Sustainable Fashion
26-01-2010
Today, businesses in the fashion and textiles sector are expected to do more than deliver attractive products at competitive prices; they are expected to so sustainably. This means actively minimising the environmental impact of a global material-flow, right through from the roots of the plant in the cotton field, through to the final marketing of the product. It also means ensuring that workers in the overseas supply chain are treated well. Eco fashion is becoming a trend for many businesses.
Meeting these challenging goals will require new skills and knowledge from staff, but will make a material impact on global environmental and social challenges.
It is not only businesses who have caught on to this growing topic, Fashion Universities have realised a need to teach students the values of sustainability, preparing them for the changing industry.
Case study: London College of Fashion
The London College of Fashion has opened a specific Centre for Sustainable Fashion. Sustainability has become part of the public profile of the College. The Centre for Sustainable Fashion offers an MA in Fashion and the Environment.
‘The Centre of Sustainable Fashion is a trailblazer, helping all of us to a better understanding of why the pursuit sustainability must be on par with the pursuit of business building and design innovation.'
Caryn Franklin, Ambassador for the Centre for Sustainable Fashion
This pioneering programme is one year old and seeks to ‘provoke, challenge and question the fashion status quo’ and ‘design transforming solutions that balance, ecology, society and culture’. The Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion connects research, education and business to support, inspire and create innovative approaches to fashion. The Centre acts as a research and network hub for sustainability and fashion. It is the only place to have previously published research specifically on skills, fashion and sustainability and holds conferences on the issue.
The Centre ran the Shared Talent India programme in which student and professional designers from Europe and India worked together to produce fashion pieces using sustainable Indian textiles. These pieces will be showcased at London and India fashion week to raise the profile of sustainable fashion. The College is using European funding to pilot a programme of Continuing Professional Development free to London based businesses in order to develop a commercial offer by the end of the two year programme. Charities are motivated by environmental and social concerns to help companies develop a ‘big picture’ of sustainability. The London College of Fashion is also moving into this area taking both a practical and thought-based approach to stimulating sustainable development in the fashion industry.
Other Universities that have incorporated sustainable fashion into their curriculum include: Huddersfield University, Leeds University, Manchester Metropolitan Universities, Manchester University and Northampton University.
Information from:
http://www.fashion.arts.ac.uk/csf
