How about sewing used to bring economic self-sufficiency to women in 3rd world countries? Your paper could call for more funding/government support?

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/1102biz-artemis1102.html

http://www.theirc.org/media/www/rebuilding-livelihoods-special-report.html

http://www.globalministries.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1806&Itemid=28

http://www.state.gov/r/us/71946.htm

This is a very specific area of sewing, but there’s a book called “Hidden In Plain View” that claims that quilts were used as a code to help slaves escape through the Underground Railroad. The idea became very popular very quickly (within the last 10 years), and is even taught in some classrooms. Most historians, both quilt and textile historians as well as Underground Railroad historians, generally agree that the concepts suggested in the book are unlikely at best and pure fantasy at worst. There’s a link below that can get you started.

Hm. This is an interesting question. There’s not a lot of conflict, you know?

The only idea that occurs to me is whether stores are still entitled to refer to themselves as “sewing stores” when more than half their floor space is devoted to crafts, candles, scrapbooking supplies, yard art, framing, etc. (I know, pretty lame.)

This is a question you might pose at the biggest sewing website, http://craftster.org Maybe someone there will have some decent ideas.

what about how big American corporations hire out minorities to sew clothing for them and only paying them like a dollar a day? (see the movie “Real Women Have Curves) or own sweat shops in poorer countries and then sell the clothing for high prices?

If you’re interested in patternmaking or manufacturing of clothes, you might want to look at Kathleen’s blog at http://www.fashion-incubator.com — for instance, you might want to discuss lean manufacturing methods vs. batch manufacturing in the current business climate. Or you might want to look at the tensions that arise when someone who isn’t really trained in patternmaking gets a commercial pattern in production (e.g., “Anatomy of Cameltoe”) Or the tensions between “green” (for some value of “green”) and traditional apparel. Or haute couture (the fashion controlled by the French Syndicale) vs. pret a porter (ready to wear).

Or you could look at the carbon footprint of throwaway fashion vs. “traditional” wear-it-forever classic styles. Or carbon footprints of cotton vs. polyester, or cotton vs. rayon.

Or the ever-lasting argument on standard sizings and fit models…

You could do wether Cricheting or Kniting is warmer