Educating for the Future of Fashion
The fashion and textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world next to oil. Our planet and its resources are threatened in every stage of a garment’s life, as well as during the processes that take place beforehand[1]. Cotton irrigation alone uses an insane amount of water – 73% of global cotton harvest comes from irrigated lands, and cotton covers almost 3% of the world’s crop land. In fact, there are very few places, like Brazil, that cotton can depend mostly on rain water for harvest. The apparel and textile industry is responsible for an estimated 17-20% of industrial water pollution, used during dying and treatment processes alone. Around 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used throughout the world to turn raw materials into textiles, many of which will be released into freshwater sources[2]. In another section, we talked about alternatives to cotton, and what other materials we can begin to use that are less harmful to the environment. The first step to implementing these changes and accepting other options, is to educate our communities and each other on the alternatives to make them known.
Considering that consumerism rates have only grown and will keep growing most likely, it is time to start looking at large scale solutions that can impact the industry for the better. One of these major changes needs to be geared towards the future leaders in fashion to be more knowledgeable in the garments and textiles they are designing and developing, with a conscious effort to choose materials and processes that are less harmful to the environment and the economy as a whole. Just passing three years since over a thousand workers lost their lives in Rana Plaza, not much has actually changed within the industry. Nearly all of the emphasis has been put on large brands to lead some sort of transition to a clean, safe, and equitable industry, but most have done nothing more than focus on the most easily achievable and marketable issues: detoxifying cotton, using non-toxic dyes, and recycling unwanted clothes – all of which are hardly pats on the back, seeing how these things were impressive over ten years ago [3]. What is truly needed today is a complete re-imaging of a flawed business system and supply chain, and a focus on newer methods and materials. The time is now to stop thinking about how many different ways we can produce cotton, when all are unsustainable considering the resources at hand. Now is the time to focus on these other alternatives and change things up. We need leaders who understand this.
In order to achieve the real changes in fashion that are needed, we need to start at the bottom and work our way up. We have already seen what these big companies are doing to fix the problems, or lack thereof, so why not focus our energy on the future leaders of tomorrow to make more sustainable choices for the planet as a whole? When looking at the top fashion schools in the United States, and the world, only a fraction of them even teach some sort of sustainable materials curriculum – and of the ones that do, it is hardly more than one class. It seems most of the colleges and universities are focused on teaching about trends and following them, not setting your own. There is some curriculum about sourcing materials and learning about the processes behind them, but it was at less than a handful of the top schools in the world, and only two of the top ten in the United States alone had any sort of sustainable practices and focusing on researching these things before selecting fabrics and supply chains. As you can see, the problem might not start in education, but education can certainly lend a hand in how we can begin on the right path to a newer, less harmful fashion industry.
A LOOK AT CURRICULUM IN TOP FASHION SCHOOLS
When looking for the top fashion schools, it seems all of the resources are categorizing by the same key elements: campus, jobs procured, opinions of people in the industry, learning experience, influence, and value. It seems in a time like today, when the the fashion industry is in dire need of a makeover, these factors should be recalculated. While we know that these current factors are definitely of interest when choosing a school, there should still be options made noticeable upfront for what colleges will teach fashion for the future instead of learning how to identify and follow trends within the industry. Here are a list of the top five sustainable fashion programs around the world whose degree programs not only teach the basics of fashion design, but also sustainability and systems thinking throughout the program:
The fashion and textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world next to oil. Our planet and its resources are threatened in every stage of a garment’s life, as well as during the processes that take place beforehand[1]. Cotton irrigation alone uses an insane amount of water – 73% of global cotton harvest comes from irrigated lands, and cotton covers almost 3% of the world’s crop land. In fact, there are very few places, like Brazil, that cotton can depend mostly on rain water for harvest. The apparel and textile industry is responsible for an estimated 17-20% of industrial water pollution, used during dying and treatment processes alone. Around 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used throughout the world to turn raw materials into textiles, many of which will be released into freshwater sources[2]. In another section, we talked about alternatives to cotton, and what other materials we can begin to use that are less harmful to the environment. The first step to implementing these changes and accepting other options, is to educate our communities and each other on the alternatives to make them known.
