(Got sustainable fashion on your mind? Feel free to feed your curiosities, as reputed institutes are now offering online courses to help you understand the concept of sustainability in relation to fashion, textiles, design and so much more. To make things easier, we have tracked down some of the best programmes that will help you narrow down your area of interest.
1.Fashion and Sustainability: Understanding Luxury Fashion in a Changing World
For an industry worth $2.4 trillion that employs around 50 million people across the globe, fashion is considered to be one of the world’s most polluting industries. On the other hand, fashion also holds the power to make positive change and redefine the currently damaging systems. This course introduces you to sustainable fashion design, research and business practice through key sustainability issues, agendas and contexts associated with luxury fashion. It has been created by London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion and supported by the Kering group, that owns brands like Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent.
Available on FutureLearn, free for a duration of 6 weeks
2.Fashion's Future: The Sustainable Development Goals
The global fashion industry has an enormous social impact and ecological footprint. It’s not always obvious how our women's sustainable clothing choices affect the world around us. In this course, you will gain an understanding of how fashion supply chains work, along with the importance of responsible production and consumption, while you discover how the fashion industry can have a more positive impact for people and the planet. Upon completing this course, you’ll be equipped with new knowledge and ideas to contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through your own closet. This is a CPD accredited course developed by the Fashion Revolution, a renown global movement campaigning for systemic reform of the fashion industry.
Available on FutureLearn, free for a duration of 4 weeks
3.Introduction to Slow Fashion
Slow fashion is a movement against the unethical business practice of (you guessed it) fast fashion. The mindset of slow fashion is based on the sustainable circular idea that involves eco friendly production lifecycles, vintage, on demand, bespoke, high quality and timeless design, repair, up cycling and rental practices. This course examines why slow fashion has become a significant antidote to our fast fashion addictions while understanding the need for conscious consumerism. It is ideal for students of fashion, designers, entrepreneurs or anyone who wishes to gain a practical understanding of the importance of slow fashion.
Available online by Central Saint Martins, £360 for a duration of 4 weeks
4.Sustainable Sourcing for Fashion
If you’d like to know what it takes to set up and run your own eco-friendly label, then this course is an absolute necessity. Sustainable fashion has turned into somewhat of a trend, but if not carefully managed, sustainability can become just a green-washed term without any real benefit in terms of reducing the environmental impact of the fashion industry. In this online course, you will learn all aspects of sustainability with special emphasis on standards, traceability and verifications to help you manage conscious claims with confidence.
Available online by Central Saint Martins, £360 for a duration of 4 weeks
5. Sustainable Textiles
For the designer, sustainability begins with the choice of material, processes and finishes — as those are the key factors that make up a product and therefore the brand. This course will expand your understanding of new eco-friendly fabrics and fibres, better and cleaner production processes, and ethical considerations such as fair trade and safe working. It will also review sustainable changes in the consumption of textiles, such as recycling, upcycling and changes in consumer habits to reduce landfill when buying clothes.
Published by: Vibhuti Vazirani/ 2020-08-13