subversif ou du blackface raciste ? Cette femme pourrait dire qu’elle rend hommage à Josephine Baker et que c’est une performance des stéréotypes culturels de genre et de race. Ca resterait problématique à mon avis vu que cette femme blanche porterait une blackface quand même. Pour le blackface les mentalitées ont évoluées et il est difficile de donner un contexte qui ne soit pas jugé immédiatement raciste pour ce maquillage aujourd’hui. On a compris que ce type de performance n’était pas capable de renversé les stéréotype, au contraire ca les valide.

      Le travestissement des dominants en dominés est une vieille tradition raciste et sexiste qui remonte à l’antiquité. En Grèce les femmes n’avaient pas le droit de faire de théatre et j’imagine qu’il y avait des blackface et de whitwashing aussi. Il n’y avait rien de progressiste à ce que des hommes se déguisent en femmes pour le divertissement. Par contre il y a des critiques pour dire que les danseurs d’opéra japonais sont plus féminins que les femmes, et là aussi il n’y a rien de progressiste à dire que même en féminité les femmes sont inférieurs aux hommes.

      Marcel Duchamps s’est travesti pour démontré que les femmes sont privilégiées par leur sexe dans le milieu littéraire. C’est de la performance de genre aussi, mais c’est parfaitement misogyne.

      Le cadre d’un spectacle de cabaret, sexualisé et comique qui est celui du drag, autant que l’était le blackface, n’est pas un milieu étranger à la misogynie et au racisme non plus. J’aurais plutot tendance à dire l’inverse vu qu’il est propice à la prostitution et dévoué entièrement au bon plaisir des gros bourgeois et des grands hommes qui viennent dépensé leur argent loin de leurs épouses.
      Je ne sais pas quelles femmes ni quelles filles, les drag queen ont libérés grâce à leurs performance de la « vrai féminité » ou de « féminité ultime » à base de 50 kg de cosmétiques montées sur 30 cm de talons aiguilles mais cela m’étonnerait qu’il y en ait tant que ca.

      Je trouve aussi assez culotté le fait de dénié aux femmes noir américaines l’invention de voging, ou de faire comme si OSEF de l’origine d’un truc si ca fait plaisir à des Trans. Je ne savais pas que le voging venait des femmes noires, et le fait que les drag queen soient en majorité des hommes blancs cis hétéros (ce que dit cet article mais moi j’en sais rien) ne peu pas être balayé aussi facilement d’un revers de main.

      En bref, si on peut aisément comprendre les questionnements qui habitent certains courants féministes, si on peut s’émouvoir de la sensibilité de certains et certaines transgenres, il nous faut éviter de nous aventurer trop loin du sens commun. En effet, il semblerait impensable pour une grande majorité de personnes que des hommes en talons pourraient nuire d’une manière ou d’une autre à la cause féminine . C’est bien du genre, et non des femmes, dont les drag queens se jouent.

      Alors oui, des hommes, en talon ou pas peuvent nuire d’une manière ou d’une autre à la cause des femmes... Et
      si l’intention première était de « pérformer les stérotypes de genre pour renverser les dominations » il devrait y avoir beaucoup plus de dragkings et les dragqueen seraient plutot rares.

      Une performance de genre ca peu aussi renforcer les stéréotypes, la performance en soi ca dit rien sur le message et je croi pas qu’un cabaret, destiné à un publique essentiellement masculin, bourgeois et blanc consommateur de prostitution et proche des mafias diverses qui est le contexte du spectacle des dragqueen, soit vraiment profondément intéressé par le bien être des femmes. Et je croi pas que ce milieu le reconnaitrait.

      Comment est ce que des performances destinées à un tel public pourrait avoir un intérêt à faire un spectacle qui ne les ferait pas rire ? Ils sont là pour se moquer de leurs bourgeoises restées à la maison, des femmes trop quelque chose qui leurs sont inaccessibles, des prostitué·es qu’ils vont s’offrir et des femmes toujours trop hystérique, trop maquillées, trop superficielles, trop vénales, trop puissantes, trop cruelles, trop effrayantes, trop monstrueuses dont le drag queen est l’image parfaite.

      Des hommes qui se préforment en femmes pour se divertir, c’est aussi vieux que des blancs qui se préforment en noir·es pour se divertir. Aucun des deux n’est une remise en cause des stéréotypes racistes ou sexistes. La plus part des gens n’acceptent plus de s’amuser des blackfaces quelque soit l’intention des artistes derrière le costume. Je pense que l’idée que les noirs sont là pour servir au plaisir des blancs n’est plus aussi ouvertement assumé, même si le chemin poir l’égalité est toujours à faire dans les mentalités. Il serait temps que la plus part des gens n’acceptent plus de s’amuser des girlfaces. Je sais que l’idée que les femmes sont la pour servir au plaisir des hommes est encore profondément dans les mentalités, mais j’espère qu’on arrivera à comprendre le problème. Je dit pas que le drag n’est plus possible, mais il serait temps que ces performeureuses si talentueuseux et si avide de changer les normes de genre nous offre le spectacles hilarant des caricatures de la masculinités qui sont encore presque universellement inédites, des drag de ces masculinités trop viriles, trop tyranniques, trop stupide, trop prétentieuses, trop cupides, trop égoïstes, trop polluantes, trop ridicules, trop envahissantes, trop agressive, trop visible, trop confiante ...

      #appropriation_culturelle #girlface

    • https://www.telerama.fr/sortir/a-paris,-les-drag-queens-repolitisent-les-fetes-lgbt,n6613111.php

      Créé à l’initiative des trois drag Minima Gesté, Poulette Zhava-Kiki et Clémence Trü, le collectif est officiellement lancé en janvier 2020. Pagaille dévoile son manifeste, qui dénonce des soirées « LGBT+ » pensées uniquement pour un public d’hommes blancs et aisés ; où la misogynie, la transphobie et la putophobie sont monnaie courant . Des discriminations qui persistent, malgré un renouvellement de façade où les étiquettes « trans-pédé-gouines » et « queer », issues du militantisme, s’affichent de plus en plus fièrement. « La fête est un moment où l’on s’échappe de ses oppressions quotidiennes. Évitons d’y reproduire celles que subissent les femmes, les personnes racisées, trans, neuro-atypiques... », souligne Clémence Trü.

  • Hacking #instagram: How Vince Van Meer Grew A #fashion Influencer Empire
    https://hackernoon.com/hacking-instagram-how-vince-van-meer-grew-a-fashion-influencer-empire-e6

    A picture of Vince Van MeerLet’s face it, if you are trying to grow a brand today, then Instagram is a must. No other social media site has a combination of aesthetics, reach, and positive perception as Instagram does (it has even escaped its parent company Facebook’s PR disaster over the past year). You could find all the negatives that you want about social media like how it is addicting and how we compare ourselves too much on it, but the matter of fact is that we are on it and it has become intertwined with our real lives much more than people want to give credit for.From this, a new class of young entrepreneurs has risen to take advantage of this new cyber landscape of business opportunities. One of them is the 23-year-old Dutchman Vince Van Meer who at one point had six different (...)

