What can be considered fair marketing in the fashion industry?: Building a green and fair consumer rating scheme for garment brands

The object of this paper is to tackle the issues that are linked to the unsustainability of today’s garment industry. The externalities that arise from this industry –that are known to harm the environment and its inhabitants– are largely talked about today. Whether it be by society, non-governmental organisations, regulatory bodies or companies involved in these destructive practices. Even though a lot is being said on the matter, and that a lot of work is in progress, not many actions to resolve the issues have yet been established. However it may seem, the amount of actions companies claim to be operating, to tackle these issues, are not always as valuable as they appear to be. This is the main issue that is covered throughout this thesis. “What can be considered fair marketing in the fashion industry?”. By coming up with a way of determining the true purpose of a garment brand’s practices, anyone may now challenge the beliefs they have towards a company. The tool discloses a company’s true engagement towards more sustainable operations and is able to establish whether companies are as trustworthy as they claim to be or whether they are misleading the public. Results have shown the reliability of the tool and considerable suggestions have been expressed for the development of the solution. Providing a digital prototype of the created tool would be a meaningful way of promoting it. This is a solution that could, imaginably, become a mobile application, accessible to consumers all around the world. This tool is considered as a helping hand to raise people’s awareness on the true nature of brands. It is also suggested that giving an opportunity to consumers to raise their own awareness might be a good way to promote change. Endorsing third-party’s points of view is a good start, but reaching their own reasoning and feeling about a matter can be even more valuable

Associação de bioensaios e caracterização molecular para seleção de novos isolados de Bacillus thuringiensis efetivos contra Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

A lagarta de Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) é uma das principais pragas do milho e para seu controle o Bacillus thuringiensis se destaca por sua atividade entomopatogênica. Este trabalho objetivou a caracterização molecular de isolados de B. thuringiensis quanto à presença do gene cry1 e a avaliação da sua eficiência no controle de lagartas de S. frugiperda. Nas análises da PCR, foi utilizado o Gral-cry1 para confirmação da presença do gene cry1 nos 115 isolados. Uma suspensão de 3 x 10(8) esporos/ml banhou a dieta utilizada para alimentação de 30 lagartas por isolado, com três repetições. A identificação do tipo de genes cry1 dos diferentes isolados foi realizada para cinco sub-classes de genes e análises de regressão linear foram realizadas para verificar possíveis associações entre a presença de um gene cry individual e altos níveis de toxicidade. Ttodos os DNAs amplificados com os iniciadores Gral-cry1 apresentaram produto de amplificação com tamanho esperado. Quanto aos níveis de eficiência inseticida contra a lagarta-do-cartucho, 41 isolados apresentaram 100% de mortalidade e 16 apresentaram índice entre 75% e 90%. O gene cry1Ab esteve presente em 80 isolados, cryB em 69 isolados, cry1Ac em todos os isolados, cryV e cry1E em 93 e 27 isolados, respectivamente. Os valores referentes ao efeito individual de cada gene na mortalidade de larvas foram significativos a 1% de probabilidade, para os genes cry1Ac e cry1E.The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), is one of the main corn pests and Bacillus thuringiensis is important in its control because of its entomopathogenic property. The objective of this study was the molecular characterization of B. thuringiensis isolates for cry1 locus presence and the assessment of the efficiency of these isolates in controlling S. frugiperda caterpillars. Gral-cry1 was used in the PCR analyses to confirm the presence of the cry1 locus in 15 isolates. A 3 x 10(8) spore/ml suspension bathed the diet used to feed 30 caterpillars per isolate, with three replications. The cry1 locus type genes of the different isolates were identified for five gene subclasses; linear regression analyses were carried out to ascertain possible associations between the presence of an individual cry1 locus gene and high levels of toxicity. All the DNAs amplified with Gral-cry1 presented an amplification product with the expected size. Regarding the levels of insecticide efficiency against the cob worm, 41 isolates presented 100% mortality and 16 presented an index between 70% and 90%. The cry1Ab gene was present in 80 isolates, cryb in 69 isolates, cry1Ac in all the isolates and cryv and cry1E in 93 and 27 isolates, respectively. The values regarding the individual effect of each gene on caterpillar mortality were significant at 1% probability for the cry1Ac and cry1E genes.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq