Kerenza Vlastou
Lead Educator for ACTAsia's Compassion in Fashion course. Facilitating learning, to lead to a more compassionate and sustainable future for fashion. Background in animal welfare and humane education.
Location Greece
Activity
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Hi Caitlin! Great, where is that?
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Hello Aqsa and welcome to the fashion community! We hope you enjoy this course!
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It will be interesting to see whether you think this is a possibility by the end of the course. Have you ever come across alternatives to fur that you found just as gorgeous?
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We hope this course helps you see the animal welfare, environmental and human-related issues behind use of fur in fashion
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Enjoy!
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We are investing in this!
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Claire Scott
@ScarlettKing Hi Scarlett, this is quite often a concern for many, with the industry's reply being that we should consume (and waste) less. On the one hand it is understandable that they cannot offer goods at the same prices as mass produced, lower quality goods but on the other hand, this puts a strain on consumers wanting to make the ethical choices.
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Hello Sabrine and thank you for your feedback - we hope you enjoy the course and do let us know if we can help in any way!
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@ClaireScott Hi Claire, I suppose it is because the fashion industry can decide what the output volume is, what their marketing teams promote and how they produce items (e.g. materials, waste etc) but of course there is always shared responsibility
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Hello Zerah, thanks for joining and we hope you enjoy the course content!
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أين يقع مقرك؟
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Which city are you in? What did the website give you as a result for the air quality?
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Indeed, and how something as environmentally unsustainable as fur production and processing continues to be allowed as part of fashion.
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especially at a time when the fashion industry is being criticised for not coming anywhere near to meeting its targets with regards to becoming a sustainable industry.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this!
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Claire Scott
Do you think it can meet current consumer demands?
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@ClaireScott Hi Claire and thank you for sharing! Welcome to the course and great to see all your comments and input
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Claire Scott
They can but many argue that there is so much greenwashing and a general lack of transparency, that consumers have no idea which retailers to choose...
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it is quite shocking! There are new reports coming out that compare the carbon footprint of various materials so, stay tuned!
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Hi Georgina and welcome to the course! We hope you enjoy it and glad you also like our statement :-)
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Thank you for the great feedback, we are glad you enjoyed this free course.
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The fur industry has made an excellent campaign to redirect a debate about fur, into a debate about plastic but please note that a) we simply advocate that fur is neither sustainable nor ethical and do not say that polyester fabrics should be used instead, b) that there are many sustainable faux fur materials also available now too - just FYI
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where is that? if you don't mind sharing with us..
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Do you think it is possible to meet both consumer demands for lower price tags as well as fair jobs for those working along the clothing production line?
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Hello Hadrian and thank you for so actively joining the course! We hope you enjoy it and look forward to having you with us over the next few weeks
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so, as long as it is made sustainable, you would agree to fur use in fashion?
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Indeed, the (fur) fashion problems extend and overlap between issues of concern for people, animals and the environment.
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thanks for sharing! see the above pinned comment with some links. Also, Stella McCartney's KOBA fur is (allegedly) a sustainable alternative
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Kerenza Vlastou made a comment
Some of you may be interested in this course https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/compassion-in-fashion/6
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Kerenza Vlastou made a comment
Has anyone watched the movie The True Cost?
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Kerenza Vlastou made a comment
What do you think of this initiative mentioned in these articles?
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/238531/fashion-industry-collaboration-create-lab-grown/
https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/lvmh-fendi-open-the-door-to-sustainable-plastic-free-faux-fur -
Kerenza Vlastou made a comment
Hello everyone! I was wondering whether anyone has some opinion to share on regenerative agriculture in terms of sustainable fashion and natural resources used? This is a term being used more and more now, like by Kering
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Hi Hannah and thank you for sharing this info - it's great to have you on board and hope you enjoy the course and find it interesting!
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Hello Virginiah and welcome to the course :-) Do share a little about yourself with us!
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Kerenza Vlastou made a comment
Hi there!
I work with ACTAsia and mainly on the topic of fur in fashion (specifically, China) but I am based in Greece. We are looking at sustainable fashion in a more holistic way and would like to learn more through this course, especially on the aspect of failing transparency across the board. -
That is actually quite a good AQS for a city!