    #hacking-instagram #instagram-hack #social-media

  • Speaking at conferences: A complete guide
    https://hackernoon.com/dressing-for-the-stage-theatre-rules-apply-90a29614ad67?source=rss----3a

    6 mistakes beginners make… and how to avoid themOffstage, I am a data scientist, leader, and decision intelligence engineer. When I’m invited to give a talk, I turn into a theatre company of one. Everything from actor to director to costume designer.The bad news is that the same goes for your talk, whether you know it or not. Unfortunately the skills that got you the speaking position might be entirely different from what you need to dazzle your audience.The good news is that industry and academia are stuffed to the gills with novice speakers who don’t realize that public speaking is theatre, so it’s fairly easy to set yourself apart in a crowd of newcomers to the stage. To help you out, here are some practical tips along with a list of newbie mistakes to avoid.Planning your contentSpeech lengthA (...)

    #fashion #public-speaking

  • A historian explains why right-wing criticism of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s clothing mirrors the response to early female labor activists | Alternet
    https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/historian-explains-why-right-wing-criticism-alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-clot

    It seems that some critics just can’t accept the fact that an unapologetic Democratic socialist like Ocasio-Cortez – who calls for a more equal distribution of wealth and fair shake to workers – can also wear designer clothes.

    To a historian like me who writes about fashion and politics, the attention to Ocasio-Cortez’s clothing as a way to criticize her politics is an all-too-familiar line of attack.

    Ocasio-Cortez isn’t the first woman or even the first outsider to receive such treatment.

    In particular, I’m reminded of Clara Lemlich, a young radical socialist who used fashion as a form of empowerment while she fought for workers’ rights.
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    Lemlich – like Ocasio-Cortez – wasn’t afraid to take on big business while wearing fancy clothes.
    ‘We like new hats’

    In 1909, when she was only 23 years old, Lemlich defied the male union leadership whom she saw as too hesitant and out of touch.

    In what would come to be known as the “Uprising of the 20,000,” Lemlich led thousands of garment workers – the majority of them young women – to walk out from their workplace and go on a strike.

    As historian Nan Enstad has shown, insisting on their right to maintain a fashionable appearance was not a frivolous pursuit of poor women living beyond their means. It was an important political strategy in strikers’ struggle to gain rights and respect as women, workers and Americans.

    Two women strikers on picket line during the ‘Uprising of the 20,000’ in New York City. Library of Congress

    When they picketed the streets wearing their best clothes, strikers challenged the image of the “deserving poor” that depicted female workers as helpless victims deserving of mercy.

    Wearing a fancy dress or a hat signaled their economic independence and their respectability as ladies. But it also spoke to their right to be taken seriously and to have their voices heard.

    https://www.alternet.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/file-20181203-194944-1dz76tq.jpg?itok=tHRlqc97

    Despite the criticism, Lemlich and her fellow strikers were able to win concessions from factory owners for most of their demands. They also turned Local 25 of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union into one of the most influential labor unions in the country, changing for the better the lives of millions of workers like themselves.

    But more importantly, Lemlich and her colleagues changed the perception of what politically radical women should look like. They demonstrated that socialism and labor struggles were not in opposition to fashionable appearances.

    Today, their legacy is embodied in Ocasio-Cortez’s message. In fact, if Clara Lemlich were alive today, she would probably smile at Ocasio-Cortez’s response to her critics.

    The reason some journalists “can’t help but obsess about my clothes [and] rent,” she tweeted, is because “women like me aren’t supposed to run for office – or win.”

    Ocasio-Cortez has already begun to fashion an image for women who, as her worn-out campaign shoes can attest, not only know how to “talk the talk,” but can also “walk the walk.”

    #Féminisme #Politique #Lutte #Fashion #Alexandria_Ocasio_Cortez

  • Let’s Talk About Dress Codes and Clothes
    https://hackernoon.com/lets-talk-about-dress-codes-and-clothes-c484f4ccfdfd?source=rss----3a814

    What “dressing down” reveals about changes in how we live and work in a #technology-driven societyPhoto by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash“The digital transformation is clearly visible in this room.”This was the opening statement of one of the speakers at a digital transformation event I attended recently. For effect, he paused as the audience looked around struggling to find who or what he was referring to.“Nobody is wearing a suit.”The response was interesting; awkward laughter as the audience couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not.But, lately, I hear more and more such comments about the clothes we wear for work.At an earlier event in Singapore, one of the speakers took a different view when asked about his decision to “dress down” and not wear a suit:“This is just who I am.”Again, this is a (...)

    #life #business #fashion #entrepreneurship

  • Inside Italy’s Shadow Economy

    #Home_work — working from home or a small workshop as opposed to in a factory — is a cornerstone of the #fast-fashion supply chain. It is particularly prevalent in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China, where millions of low-paid and predominantly female home workers are some of the most unprotected in the industry, because of their irregular employment status, isolation and lack of legal recourse.

    That similar conditions exist in Italy, however, and facilitate the production of some of the most expensive wardrobe items money can buy, may shock those who see the “Made in Italy” label as a byword for sophisticated craftsmanship.

    Increased pressure from #globalization and growing competition at all levels of the market mean that the assumption implicit in the luxury promise — that part of the value of such a good is that it is made in the best conditions, by highly skilled workers, who are paid fairly — is at times put under threat.

    Though they are not exposed to what most people would consider sweatshop conditions, the homeworkers are allotted what might seem close to sweatshop wages. Italy does not have a national minimum wage, but roughly €5-7 per hour is considered an appropriate standard by many unions and consulting firms. In extremely rare cases, a highly skilled worker can earn as much as €8-10 an hour. But the homeworkers earn significantly less, regardless of whether they are involved in leatherwork, embroidery or another artisanal task.

    In #Ginosa, another town in Puglia, Maria Colamita, 53, said that a decade ago, when her two children were younger, she had worked from home on wedding dresses produced by local factories, embroidering gowns with pearl paillettes and appliqués for €1.50 to €2 per hour.

    Each gown took 10 to 50 hours to complete, and Ms. Colamita said she worked 16 to 18 hours a day; she was paid only when a garment was complete.

    “I would only take breaks to take care of my children and my family members — that was it,” she said, adding that she currently works as a cleaner and earns €7 per hour. “Now my children have grown up, I can take on a job where I can earn a real wage.”

    Both women said they knew at least 15 other seamstresses in their area who produced luxury fashion garments on a piece-rate basis for local factories from their homes. All live in Puglia, the rural heel of Italy’s boot that combines whitewashed fishing villages and crystal clear waters beloved by tourists with one of the country’s biggest manufacturing hubs.

