Role of education in moving towards a more sustainable future.
What is the issue?
Excessive and irresponsible consumer consumption over the last few decades can be considered as one of the main drivers of global warming. The unethical and unsustainable practices of overconsumption have led to environmental pollution and destruction of natural resources. The fashion industry has been criticised for promoting fast consumption of clothing and accessories to further their interests. The resources needed to produce one kilogram of cotton include 7000 to 29,000 liters of water and about 1 kilogram of oil, but the average consumer is generally oblivious of these figures when discarding a garment made with cotton just because the style has become outdated.
Some of the large clothing MNC’s produce more than half a billion garments per year and about 14.3 million tons of textile/garments were sent to landfills in one year in the US alone. A significantly large number of garments that do not sell at retail stores are sent to second-hand shops, where only 20 to 30 percent of the clothing are resold. The US EPA estimates that an average person throws away 70lb of clothing every year and the incineration of synthetic textile fibers led to 1.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emission.
What do we propose?
As a university, we are capable of bringing about a change in the thinking of students towards mindful consumption and creative reuse of existing materials. We can provide a platform for creating awareness about the unsustainable consumption patterns in the world by putting to creative use the trash generated in the university premises. It is important to emphasize the fact that sustainability is not just trendy but also a forward-thinking message that will help in organizational brand building.
The campus trash can be used by the design students to create displays for the fashion studio. As these displays need to be changed frequently, it cuts down significant costs for the university in buying new materials. Periodic competitions, fashion shows, and workshops can be conducted for creating and displaying trash into usable fashion materials that can be retailed at the university premises.
Benefits:
There are a lot of apparel manufacturing companies and fashion designers in the UAE. We can tie up with garment factories/designers in order to use their fabric offcuts to produce garments, which in turn could be auctioned after the fashion show.These fabric trims and offcuts could also be repurposed to create clothing for the labors in UAE. This helps in ensuring that the use of textile is not linear but forms a part of the circular economy. It saves considerable cost for the university as the students get the materials for the day to day running of the fashion department for free.
What are the current Trends?
‘Junk to Funk’ in Portland, Oregon is one such project that has been actively involved in conducting fashion shows based on the concept of ‘Trashion’.
London College of Fashion (LCF) along with H&M has started the project ‘Clothes Well Lived,’ wherein they use old clothes to create unique and creative visual displays. They have forced people to reconsider the value of old clothing and created a sustainable shift from fashion throw-away culture to a fashion preservation culture. We can also collaborate with fashion groups to encourage students to create unique designs made out of recycled materials and award jobs to such students as an incentive.
This type of initiative redefines the productivity in the value chain as well as contributes to the development of local clusters where,
Students get firsthand experience in the garment industry and make connectionsFactories/garment producers can use their waste for something useful rather than increasing landfillThe less fortunate get something out of it.
Globally, one of the fastest growing industry is the fashion industry. At Westford University College, we want to prepare students to be part of this fast-paced industry. If you want to learn the business side of the fashion industry, we have come up with a specialized course just for you.
Higher National Diploma in Art & Design
Thinking Art & Design? Look no further! Westford University College will be starting the HND program in Art & Design early next year with specific pathways in Fashion and Interior Design. The aim is to help students with design acumen to further their understanding of the field and develop their personal approach.
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Source:https://mywestford.com/blog/trashion-converting-trash-into-fashion/
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