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Newswise — In the upcoming release of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Johnny Depp plays the infamous Mad Hatter, known for his amusing insanity. But is there any truth to Lewis Carroll’s classic character? According to Alison Matthews David, Professor in Ryerson’s School of Fashion, the depiction of the Mad Hatter may not be such a tall tale. Matthews David’s research on health and fashion is the foundation for her first book, Fashion Victims: Clothing and Health in Historical Perspective.
“Hatters used to work with highly toxic materials that led to mercury poisoning. Their symptoms were pallor, anemia, trembling and disorientation,” said Matthews David. “It’s possible that Lewis Carroll, who grew up near Stockport, a centre of the hatting trade, would have seen people behaving as ‘mad as a hatter’. This may explain why he portrayed the Mad Hatter as eccentric and illogical in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
Her research reveals that the popularity of beaver fur felt hats – and the consequent overhunting of the beaver population – led 18th- and 19th-century hat makers to rely on other resources, such as lower quality furs like rabbit. The problem: in order to turn these alternative materials into felt, they had to be brushed with a mercury solution.
Although the practice was discontinued by the 1930s, it had been well-known for more than a century that mercury was harming hatters. In fact, a report from 1806 found that these skilled artisans only lived an average of 45 to 50 years. Furthermore, the children of hatters often died by age four, having been exposed to the toxic element through their parents.
Hatters, however, weren’t the only workers who experienced occupational hazards. In Fashion Victims, Matthews David explores accident-causing apparel such as neckties and scarves, which have caused strangulation and transmitted disease, and long skirts, which have caught fire and impeded women’s movement. She also examines the poor working conditions experienced by garment workers over the past 200 years. For example, during the Industrial Revolution, female garment-makers endured an array of on-the-job dangers such as dust in the clothing which led to health problems and roughly three-quarters of these women had suffered eye strain by the age of 22.
“Back then, there were no safety measures for workers,” said Matthews David. “Eventually though, clothing-makers in Europe and North America demanded reform in the industry.”
The result today is better compensation and working conditions for garment workers in Western nations. But in other areas of the world, sweatshops continue to exist. What’s more, according to Matthews David, toxic dyes and products made using a large amount of pesticides are still unfortunately common in the textile industry.
“Today’s consumer demands cheap clothing, so thanks to globalization, the manufacturing of clothing has moved to the cheapest markets. It’s the idea of ‘fast fashion,’ that clothes can be made cheaply and later quickly thrown out,” said Matthews David. “Young, and often immigrant, women primarily bear the brunt of health problems associated with clothing manufacturing. That was the case in the 19th century and it’s still true today.”
Matthews David’s book Fashion Victims: Clothing and Health in Historical Perspective (Berg Publishers) is scheduled to be released in 2012.
Ryerson University is Canada's leader in innovative career-focused education, offering close to 100 PhD, master’s, and undergraduate programs in the Faculty of Arts; the Faculty of Communication & Design; the Faculty of Community Services; the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science; and the Ted Rogers School of Management. Ryerson University has graduate and undergraduate enrolment of 28,000 students. With more than 68,000 registrations annually, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education.
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