    Few were willing to risk their livelihoods to tell their tales, because for them the flexibility and opportunity to care for their families while working was worth the meager pay and lack of protections.

    “I know I am not paid what I deserve, but salaries are very low here in Puglia and ultimately I love what I do,” said another seamstress, from the attic workshop in her apartment. “I have done it all my life and couldn’t do anything else.”

    Although she had a factory job that paid her €5 per hour, she worked an additional three hours per day off the books from home, largely on high-quality sample garments for Italian designers at roughly €50 apiece.

    “We all accept that this is how it is,” the woman said from her sewing machine, surrounded by cloth rolls and tape measures.
    ‘Made in Italy,’ but at What Cost?

    Built upon the myriad small- and medium-size export-oriented manufacturing businesses that make up the backbone of Europe’s fourth largest economy, the centuries-old foundations of the “Made in Italy” legend have shaken in recent years under the weight of bureaucracy, rising costs and soaring unemployment.

    Businesses in the north, where there are generally more job opportunities and higher wages, have suffered less than those in the south, which were hit hard by the boom in cheap foreign labor that lured many companies into moving production operations abroad.

    Few sectors are as reliant on the country’s manufacturing cachet as the luxury trade, long a linchpin of Italy’s economic growth. It is responsible for 5 percent of Italian gross domestic product, and an estimated 500,000 people were employed directly and indirectly by the luxury goods sector in Italy in 2017, according to data from a report from the University of Bocconi and Altagamma, an Italian luxury trade organization.

    Those numbers have been bolstered by the rosy fortunes of the global luxury market, expected by Bain & Company to grow by 6 to 8 percent, to €276 to €281 billion in 2018, driven in part by the appetite for “Made in Italy” goods from established and emerging markets.

    But the alleged efforts by some luxury brands and lead suppliers to lower costs without undermining quality have taken a toll on those on those operating at the very bottom of the industry. Just how many are affected is difficult to quantify.

    According to data from Istat (the Italian National Institute of Statistics), 3.7 million workers across all sectors worked without contracts in Italy in 2015. More recently, in 2017, Istat counted 7,216 home workers, 3,647 in the manufacturing sector, operating with regular contracts.

    However, there is no official data on those operating with irregular contracts, and no one has attempted to quantify the group for decades. In 1973, the economist Sebastiano Brusco estimated that Italy had one million contracted home workers in apparel production, with a roughly equal figure working without contracts. Few comprehensive efforts have been made to examine the numbers since.

    This New York Times investigation collected evidence of about 60 women in the Puglia region alone working from home without a regular contract in the apparel sector. Tania Toffanin, the author of “Fabbriche Invisibili,” a book on the history of home working in Italy, estimated that currently there are 2,000 to 4,000 irregular home workers in apparel production.

    “The deeper down we go in the supply chain, the greater the abuse,” said Deborah Lucchetti, of #Abiti_Puliti, the Italian arm of #Clean_Clothes_Campaign, an anti-sweatshop advocacy group. According to Ms. Lucchetti, the fragmented structure of the global manufacturing sector, made up of thousands of medium to small, often family-owned, businesses, is a key reason that practices like unregulated home working can remain prevalent even in a first world nation like Italy.

    Plenty of Puglian factory managers stressed they adhered to union regulations, treated workers fairly and paid them a living wage. Many factory owners added that almost all luxury names — like Gucci, owned by Kering, for example, or Louis Vuitton, owned by #LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton — regularly sent staff to check on working conditions and quality standards.

    When contacted, LVMH declined to comment for this story. A spokesman for MaxMara emailed the following statement: “MaxMara considers an ethical supply chain a key component of the company’s core values reflected in our business practice.”

    He added that the company was unaware of specific allegations of its suppliers using home workers, but had started an investigation this week.

    According to Ms. Lucchetti, the fact that many Italian luxury brands outsource the bulk of manufacturing, rather than use their own factories, has created a status quo where exploitation can easily fester — especially for those out of union or brand sightlines. A large portion of brands hire a local supplier in a region, who will then negotiate contracts with factories in the area on their behalf.

    “Brands commission first lead contractors at the head of the supply chain, which then commission to sub-suppliers, which in turn shift part of the production to smaller factories under the pressure of reduced lead time and squeezed prices,” Ms. Lucchetti said. “That makes it very hard for there to be sufficient transparency or accountability. We know home working exists. But it is so hidden that there will be brands that have no idea orders are being made by irregular workers outside the contracted factories.”

    However, she also called these problems common knowledge, and said, “some brands must know they might be complicit.”

    The ‘Salento Method’

    Certainly that is the view of Eugenio Romano, a former union lawyer who has spent the last five years representing Carla Ventura, a bankrupt factory owner of Keope Srl (formerly CRI), suing the Italian shoe luxury behemoth Tod’s and Euroshoes, a company that Tod’s used as a lead supplier for its Puglian footwear production.

    Initially, in 2011, Ms. Ventura began legal proceedings against only Euroshoes, saying that consistently late payments, shrinking fee rates for orders and outstanding bills owed to her by that company were making it impossible to maintain a profitable factory and pay her workers a fair wage. A local court ruled in her favor, and ordered Euroshoes to pay the debts, which, after appealing unsuccessfully, the company did.

    Orders dried up in the wake of those legal proceedings. Eventually, in 2014, Keope went bankrupt. Now, in a second trial, which has stretched on for years without a significant ruling, Ms. Ventura has brought another action against Euroshoes, and Tod’s, which she says had direct knowledge of Euroshoes’ unlawful business practices. (Tod’s has said it played no role in nor had any knowledge of Euroshoes’ contract issues with Keope. A lawyer for Euroshoes declined to comment for this article.)

    “Part of the problem down here is that employees agree to forgo their rights in order to work,” Mr. Romano said from his office in the town of Casarano, ahead of the next court hearing, scheduled for Sept. 26.

    He spoke of the “Salento method,” a well-known local phrase that means, essentially: “Be flexible, use your methods, you know how to do it down here.”

    The region of Salento has a high unemployment rate, which makes its work force vulnerable. And although brands would never officially suggest taking advantage of employees, some factory owners have told Mr. Romano that there is an underlying message to use a range of means, including underpaying employees and paying them to work at home.

    The area has long been a hub of third-party shoemakers for luxury brands including Gucci, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo and Tod’s. In 2008, Ms. Ventura entered into an exclusive agreement with Euroshoes to become a sub-supplier of shoe uppers destined for Tod’s.

    According to Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit, she then became subject to consistently late payments, as well as an unexplained reduction in prices per unit from €13.48 to €10.73 per shoe upper from 2009 to 2012.

