Skip main navigation

New offer! Get 30% off your first 2 months of Unlimited Monthly. Start your subscription for just £35.99 £24.99. New subscribers only T&Cs apply

Find out more

Sustainability in Fashion and Textiles

This piece is an introduction to the Sustainable Fashion Ecologies course provided by Parsons School of Design at The New School. The course is intended for everyone interested in the topics of sustainability and fashion.Whether you are considering a career in fashion, work in the industry, or are simply a wearer of clothing, this course provides insights into how the clothes we wear impact our world.
0.1
I’m Jennifer Whitty, and I’m an Assistant Professor of fashion systems and materiality at Parsons, which is within the New School. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you all on your sustainable fashion journey. This course is drawn from my research, teaching, and practice in the field for the last 15 years. And some key projects from across the globe by people like Ellen MacArthur, Kate Raworth, Kate Fletcher, and many, many more. I’d also like to take this opportunity to extend a huge warm welcome to the exciting world leading educational institution that is the New School. Here at Parsons. In the New School, we take sustainability very seriously.
40.1
Indeed, we’ve embedded sustainable thinking and practice at every step of the way in our fashion design curriculum. So our students have a really deep knowledge in the role of sustainability. I’m really looking forward to imparting some of this knowledge to you all throughout this course. Sustainability requires us to rethink and redesign basically everything. There’s a lot of work to do, but we see this as an exciting, enormous opportunity to figure out how to do it better as it also happens to be imperative for human survival.
72.8
So this program takes an open, inclusive, and empowering approach to sustainability, enabling you as learners, irrespective of your background or experience, to overcome barriers, to change and shape fashion careers in alignment with your personal and professional values. And our best advice for you, embarking on this course is to fully participate in every exercise and every discussion, be engaged, never stop asking questions and listen carefully to the answers. Because we can all learn so much from each other on this journey. And this is something we can do much better together. So we’ll borrow the words of a very apt African proverb. If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. Thank you.

This piece is an introduction to the Sustainable Fashion Ecologies course provided by Parsons School of Design at The New School. The course is intended for everyone interested in the topics of sustainability and fashion.

Whether you are considering a career in fashion, work in the industry, or are simply a wearer of clothing, this course provides insights into how the clothes we wear impact our world.

Fashion as an Ecology

The course is designed to deepen your understanding of the ‘big picture’ of fashion. You will be encouraged to think about fashion differently, as a system or an ecology, that is part of nature and is, therefore, a part of us. Thinking in terms of ecologies helps us to see the important things – the relationships between living organisms and their environments in a system. It helps us to value and be conscious of the people – makers and wearers – the animals, soil, air, water, lands and plants of the wonderfully vast and varied fashion ecology.

The course will help you to understand your relationship with the living elements of the complex fashion system. In Week 1, you’ll begin to deconstruct your relationship with aspects of the fashion ecology. In Week 2, we’ll discuss the complexity of the global fashion ecosystem. In Week 3, you’ll be asked to explain how personal mindsets, actions and relationships intersect with the entire fashion ecosystem.

Fashion and Sustainability

Throughout the course, students are encouraged to actively participate in the discussions and activities. Each step is designed to help deepen your perspective and understanding of how interconnected the clothes we wear are to nature, its wisdom, and sustaining our life on this planet. We’ll help you see how sustainability can become a part of your thinking, actions, and values.

As you participate in discussions, remember that our conversations are about building a community and sharing our individual perspectives. We would ask you to be kind and open to hearing the opinions of your fellow learners, and to share your own thoughts in a constructive and positive tone. By the end of the course, we hope you would be inspired and passionate about embracing your role in creating a more sustainable fashion ecosystem.

This article is from the free online

Your Role in Sustainable Fashion: Sustainable Practices Across the Fashion Ecosystem

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now