Fashion's Future: The Sustainable Development Goals
Explore the fashion industry’s impact on people and planet, what the Sustainable Development Goals are, and the link between them.
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
3 hours
Fashion's Future: The Sustainable Development Goals
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Discover how fashion and the Sustainable Development Goals are linked
The global fashion industry has an enormous social impact and ecological footprint. Many of us don’t understand how the clothes we wear every day affects the world around us.
Upon completing this 4-week course by Fashion Revolution, you’ll be empowered with new knowledge and ideas to contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through your own wardrobe.
Why we need a fashion revolution
At the start of the course, you’ll explore how clothing is made and the social and environmental impacts of the fashion industry. We’ll discuss what sustainable fashion really means, and explore why the industry needs to change.
You’ll also gain an understanding of what the Sustainable Development Goals are, and how improvements in global fashion supply chains and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals are intrinsically linked.
Why the Sustainable Development Goals matter
Next, we’ll be looking in-depth at how our clothes affect global issues such as poverty, gender inequality, forced and bonded labour, child labour and other labour and human rights abuses.
You will also explore how our clothing impacts the planet’s health and ecosystems, analysing issues such as global warming, microplastic pollution in our oceans, and the loss of forests and biodiversity. You’ll identify which Sustainable Development Goals relate to these issues.
Consuming and producing sustainable fashion
In the final week of the course, you’ll look at global consumption habits as a key driver of many of the fashion industry’s social and environmental impacts.
You’ll explore potential solutions and conclude the week with a set of actions that we can all take to build a fashion industry that ensures our clothing is made in a safe, clean, fair and sustainable way.
What topics will you cover?
- How the fashion industry works, how we interact with it and the impacts it has on people and planet
- The Sustainable Development Goals and how they relate to the clothes we wear
- Fair Trade/Ethical trade and why it is essential to international development and human rights
- Global fashion supply chains, how they work and how they can have a more positive impact on people and planet
- Gender equality, women’s empowerment and how it links to the clothes we wear
- Decent work and economic growth, what this means in the global fashion industry and what we can do to support good working conditions
- The environmental impacts of the clothes we wear and how we can support better conservation and protection of the planet and its natural resources
Who is this accredited by?
This course has been accredited by the CPD Certification Service, which means it can be used to provide evidence of your continuing professional development.
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Explore your values and identify the principles that matter the most to you
- Assess brand's sustainability disclosure to better understand their efforts to improve their human rights and environmental impacts
- Develop an understanding of global garment supply chains and the impacts they can have on people and the planet
- Develop an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals and how they relate to the clothes you wear
- Debate how the fashion industry interlinks with the Sustainable Development Goals and how we can all help achieve them
- Debate approaches to change
- Collaborate to build strategies for change
- Engage your local MPs to request they fight for policies that matter to you
- Engage brands to improve their supply chains and share more information on their commitments, goals and progress around their human rights and environmental impacts
- Engage your colleagues, friends, family and peers to drive forward a fashion industry that supports people, planet, profits and creativity in equal measure
- Contribute to meaningful dialogue and a better fashion industry for all
Who is the course for?
This course is for anyone wanting to learn more about the fashion industry, fair trade, international development, and the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes fashion professionals or students and activists interested in environmental protection and sustainable consumption.
Who will you learn with?
I am the Policy Director at Fashion Revolution, the world's largest fashion activism movement. We are campaigning for greater transparency and sustainability in the fashion industry.
I am a Policy and Research Coordinator at Fashion Revolution, the world's largest fashion activism movement. We are campaigning for greater transparency and sustainability in the fashion industry.
I am a Policy and Research Coordinator at Fashion Revolution, the world's largest fashion activism movement. We are campaigning for greater transparency and sustainability in the fashion industry.
Who developed the course?
Fashion Revolution
Fashion Revolution is a global movement campaigning for systemic reform of the fashion industry with a focus on the need for greater transparency and sustainability.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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