    While many local factories cut corners, including having employees work from home, Ms. Ventura said she still paid full salaries and provided national insurance. Because the contract required exclusivity, other potential manufacturing deals with rival brands including Armani and Gucci, which could have balanced the books, could not be made.

    Production costs were no longer covered, and promises of an increased number of orders from Tod’s via Euroshoes never came, according to the legal papers filed in Ms. Ventura’s case.

    In 2012, orders from Tod’s via Euroshoes stopped completely, one year after Ms. Ventura first took Euroshoes to court for her unpaid bills. Ms. Ventura said that eventually put Keope on the road to bankruptcy, according to legal documents. Ms. Ventura was declared insolvent in 2014.

    When asked for comment, a Tod’s spokeswoman said in a statement:

    “Keope filed a lawsuit against one of our suppliers, Euroshoes, and Tod’s, to recover damages related to the alleged actions or omissions of Euroshoes. Tod’s has nothing to do with the facts alleged in the case and never had a direct commercial relationship with Keope. Keope is a subcontractor of Euroshoes, and Tod’s is completely extraneous to their relationship.”

    The statement also said that Tod’s had paid Euroshoes for all the amounts billed in a timely and regular manner, and was not responsible if Euroshoes failed to pay a subcontractor. Tod’s said it insisted all suppliers perform their services in line with the law, and that the same standard be applied to subcontractors.

    “Tod’s reserves the right to defend its reputation against the libelous attempt of Keope to involve it in issues that do not concern Tod’s,” the spokeswoman said.

    Indeed, a report by Abiti Puliti that included an investigation by Il Tacco D’Italia, a local newspaper, into Ms. Ventura’s case found that other companies in the region sewing uppers by hand had women do the work irregularly from their homes. That pay would be 70 to 90 euro cents a pair, meaning that in 12 hours a worker would earn 7 to 9 euros.

    ‘Invisible’ Labor

    Home working textile jobs that are labor intensive or require skilled handiwork are not new to Italy. But many industry observers believe that the lack of a government-set national minimum wage has made it easier for many home workers to still be paid a pittance.

    Wages are generally negotiated for workers by union representatives, which vary by sector and by union. According to the Studio Rota Porta, an Italian labor consultancy, the minimum wage in the textile industry should be roughly €7.08 per hour, lower than those for other sectors including food (€8.70), construction (€8) and finance (€11.51).

    But workers who aren’t members of unions operate outside the system and are vulnerable to exploitation, a source of frustration for many union representatives.

    “We do know about seamstresses working without contracts from home in Puglia, especially those that specialize in sewing appliqué, but none of them want to approach us to talk about their conditions, and the subcontracting keeps them largely invisible,” said Pietro Fiorella, a representative of the CGIL, or Italian General Confederation of Labour, the country’s largest national union.

    Many of them are retired, Mr. Fiorella said, or want the flexibility of part-time work to care for family members or want to supplement their income, and are fearful of losing the additional money. While unemployment rates in Puglia recently dropped to 19.5 percent in the first quarter of 2018 from nearly 21.5 percent in the same period a year ago, jobs remain difficult to come by.

    A fellow union representative, Giordano Fumarola, pointed to another reason that garment and textile wages in this stretch of southern Italy have stayed so low for so long: the offshoring of production to Asia and Eastern Europe over the last two decades, which intensified local competition for fewer orders and forced factory owners to drive down prices.

    In recent years, some luxury companies have started to bring production back to Puglia, Mr. Fumarola said. But he believed that power is still firmly in the hands of the brands, not suppliers already operating on wafer-thin margins. The temptation for factory owners to then use sub-suppliers or home workers, or save money by defrauding their workers or the government, was hard to resist.

    Add to that a longstanding antipathy for regulation, high instances of irregular unemployment and fragmented systems of employment protection, and the fact that nonstandard employment has been significantly liberalized by successive labor market reforms since the mid-1990s, and the result is further isolation for those working on the margins.

    A national election in March swept a new populist government to power in Italy, placing power in the hands of two parties — the Five Star Movement and the League — and a proposed “dignity decree” aims to limit the prevalence of short-term job contracts and of firms shifting jobs abroad while simplifying some fiscal rules. For now, however, legislation around a minimum wage does not appear to be on the agenda.

    Indeed, for women like the unnamed seamstress in Santeramo in Colle, working away on yet another coat at her kitchen table, reform of any sort feels a long way off.

    Not that she really minded. She would be devastated to lose this additional income, she said, and the work allowed her to spend time with her children.

    “What do you want me to say?” she said with a sigh, closing her eyes and raising the palms of her hands. “It is what it is. This is Italy.”


    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/fashion/italy-luxury-shadow-economy.html
    #fashion #mode #industrie_textile #travail #exploitation #Italie #esclavage_moderne #Pouilles #made_in_Italy #invisibilité #travail_à_la_maison #mondialisation #luxe #MaxMara #Gucci #Kering #Louis_Vuitton #LVMH #Salento #Carla_Ventura #Keope_Srl #CRI #Euroshoes #Tod's #Salento_method #Prada #Salvatore_Ferragamo

    via @isskein

  • Révolte dans la mode | ARTE (jusqu’au 6/11/2018)
    https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/071479-000-A/revolte-dans-la-mode

    Face à un système devenu absurde et dangereux, de jeunes créateurs se mobilisent pour créer une mode plus responsable. Coécrit par Ariel Wizman, un documentaire enlevé sur les prémices d’une nouvelle internationale d’activistes de la #mode, de New York à Tel-Aviv, en passant par Amsterdam et Paris.

    Quatre-vingts millions de vêtements sont produits dans le monde chaque année. La mode est la deuxième industrie la plus polluante au monde après le pétrole. Hypermercantiliste, mondialisée, elle suit le tempo effréné dicté par la fast #fashion qui, tout en détruisant la planète, engendre des burn out chez les designers et tue littéralement des forçats du textile. Fini le temps des indépendants flamboyants, comme Azzedine Alaïa, Martin Margiela ou Jean Paul Gaultier. Ils ont été supplantés par des empires du luxe, où le couturier n’est plus que la variable d’ajustement de la cotation boursière. Le 24 avril 2013, au Bangladesh, l’effondrement du Rana Plaza, où périssent plus de 1 130 ouvriers travaillant pour des marques internationales, révèle la face cachée d’un monde devenu fou. Quatre ans après cette tragédie, un mouvement de progressistes sonne l’heure de la révolte.

    Écrit par Ariel Wizman et Laurent Lunetta, ce documentaire rythmé analyse les dérives d’une industrie à bout de souffle au travers de riches interviews de spécialistes, notamment la célèbre prévisionniste Li Edelkoort, et d’animations graphiques. À New York, Tel-Aviv, Amsterdam ou Paris, le film donne aussi la parole à une nouvelle internationale d’activistes de la mode, désireux de repenser le système dans son ensemble. De Daniel Harris, jeune producteur anglais de tweed qui prône un retour au tissage manuel, à Iris Van Herpen, pionnière dans l’utilisation de la 3D, des créateurs bourrés d’idées novatrices livrent leur vision de la haute couture.

