Fashion +
September 13, 2025 - September 13, 2025
Fashioning Development: Integrating sustainability into fashion business training programmes
Definitions
For the purposes of this project, sustainability is defined as:
An approach to business which safeguards the livelihoods and wellbeing of people, reducing poverty at the same time as minimising impact on the environment.
Overall Aim:
To reduce poverty and create sustainable livelihoods in the supply chains to the UK fashion industry: through increasing understanding of development issues amongst fashion professionals, in particular the opportunities for poverty reduction, and to provide the tools and resources they need to make informed choices in their professional roles
Specific aims:
- To increase knowledge and understanding of development issues in relation to the supply chain for fashion, in particular the opportunities for poverty reduction, but also in relation to the developing world where the majority of garments and textiles are now made.
- To increase understanding of the role that individuals can play, with a focus upon those working in the fashion sector, in relation to international development issues and poverty reduction
- To provide the tools, resources and background information to allow individuals working in the fashion sector to make informed choices in relation to design, purchasing and business practices.
- To encourage integration of training on development issues and the opportunities for poverty reduction within standard professional fashion training & support services in the UK.
Key Objectives:
- To engage with at least 4 other UK fashion business support organisations/ bodies to build project steering group and encourage them to integrate training on development issues, in particular opportunities for poverty reduction, in relation to the fashion trade.
- To engage with at least 500 fashion graduates and professionals in year 1, 1000 in year 2 and 1500 in year 3, through seminars, workshops, and resource provision
What are the key activities (with dates)?
The project includes 3 main components, as follows:
| Component |
Details |
Dates |
| 1. Engaging stakeholder and partner organisations with a view to encouraging ownership, broadening impact and increasing long term project sustainability after the funded period |
Working with other fashion business support organisations and educational institutions to build project steering group and integrate training on international development issues as part of their standard fashion business training packages |
2008: Stakeholder liaison and meetings to take place April- June Continual liaison and information exchange to take place from July 08 2009,10, &11 Annual stakeholder meeting in January Continual liaison, increased partnership in terms of training provision |
| 2. Training series To be run in partnership with other business support organisations in order to increase impact and engage with a wider network of participants. |
A comprehensive series of training workshops and seminars to be launched and co-ordinated, including at least 4 full day training events and 4 evening seminars. |
Workshops and seminars to take place at strategic points during the annual fashion calendar: 2008: July, November, December 2009: April/ May, November/December 2010: April/ May, November/December |
| 3. Resource development |
Resources to be developed to compliment the training series and in line with the themes set out below under specific learning outcomes Resources to include comprehensive summaries of the issues including context, challenges, opportunities, best practice case studies, reference to further resources, tool kits and tips for people working in the fashion sector relevant to responsible decision making in their professional roles. |
Resources to be developed alongside each workshop and seminar and made available online Two types of resources to be developed: those targeting individual workshop participants and those aimed at business support organisations to allow them to integrate training on social responsibility and development issues within mainstream fashion business training courses |
What are the expected results including specific learning outcomes?
Expected Results:
The project will raise awareness and increase knowledge and understanding of development issues in relation to fashion, and the roles fashion professionals can play towards poverty reduction and the creation of sustainable livelihoods in their everyday decision making.
The project will actively engage at least 2000 fashion graduates and professionals during a 3 year timescale, and will be promoted to fashion sector networks of at least 10,000 members, all of whom will have access to resources made available online through the project.
Specific Learning Outcomes:
Training, seminars, and resources will be organised around key themes, including the following:
1. Fashioning development
To include increasing understanding of the people and communities behind fashion products, the role fashion professionals can play in relation to these, the challenges and opportunities and how to address these, purchasing practices, examples of best practice and case studies, adding value through fashion business supply chains
2. A global industry
Global interdependence and the role of developing countries in fashion supply chains in relation to professional practice, relevance of development issues to the fashion industry in the UK including UK manufacture, trade barriers , least developed countries, values led models for international trade, country of origin and labelling, developments in international trade regulations with relevance to best practice
3. Empowering the people behind fashion
Practical ways of working with suppliers and empower the people who make fashion- including skills development, living wages, sustainable livelihood creation, with a view to long term poverty reduction. Training and seminars will look at practical initiatives and business models which have been implemented to address challenges in this arena, from stakeholder involvement, to working with local NGO’s and community support groups, to building partnerships between the conventional and the fair trade/ NGO sector, to the role of trade unions
4. Standards, Certification, Codes of Conduct, and auditing, in relation to fashion
Tools to monitor, evaluate and communicate standards to consumers, opportunities and challenges, examples of best practice in this area and how this can be built upon
Main target groups
The primary target group in relation to this project is fashion graduates and fashion professionals, working within the fashion industry in the capacity of business managers, designers, buyers, suppliers, distributors, CSR specialists, or other relevant roles.
The training workshops and seminars and online resources will also be available/ open to fashion students and other interested individuals.
UK Background to the project
The Fashioning and Ethical Industry project was launched by Labour Behind the Label in 2005. This project responds to needs within further education in fashion for awareness raising around labour conditions in the fashion industry, the role fashion designers and professionals play in relation to this, and the need for socially responsible practices. This project has created a strong steering group led by fashion tutors and course leaders from colleges across the UK. The project has encouraged and provided the resources to support fashion colleges, in integrating teaching on social responsibility issues as part of fashion degree courses.
As a result of the work of Labour Behind the Label and other awareness raising initiatives around social and development issues, many more graduates are aware of these issues than ever before, and keen to take active roles. However, once students graduate, and start to play a professional role in the fashion sector (even if they have had some grounding in these issues) they often experience difficulty in applying what they have learnt and making informed choices in their professional roles. There is currently limited support available to facilitate this.
There is a need for business support organisations and specialist business training bodies, which focus on training and support for graduates and fashion professionals, to respond to this.
How the project supports the aims of DfID
The project increases knowledge and understanding of the major challenges and prospects for development, in particular the poverty reduction agenda, and increases understanding of the role individuals can play, enabling them to make informed choices, through training seminars, workshops, and resource provision, as set out above.
Challenging stereotypes and discrimination
The fashion sector is primarily women led and is remarkable for its black, Asian and other UK ethnic minority role models. The training and seminars are about building collaboration and mutually beneficial trade relationships not just between developing countries and the UK but also between different cultures and races. Case studies and best practice models will be chosen from across the sector including those representing black and minority ethnic communities. Space will be given to hear the voices of a diverse range of leaders which cross cultural and race boundaries.
Equal opportunities
The project will encourage active involvement by all in all activities and events. Representatives of diverse cultures and origins will be encouraged to take part both as speakers and participants. Disabled access will be considered carefully in terms of venue choice as well as online resource provision.
Long term impact/ sustainability
A steering group of representatives of other fashion business support organisations and institutions will be built from the outset.
The aim of this is to develop ownership of the project by these organisations and encourage them to include training on development issues and the roles of fashion professionals in relation to this as a core part of all their training programmes.
This will mean that after the grant ends, these organisations will continue to build upon work already done and deliver training in line with this projects aims.