Considering that consumerism rates have only grown and will keep growing most likely, it is time to start looking at large scale solutions that can impact the industry for the better. One of these major changes needs to be geared towards the future leaders in fashion to be more knowledgeable in the garments and textiles they are designing and developing, with a conscious effort to choose materials and processes that are less harmful to the environment and the economy as a whole. Just passing three years since over a thousand workers lost their lives in Rana Plaza, not much has actually changed within the industry. Nearly all of the emphasis has been put on large brands to lead some sort of transition to a clean, safe, and equitable industry, but most have done nothing more than focus on the most easily achievable and marketable issues: detoxifying cotton, using non-toxic dyes, and recycling unwanted clothes – all of which are hardly pats on the back, seeing how these things were impressive over ten years ago [3]. What is truly needed today is a complete re-imaging of a flawed business system and supply chain, and a focus on newer methods and materials. The time is now to stop thinking about how many different ways we can produce cotton, when all are unsustainable considering the resources at hand. Now is the time to focus on these other alternatives and change things up. We need leaders who understand this.
In order to achieve the real changes in fashion that are needed, we need to start at the bottom and work our way up. We have already seen what these big companies are doing to fix the problems, or lack thereof, so why not focus our energy on the future leaders of tomorrow to make more sustainable choices for the planet as a whole? When looking at the top fashion schools in the United States, and the world, only a fraction of them even teach some sort of sustainable materials curriculum – and of the ones that do, it is hardly more than one class. It seems most of the colleges and universities are focused on teaching about trends and following them, not setting your own. There is some curriculum about sourcing materials and learning about the processes behind them, but it was at less than a handful of the top schools in the world, and only two of the top ten in the United States alone had any sort of sustainable practices and focusing on researching these things before selecting fabrics and supply chains. As you can see, the problem might not start in education, but education can certainly lend a hand in how we can begin on the right path to a newer, less harmful fashion industry.
A LOOK AT CURRICULUM IN TOP FASHION SCHOOLS
When looking for the top fashion schools, it seems all of the resources are categorizing by the same key elements: campus, jobs procured, opinions of people in the industry, learning experience, influence, and value. It seems in a time like today, when the the fashion industry is in dire need of a makeover, these factors should be recalculated. While we know that these current factors are definitely of interest when choosing a school, there should still be options made noticeable upfront for what colleges will teach fashion for the future instead of learning how to identify and follow trends within the industry. Here are a list of the top five sustainable fashion programs around the world whose degree programs not only teach the basics of fashion design, but also sustainability and systems thinking throughout the program:
- California College of Arts (San Francisco, California) - CCA might not be the top fashion school in the world, but it is home of the longest-running sustainable fashion program in the United States.
- London College of Fashion (United Kingdom) - Home to the Center for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), founded in 2008, which is now recognized as the leader in sustainable fashion education. This school offers a Masters in Fashion and the Environment – a degree supported by the CSF – which affords opportunities for holistic, interdisciplinary, and multi-level research.
- Parsons The New School for Design (New York, New York) - Another one of the first leading fashion schools to teach sustainability, Parsons was the very first to recognize and offer the world’s first fashion courses in zero waste.
- ESMOD Berlin (Berlin, Germany) - ESMOD’s masters program in Sustainability in Fashion began in 2011, being the first of it’s kind in Germany as well as one of the most forward-thinking, holistic in Europe. This program takes a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to design positioning itself as ecologically, ethically, socially AND economically sustainable. Research, education, real practice and business come together here to inspire students to form new solutions.
- Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, New York) - FIT offers a BFA in Fashion Design which incorporates sustainability practices, however, they also offer a thorough and intensive certificate program (inexpensive) that focuses exclusively on sustainable design. While the sustainable design BFA isn’t the best in the nation, the option to come here after obtaining a fashion degree from a school that doesn’t incorporate sustainability or critical environmental and economical thinking into its curriculum is a great opportunity in itself.
THE PATH TO A BETTER FASHION FUTURE
As we can see, the process for educating our future leaders and designers is slow but sure. Once sustainability of the environment and resources is at the forefront of the industry and thought about critically with every choice made – from production and dying, to ethical supply chains – we can know that we are on the right path for our planet and the lives of workers. What’s next?
As we can see, the process for educating our future leaders and designers is slow but sure. Once sustainability of the environment and resources is at the forefront of the industry and thought about critically with every choice made – from production and dying, to ethical supply chains – we can know that we are on the right path for our planet and the lives of workers. What’s next?
Education is at the root of change. From small communities to large continents, if we can educate designers and consumers both so that they can make informed and sustainable choices, we can head in the right direction collectively.
1.https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/voices/discussions/can-fashion-industry-become-sustainable
2. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/water-scarcity-fashion-industry
3. https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/voices/discussions/can-fashion-industry-become-sustainable/op-ed-sustainable-or-superficial
4. http://fashionista.com/2011/07/the-top-20-fashion-schools-in-the-united-states-the-fashionista-ranking#3
5. http://ceoworld.biz/2016/05/18/top-100-fashion-schools-world-2016-ranking