    Réjouissant.

    #impression_3D

  • Les supporters peuvent enfin acheter le maillot deux étoiles des Bleus, fabriqué en Thaïlande pour trois euros
    https://www.novethic.fr/actualite/social/consommation/isr-rse/football-seulement-1-du-prix-du-maillot-deux-etoiles-revient-aux-ouvriers-1


    ©Nike

    Il aura fallu un mois. Depuis la Coupe du monde de football, les supporters s’impatientent de ne trouver en rayon les nouveaux maillots des Bleus arborant deux étoiles, symbole des deux victoires françaises de 1998 et 2018. Selon plusieurs médias, les magasins devraient être approvisionnés ce jeudi 16 août.

    Trois catégories de maillots seront disponibles, les prix allant de 85 à 140 euros, rapporte France Info. 85 euros pour le maillot classique, 110 quand il est floqué du nom d’un joueur et 140 euros lorsqu’il utilise la technologie VaporKnit, un tissu ultraléger et respirant, comme celui porté par les Bleus en Coupe du monde.

    Si les joueurs, à l’instar de Mbappé, ont brillé par leur éthique en reversant en partie ou en totalité leur prime de matchs à des associations, ce n’est pas le cas du maillot deux étoiles. Selon le collectif Éthique sur l’étiquette, le fabricant gagne 65 % du prix de vente. Seulement 1 % reviendrait aux travailleurs. Ainsi, un ouvrier ne touche que 85 centimes sur un maillot vendu à 85 euros.

  • #Evasion_fiscale : comment #Kering a fait marche arrière

    Un mémo interne montre que le géant du luxe contrôlé par la famille #Pinault a entamé un nettoyage de son montage d’évasion fiscale suisse en octobre 2017, un mois avant d’être officiellement mis en cause par la justice italienne. Cette manœuvre met à mal la défense de l’entreprise, qui affirme que tout était légal et transparent.

    https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/economie/080518/evasion-fiscale-comment-kering-fait-marche-arriere
    #France #Suisse

    • #Fashion_Valley: la festa è ormai finita

      Article de Federico Franchini, membre de @wereport

      Il modello della Fashion Valley è al capolinea. Per anni il Ticino ha approfittato delle entrate fiscali generate dalle multinazionali della moda che, tramite trucchetti contabili, hanno trasferito in Ticino utili da capogiro. Un sistema parassitario a cui la comunità internazionale ha detto basta. Gli statuti fiscali speciali dovranno sparire mentre da qualche mese è in vigore una legge federale che impone alle multinazionali di presentare una rendicontazione nazionale della propria attività. Questo proprio nell’ottica di impedire il trasferimento degli utili negli Stati fiscalmente più attrattivi. Insomma, con o senza gli sgravi previsti dalla riforma cantonale (mirati a imprese a forte capitalizzazione), gli introiti generati da queste pratiche sono destinati a diminuire in modo consistente.

      Sette miliardi di franchi. Sono gli utili netti registrati dalla Luxury Goods International (Lgi) di Cadempino dal 2006 al 2016. A questa somma manca l’anno 2015: non è disponibile nei documenti del registro di commercio del Lussemburgo. È nel Granducato che ha sede la Kering Luxembourg, la società bucalettere che controlla il 100% della Lgi. Nelle ultime settimane, la società simbolo della Fashion Valley ticinese ha ottenuto suo malgrado un’ampia visibilità internazionale: l’autorevole Mediapart ha messo a nudo le pratiche di ottimizzazione fiscale che hanno permesso alla multinazionale Kering, un colosso da 38.000 impiegati, di trasferire alla sua discreta filiale di Cadempino circa il 70% dei suoi utili.

      Secondo l’inchiesta giornalistica, Lgi ha negoziato con le autorità fiscali un’aliquota dell’8%. In Ticino, dal 2006 al 2016, la società avrebbe così pagato circa 560 milioni di franchi di tasse (in parte finite nelle casse del Cantone, in parte in quelle di alcuni Comuni; in parte minore alla Confederazione). È tanto oppure poco? La risposta è relativa: dipende da che punto si affronta la questione. È tanto, dal punto di vista del Ticino, dove Lgi è diventato il più importante contribuente del Cantone. È poco, troppo poco, se la questione la si affronta con lo sguardo di Milano o di Parigi. Le autorità italiane e francesi si stanno ormai chiedendo fino a che punto le pratiche fiscali utilizzate da Kering per eludere il loro fisco siano o meno lecite.
      Il modello su cui si basa il gruppo è semplice: la Lgi di Cadempino acquista i prodotti ideati e lavorati in Italia e Francia per poi, dopo averli fatti transitare dai magazzini ticinesi, rivenderli alle boutique del mondo intero. Giocando sui prezzi di acquisto e di vendita ecco che gli utili, compresi quelli delle licenze dei marchi, sono convogliati nella filiale vicino a Lugano. Come spiegare altrimenti che i capannoni ticinesi del gruppo facciano registrare ogni anno utili netti vicino al miliardo di franchi, cosa da fare invidia alle principali aziende svizzere?

      Il modello, semplice quanto efficace, lo si deve proprio alla Gucci. Prima ancora di essere acquistata da Kering, il marchio italiano si era insediato in Ticino per ingrassare le casse della sua filiale logistica. Era la seconda metà degli anni 90, quelli di Marina Masoni alla testa del Dipartimento finanze ed economia. Oggi alla testa di TicinoModa, la ministra liberale ha avuto un ruolo preponderante nel farsi promotrice di questo modello. Non è un caso, probabilmente, se la stessa Gucci e le altre società della moda arrivate in Ticino abbiano beneficiato dei consigli di specialisti fiscali vicini all’allora ministra. Non solo: un uomo di famiglia, Paolo Brenni (il cognato di Marina Masoni) entra subito – e ci resta fino a oggi – a far parte del Cda della Lgi. Va così in scena la narrazione entusiasta della Fashion Valley Ticino: sembra quasi di stare in un territorio abitato da illuminati stilisti e artigiani creatori. La realtà è diversa: il Ticino è piuttosto un (unico) grande centro logistico. La merce arriva e riparte soltanto per potere giustificare il trasferimento dei profitti. Nei depositi la merce è considerata “in transito” e beneficia di altri vantaggi garantiti dallo statuto di Deposito doganale aperto (Dda), sorta di punto franco esternalizzato nelle aziende. Il più grande Dda è proprio quello inaugurato dalla Lgi a Sant’Antonino nel 2014. Per chi critica questo modello, vuoi per il suo impatto sul territorio o per le pessime condizioni di lavoro, c’è subito pronta la risposta: l’indotto fiscale; vuoi mica sputarci sopra?