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Hello Leilani and thanks for joining! Who recommended it (if you don't mind us asking)? Welcome from beautiful Hungary and we hope you enjoy the course.
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are you on social media at all so we can follow you?
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we are currently looking into Ecopel as a potential speaker at the next forum (autumn)
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It is great to e-meet you too and thank you for sharing your insight. It is the first time one of our students has mentioned the Anthropocene but I think this is a term that we will be seeing a lot more of, as time goes by.
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Thank you for sharing this info - it is great to see that you have followed ACTAsia's work and also researched this topic in depth
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Thank you for sharing these useful links - hopefully, they will provide additional background reading for your fellow co-students
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and many would argue that this is an easy first step for a company/designer to take towards sustainability
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Thank you for your insight, it is truly hard to act on our beliefs many times. Do you think it is entirely the consumer's fault or do you think consumers also fall victims to greenwashing and misinformation?
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@逸然李 请注意，这里提供中文课程 please note that the course is available in Chinese here https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/compassion-in-fashion-chinese/5
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感谢您与我们分享您的希望、想法和信念。时装业需要实现可持续发展，放弃使用皮草是朝着这个方向迈出的良好开端。
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Fabiha Ali
Do you think garments with animal parts such as the head or tails, are still seen as acceptable by the general public?
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Fabiha Ali
thank you for contributing your thoughts here!
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Thank you for joining and we hope you enjoy the course!
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Do you think social media has played a key role in the way youngsters (don't) think nowadays?
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yes, the fashion industry is known to be a huge contributor to waste and pollution globally
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What do you think about the fur industry moving into the more mass-produced, cheaper fur items such as shoes with fur trim, keyrings, bobbles on hats etc?
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Exactly, many of the chemicals found were harmful to people...
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Fabiha Ali
You may be interested in this (and subsequent articles on our website re. legislation in China) https://www.actasia.org/news/chinas-revised-law-paves-the-way-for-wildlife-to-become-farm-animals/
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You are right, and ultimately it comes down to the consumer whether they will choose less quantity and higher quality/sustainable clothing or whether they will simply try to keep the quantity of clothing bought the same and just try to cut budget (i.e. buy cheaper clothing that most likely compromises its sustainability).
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Thais Herrera
Hello Thais and welcome to the course! It is indeed a very good idea to research a brand before purchase. However, consumers often find this a little overwhelming: limited time when shopping and having to research while doing so (ingredients on food labels, brand ethics on clothing and so on...). It is not a bad idea to research the organic labelling when at...
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Fabiha Ali
Thank you for contributing and organic cotton can be preferable for health and other reasons. Do keep in mind though that cotton has quite a large carbon footprint in its production and is fairly resource intensive.
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Jessica Wallace
Yes, there are many methods for killing animals and most of them are focused on not damaging the fur rather than minimising an animal's suffering.
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Patricia Nunes
This is a debated topic, as faux fur is often synthetic and therefore also harmful to the environment. Fur can be avoided completely but if someone still wants to include it in their wardrobe, the options of sustainable faux fur are on the rise (such as Stella McCartney's KOBA fur).
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We are so glad you are enjoying the course!
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Of course, from materials and design waste, to the packaging, transport and even the props used for display. This is a huge topic and you may be interested to hear views from experts in the field at our October 2022 Forum https://youtu.be/e92mEf2UDTI
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Thanks for joining Amanda and we hope you find this course useful!
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Thank you for your contribution!
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We are very glad you are enjoying it!
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Also no health and safety for people working on the farms, chemical processing and slaughter...
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And what we are seeing is a lot more "cheaper, fast-fashion" fur, such as trim on shoes, collars, trinkets etc. This is hidden in a way as most consumers consider fur to be an expensive full-length coat for example and easily buy smaller items without realising...
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Fabiha Ali
You can use https://furfreeretailer.com website to check brands, and see here how to tell whether fur is real or faux yourself https://bonz.com/en/journal/five-simple-ways-about-how-to-quickly-tell-if-fur-is-real-or-fake or simply try to avoid any kind of fur if unsure...