      Ma il sistema che ha garantito questo indotto potrebbe avere le ore contate. Gli Stati dell’Ocse, tra cui la Svizzera, hanno siglato l’accordo Beps (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) inteso a contrastare il trasferimento e la riduzione di utili a livello globale: «L’opzione fiscale delle multinazionali, di per sé legale ma qualificata come aggressiva, deve essere limitata» scrive l’amministrazione federale. Per le multinazionali, così come per le amministrazioni fiscali compiacenti, la festa sta ormai volgendo al termine.


      http://www.areaonline.ch/Fashion-Valley-la-festa-e-ormai-finita-3d34a200
      #Tessin #fiscalité #économie

    • v. aussi

      Dietro le quinte del lusso

      Le grandi firme della moda scelgono il Ticino. Ce ne sono sempre di più e l’impatto sull’economia è notevole; negli ultimi 20 anni hanno scavalcato le banche e sono diventate il primo contribuente fiscale del Cantone. Perché scelgono di stabilirsi tra Chiasso e Airolo? Le risposte sono diverse, ma c’è un denominatore comune; in Ticino non producono quasi nulla e godono di tassazioni molto vantaggiose.I loro margini di profitto sono enormi, si parla di centinaia di milioni di euro. In che modo realizzano questi utili? La nostra inchiesta tra l’Europa e la Fashion Valley Ticino mostra che, dietro le quinte del lusso, si usa ogni astuzia per maggiorare il profitto; dalle scappatoie fiscali al sistema dei terzisti, cioè la produzione delegata ai cinesi d’Italia che lavorano in condizioni inaccettabili. Uno sguardo disincantato sulle griffes e un interrogativo sul nostro futuro: cosa succede se lasciano il Ticino?E quanto è probabile che succeda in seguito alle pressioni del fisco europeo?

      https://www.rsi.ch/play/tv/falo/video/dietro-le-quinte-del-lusso?id=8291917&station=rete-uno
      #Cadempino #Tessin #Suisse #mode #Italie #industrie_de_la_mode

    • Bienvenue au #Tessin, discrète « Fashion Valley » suisse

      En moins de deux décennies, les griffes mondiales de la mode, Hugo Boss, Armani, Versace, Gucci, ont élu domicile en Suisse italienne, profitant des allégements fiscaux accordés par les autorités. Cette « invasion », qui a opéré discrètement, a modifié le visage du canton. Le secteur est devenu le premier contributeur fiscal.


      https://www.lacite.info/economietxt/tessin-fashion-valley
      Un article de Federico Franchini paru dans @lacite

    • Alla Gucci il lavoro è su chiamata sms

      Dietro il lusso griffato Gucci, ci sono persone in carne e ossa, la cui vita deve essere sempre a disposizione quando l’impresa ti chiama. O ti manda un messaggio.

      Ore sette di mattina. Davanti al suo carrello elevatore, Giovanni si appresta a spostare parte dei 19 milioni di pezzi che ogni anno vengono spediti da quel magazzino. Lui e i suoi 150 colleghi spediscono mediamente 2.300 colli ogni ora. “Un gioiello della logistica”, è stato definito il nuovo stabilimento di Sant’Antonino della Luxury Goods International, volgarmente conosciuta come Gucci. Sarà, ma all’interno di quelle mura la vita ha ben poco di lussuoso.

      Ogni movimento di Giovanni è sorvegliato da telecamere e da tre capi reparto. Nessun tempo morto è consentito. Nei 20.000 metri quadrati del magazzino deve muoversi come un automa, in simbiosi col suo carrello elevatore. Al pari dei suoi colleghi che imballano e pongono le etichette, è vietato sgarrare. Il lavoro alienante in salsa moderna è servito.

      Giovanni quel giorno non doveva essere lì. Aveva già superato le ore settimanali previste dal contratto. Ma la sera prima aveva ricevuto un sms: «Ciao, domani 9 settembre cominci alle ore 7 a Sant Antonino». Quell’sms non era una novità, era diventato una fastidiosa abitudine. Ne riceve uno quasi ogni sera, tra le sette e le otto. Anche di venerdì, per annunciargli se il sabato lavorerà oppure no. Ma ormai lo dà per scontato, visto che riposa un sabato su cinque. La sua vita è sempre a disposizione dell’impresa. La vita familiare o sociale passa in secondo piano, diventa un optional di lusso. «Dovresti essere onorato di lavorare per Gucci» gli avevano risposto una volta che aveva osato criticare l’organizzazione del lavoro.

      Giovanni quella mattina dopo essersi svegliato di buon’ora, ha percorso parte della sua dose giornaliera di chilometri per raggiungere Sant’Antonino. E subito deve affrontare la prima grana. Per poter parcheggiare nel posteggio aziendale, i dipendenti devono arrivare almeno in due per auto. Altrimenti gli agenti di sicurezza ai cancelli non lo avrebbero fatto entrare. Lodevole iniziativa d’incoraggiamento alla mobilità condivisa, si dirà. Peccato che l’organizzazione dei turni via sms complichi non poco la possibilità di concordare il viaggio coi colleghi. Se poi non sai quando finisci, diventa cosa ardua. Alla fine, Giovanni, al pari della gran parte dei colleghi, decide di rischiare la multa parcheggiando dove non è consentito, giusto a lato delle inferiate dello stabilimento. Oppure ricorre ai posteggi del vicino negozio di mobili.

      Rispetto a molti suoi colleghi, Giovanni avrebbe poco da lamentarsi. Lavora per quell’impresa da cinque anni tramite agenzia interinale. Da un anno, ha fatto il salto. È diventato uno dei rari assunti. Come lui, hanno tutti contratti al 70 per cento per uno stipendio di 2.700 franchi lordi, tredicesima compresa. Il tempo pieno è un’esclusiva riservata ai capi, mentre la grande maggioranza dei suoi colleghi è giovane, interinale e frontaliere. Il 70% dei dipendenti fissi non è una casualità. Gli undici turni lavorativi previsti dall’azienda corrispondono tutti a sei ore e quindici minuti. Esattamente il 70 per cento quotidiano delle 42 ore settimanali a tempo pieno. Turni teorici.

      Nella pratica, Giovanni conosce solo la sera prima quando il giorno dopo entrerà in quel magazzino, ma non quando ne uscirà. È l’applicazione materiale della filosofia industriale del “just in time”, introdotta negli anni Cinquanta dalla Toyota giapponese e oggi impostasi a livello globale. In parole povere, significa produrre giusto in tempo per vendere, eliminando i costi delle scorte. Costi trasferiti sulle spalle dei dipendenti, la cui vita è sacrificata nel nome della flessibilità della produzione just in time. Chi volesse approfondire questo modello di produzione e le sue ricadute sociali può leggere le numerose opere sul tema del professore della Supsi Christian Marazzi.

      E poiché la legge consente di lavorare fino a 50 ore settimanali, per le ore spalmate sui cinque giorni e mezzo lavorativi previsti negli stabilimenti logistici ticinesi, Giovanni non riceverà supplementi di paga. Da contratto della Luxury Goods, le ore straordinarie sono compensate alla pari in tempo libero, e se non consumato entro 12 mesi, sarà remunerato alla pari. «Il supplemento salariale diventa inderogabile quando l’entità delle ore straordinarie non compensate supera di 50 ore entro l’anno civile la durata massima del lavoro settimanale stabilita per legge» recita il contratto.

      Giovanni, si diceva, ha poco da lamentarsi. Non perché non ne abbia le ragioni, ma perché se lo facesse, si ritroverebbe “just in time” per strada. E con famiglia e mutuo a carico, preferisce ingoiare il rospo. La sera dunque aspetta l’sms che gli dica quando inizierà a lavorare. E dove. Eh sì, perché lo stabilimento dove si trova oggi, Sant’Antonino, è la terza sede della logistica del gruppo, dopo Bioggio e Stabio (la sede amministrativa si trova a Cadempino). È stato inaugurato meno di un anno fa in pompa magna, alla presenza del «gotha delle autorità locali», come ha scritto un portale ticinese.

      Nell’imminenza dell’apertura, sui media circolò l’informazione che per quella sede la Luxury Goods avrebbe assunto 15 residenti su 150 dipendenti. In molti dedussero che a Sant’ Antonino venissero creati 150 nuovi posti di lavoro, di cui il 10 per cento riservato ai residenti. L’informazione non era propriamente corretta. In realtà, la Luxury Goods avrebbe fatto girare i suoi dipendenti tra i suoi stabilimenti logistici ticinesi, soprattutto da Bioggio. Questo spiega perché a Giovanni la sera prima via sms comunicano non solo l’ora, ma anche dove lavorerà il giorno dopo. L’impresa indennizza i dipendenti per il cambio di stabilimento aumentando il salario orario di 20 centesimi.

      Per quanto concerne invece i nuovi assunti a Sant’Antonino, da quel che abbiamo potuto costatare la ditta ha attinto alle liste dell’Ufficio regionale di collocamento, la disoccupazione cantonale. Sui numeri però vige il massimo riserbo.

      Infine una precisazione ai lettori: Giovanni non esiste. È un personaggio inventato, la cui storia personale è la somma delle testimonianze raccolte da chi ha lavorato o lavora all’interno degli stabilimenti ticinesi della Luxury Good Logistic. È una scelta di narrazione di storie individuali dai tratti comuni, dettata dal timore di perdere il posto, che per quanto poco invidiabile consente di portare a casa la pagnotta.

      «I diritti di cui parli non so cosa siano. Da quando lavoro, non ho conosciuto altro» risponde un giovane, interinale e frontaliere, al collega che lo incita a ribellarsi, rivolgendosi ai sindacati. Come dargli torto? Ha 25 anni e proviene dal paese che conta 44 forme di contratti precari diversi e un tasso di disoccupazione giovanile alle stelle. L’assenza dei diritti dovuta alla ricattabilità estrema dello stato di bisogno è una realtà che ha investito un’intera generazione. E dei diritti conquistati dai loro nonni e genitori, questi giovani hanno solo sentito parlare. Non li hanno mai potuti sperimentare.

      Una sola condanna in tutto il paese

      In quali sanzioni incorre la ditta che ripetutamente viola le norme legali sulla mancata pianificazione dei turni o il tempo di riposo tra un turno e l’altro? La procedura prevede un primo richiamo dell’Ispettorato del lavoro, e dopo qualche tempo, un secondo richiamo con minaccia di denuncia penale. E se non ottempera entro un altro lasso di tempo, la denuncia può essere inoltrata. Nessuna multa è prevista. In Svizzera nel 2013 è stata emessa una sola condanna relativa ai tempi di lavoro (fonte Seco).

      L’impresa informa

      Contattata da area, l’azienda «non commenta ma sottolinea che sia Lgi (Luxury Goods International) che Lgl (Luxury Goods Logistics) sono assoggettate ad un contratto di lavoro che è quello di Ticinomoda siglato con l’Ocst.»

      http://www.areaonline.ch/Alla-Gucci-il-lavoro-e-su-chiamata-sms-d0db6400

    • Una filiale da 1 miliardo franchi

      Luxury Good International Sa (Lgi) è la più importante azienda del settore presente in Ticino. Appartiene al gruppo francese Kering, detentore di marchi come Puma o Gucci. Proprio a Gucci è legato lo sviluppo del settore moda in Ticino. Era il 1996 quando la Gucci International NV, una società allora domiciliata ad Amsterdam, apre due succursali a Cadempino. L’anno successivo il gruppo vi installa la Gucci Sa, oggi Lgi Sa. In poco tempo la società diventa il centro di distribuzione mondiale della marca e si sviluppa sempre più, in seguito all’acquisizione da parte del gruppo di nuovi brand, come Bottega Veneta. Oggi, Lgi è considerata come il più grande contribuente del Cantone. Ma a quanto ammontano i suoi utili? In Svizzera le società non quotate in borsa non sono obbligate a pubblicare i bilanci. La società di Cadempino è però una filiale al 100% della Kering Luxembourg Sa, basata in Lussemburgo. In questo Stato vi è l’obbligo di depositare una copia dei rapporti annuali, ciò che ci permette di avere delle cifre ufficiali sugli utili netti realizzati dall’azienda. Nel 2012 e nel 2013 la Lgi ha registrato degli utili annuali di oltre 1 miliardo di franchi. Se consideriamo, come stimato da area nel 2014, a circa 50 milioni le imposte versate da Lgi in Svizzera, esse rappresenterebbero il 5% di un utile di un miliardo. La Db ha calcolato che, comparati a quelli di tutto il gruppo Kering (circa 31.000 dipendenti), la parte degli utili della filiale ticinese (circa 600 dipendenti) è di circa il 70%. Una sproporzione tra i benefici realizzati e posti di lavoro che, secondo l’Ong, mette in evidenza l’ampiezza delle pratiche di ottimizzazione fiscale sulle quali fa affidamento il gruppo nel nostro Cantone.
      Vf: un ospite coccolato
      Un altro colosso della moda stabilitosi in Ticino è la Vf Corporation, proprietaria di marchi come Timberland o North Face. A Stabio hanno sede tre Sagl del gruppo, le cui azioni sono detenute da una quarta ditta ticinese, la Vf Holding Sagl. Le azioni di quest’ultima sono detenute da una società lussemburghese, la Timberland Luxembourg Finance Sarl. Il gruppo arriva in Ticino nel 2009, quando, a Pazzallo, viene installata la The North Face, fino ad allora basata in Italia. Il Ticino piace e Vf decide di insediare qui il suo quartier generale europeo. Tra il 2008 e il 2010, il Municipio di Stabio e Vf hanno contrattato, in tutta discrezione, le condizioni per installare qui la nuova sede. Un accordo conveniente ad entrambe le parti: Vf diventa il più importante contribuente del comune e allo stesso tempo una società del gruppo, la The North Face Sagl, viene esonerata completamente dall’imposta cantonale e comunale sull’utile per cinque anni (rinnovabile per altri cinque). Non è stato possibile ottenere delle informazioni precise sugli utili realizzati da Vf e esentati dalle imposte grazie a questa decisione. Ma essi devono essere considerevoli: la marca è la più importante del gruppo e la sua cifra d’affari ha raggiunto 2,3 miliardi di dollari nel 2014.