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Indeed, did you see the more recent news from Gucci re. rabbit fur?
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Hello Fabiha and great to have you on board! We hope you enjoy this course
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Hello Anjelica and welcome aboard!
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This one was of the main reasons that ACTAsia, apart from the Forums which are mainly B2B, held the Fashion Shows too - glitz and glamour, highlighting compassionate fashion to designers and consumers alike.
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Jessica Wallace
Indeed, in many interviews with experts of the industry, a key consensus is that it is so hard for any larger company to really trace the production line from start to end, making it very easy to ignore certain injustices to help increase the profit margin.
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Kerenza Vlastou made a comment
An interesting question we came across from former students was whether there is a source to find out the numbers of animals killed (approximately)?
And, will there be data at least in EU of how many fur animals are farmed knowing that farmers in some countries are getting compensations from taxpayer money due to covid?
Our response is: Based on... -
Kerenza Vlastou made a comment
Hello everyone!
A frequently asked question is: "Why has fur returned after it seemed to drop in popularity around 30 years ago, what role have young people played in this resurgence?"
As an answer to this, please note the following:
Much of the fur trade's recovery stems from its strategic wooing of young designers like Fan and, in turn, young... -
Kerenza Vlastou made a comment
With regards to this: “It could be through drinking water: A staggering 2.4 billion litres of water is estimated to be consumed by farmed mink and fox alone, that equates to the annual needs of more than 3 million humans.” We would like to note that this is annually and globally. It does depend on how many mink and fox are being farmed. Also, the figure 2.4...
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Hi Jessica, indeed - 2023 has been called by many the 'year for action' in terms of cutting carbon emissions and reducing waste
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what was the air quality indicator for your city/area?
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Welcome and thank you for sharing your fashion inspiration!
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Hi Anmool, great that you found it informative and hope the rest its good for you too!
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Hi Jessica and so glad you enjoyed Week 1 - hope the rest is an enjoyable and you feel you learn a lot from it!
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Hi Joshua and welcome! It's great to have you with us and hope you enjoy the course!
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Hi Priya, thank you for joining and hope you enjoy the course!
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Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your views!
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yes, there is definitely a difference between survival and luxury
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Hi Sarah! I thought you may find Richard Bissett's (Respect for Animals) presentation at our recent forum interesting. He focused on the environmental cost of fur (and how the fur industry's claims of fur being green crumble against the evidence) because of their recent report on this. You can find his talk at approx. the 53min mark here...
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Great to have you with us Sarah and thank you for sharing your very interesting background! We hope that this course helps you gain insight and inspires you to continue your research into sustainable fashion!
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You may find our consumer research in China interesting as this answers many questions. The answers differ greatly based on the consumer awareness of what fur is even, as well as fur trinkets/trim vs full fur clothing.
You may also find the talks from our recent Forum interesting https://youtu.be/e92mEf2UDTI -
Great opening statement!
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Hello Amandine, yes, sadly this is true... this is what we want to highlight in our course: fur and sustainable fashion can only happen when all three (people, animals and the environment) are taken into consideration.
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So, if we agree that animals do not have the capacity for moral judgement, does this mean that their welfare doesn't matter?
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And there are many different ones to consider: the owners, the workers, the surrounding communities...
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In Italy, the report actually resulted in certain children's clothing being removed from sale
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Maya Okasha
There are many examples of fur farmers turning to other types of farming (agricultural) such as flowers, fruit and vegetation etc.
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Kerenza Vlastou replied to Maya Okasha
Indeed, in many cases of fur farming bans in countries, governments have supported the phase-out period through subsidies
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So glad to have you with us Ana, thank you! We hope you enjoy the course!
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Hi Maya from Dubai! Do you work in fashion or did you simply find our course as possibly interesting to take?
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Hello Elena and welcome!
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Thank you for sharing your insight with us! The weather must be getting a bit more bearable now there...
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Thank you for this contribution Maya!
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Hi Bruna! We will shortly connect via IG - thanks for joining us and we hope you find this course both insightful and useful! How is the sustainable fashion movement in Brazil going?