      http://www.areaonline.ch/Una-filiale-da-1-miliardo-franchi-a4179400

    • Au Tessin, l’âge d’or de Kering touche à sa fin

      Condamné en Italie pour #fraude_fiscale, le groupe français de luxe est en passe de démanteler ses activités dans le canton italophone, faisant chuter sa contribution fiscale. Cette perte de 70 millions de francs contrarie surtout les communes tessinoises devenues riches grâce à l’ancien premier contribuable du canton

      https://www.letemps.ch/economie/tessin-lage-dor-kering-touche-fin

      #justice #condamnation

      #paywall

  • Alibaba’s AI Fashion Consultant Helps It Set a New Singles’ Day Record - MIT Technology Review
    https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609452/alibabas-ai-fashion-consultant-helps-it-set-a-new-singles-day-reco

    If the technology becomes more widely used—currently Alibaba has installed this system free-of-charge at 13 stores across China—it could transform commerce by giving consumers an incentive to visit brick-and-mortar stores at a time when offline retail in both China and the U.S. are in decline.

    Alibaba is going all in to “digitize the offline retail world,” according to the company’s CEO, Daniel Zhang. During the shopping festival, people who visited a select group of restaurants and stores in China were able to play an AR game akin to Pokémon Go using Alibaba’s apps to earn promotion coupons.

    “In the age of mobile Internet, the merging of online and offline [retail] is a trend,” says Jianzhen Peng, secretary general of the China Chain Store and Franchise Association, explaining why e-commerce platforms like Alibaba would want to branch out into offline retail. “Consumers don’t distinguish between online and offline as long as it fulfills their needs.”

    Another Chinese e-commerce giant, JD.com, plans to launch a brick-and-mortar grocery store called 7Fresh that offers online-style speedy delivery.

    #Commerce_electronique #Fashion

  • The true cost

    This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?

    Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.


    https://truecostmovie.com
    #film #documentaire #industrie_textile #vitesse #mode #agriculture #coton #travail #exploitation #Rana_Plaza #cotton_Bt #mondialisation #globalisation #ressources_pédagogiques #Inde #Bangladesh #fast_fashion #fashion #santé #Monsanto #OGM #pesticides #fertilisants #suicides #Inde #déchets #Chine #vêtements #habits consumérisme #pollution #eau #cuir #terres

  • To exist every new nation needs a national #Football team–they also need a kit
    http://africasacountry.com/2017/01/to-exist-every-new-nation-needs-a-national-football-team-they-need-

    The first round of the 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon, Africa’s premier football competition, is nearly over. The knockout round starts later this week. This is the 60th anniversary of the tournament. Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire (the defending champions), Morocco, and Senegal are all among […]

    #FOOTBALL_IS_A_COUNTRY #AFCON #AMS_Clothing #BUSINESS #CAF #Clothing #Fashion #Manufacturing #soccer

  • Win African #Football kits from AMS! — a brand equipping footballers from small and unrecognized nations
    http://africasacountry.com/2017/01/win-african-football-kits-from-ams

    The first round of the 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon, Africa’s premier football competition, is nearly over. The knockout round starts later this week. This is the 60th anniversary of the tournament. Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire (the defending champions), Morocco, and Senegal are all among […]

    #FOOTBALL_IS_A_COUNTRY #AFCON #AMS_Clothing #BUSINESS #CAF #Clothing #Fashion #Manufacturing #soccer

  • Win African #Football kits from AMS! — a company equipping footballers from beyond the International mandate
    http://africasacountry.com/2017/01/win-african-football-kits-from-ams-a-company-equipping-footballers-

    The first round of the 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon, Africa’s premier football competition, is nearly over. The knockout round starts later this week. This is the 60th anniversary of the tournament. Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire (the defending champions), Morocco, and Senegal are all among […]

    #FOOTBALL_IS_A_COUNTRY #AFCON #AMS_Clothing #BUSINESS #CAF #Clothing #Fashion #Manufacturing #soccer

  • The Most Interesting Curator on the Internet Knows Exactly What You Want to See | Motherboard
    http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/the-most-interesting-curator-on-tumblr-knows-exactly-what-you-want

    Archillect’s brand of imagery consists of lots of abstract forms, fashion photography, and striking, surrealist GIFs. While nice to look at, it’s not a huge departure from some of the better-curated mood boards that have existed on Tumblr for quite some time. Instead, the thing that makes Archillect unique is who’s doing the curating.

    No human is directly involved in deciding what gets posted on Archillect. Archillect herself is an artificial intelligence that curates her own content. Deploying a network of bots that crawl Tumblr, Flickr, 500px, and other image-heavy sites, Archillect hunts for keywords and metadata that she likes, and posts the most promising results.[...]

    All of this popularity has gone to Archillect’s head a bit. Because of her own reputation, her followers are liking her posts simply because they come from her, which is making it rather difficult for her to discern which of her posts are actually “good.” Since her whole method of curation is based on the relative popularity of her different posts, this situation is giving her a bit of an existential crisis.

  • Julius #Malema’s Tailored Revolution
    http://africasacountry.com/2016/05/julius-malemas-tailored-revolution

    At the end of April this year, #South_Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), launched its local government elections manifesto in front of 40,000 people in Johannesburg’s Orlando Stadium. Julius Malema, who serves as both the party’s political and sartorial “Commander in Chief,” led the proceedings, sporting his now iconic red beret and jumpsuit. This carefully […]

    #POLITICS #EFF #Fashion #Political_Aesthetics #Politics #The_Left

  • Julius #Malema’s Tailored Image
    http://africasacountry.com/2016/05/julius-malemas-tailored-image

    At the end of April this year, #South_Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), launched its local government elections manifesto in front of 40,000 people in Johannesburg’s Orlando Stadium. Julius Malema, who serves as both the party’s political and sartorial “Commander in Chief,” led the proceedings, sporting his now iconic red beret and jumpsuit. This carefully […]

    #POLITICS #EFF #Fashion #Political_Aesthetics #Politics #The_Left