{"id":59410,"date":"2021-09-20T04:43:01","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T08:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=59410"},"modified":"2021-09-20T04:47:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T08:47:14","slug":"sustainability-must-start-with-universities-if-the-fashion-industry-is-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/sustainability-must-start-with-universities-if-the-fashion-industry-is-to-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability must start with universities if the fashion industry is to change"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nWith six weeks to go until\u00a0COP26<\/a>, the delayed 2020 UN climate change conference in Glasgow, many people are considering how their personal and professional behaviour can help tackle the\u00a0climate crisis<\/a>. This includes rethinking the extent to which we are defined by our consumption or our citizenship.<\/p>\n

Academics recognise the widespread consensus, demonstrated through a global commitment to the UN\u2019s\u00a0Sustainable Development Goals<\/a>\u00a0(SDGs), that universal action is needed to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.<\/p>\n

But if in universities we continue to teach within a\u00a0commodified model of education<\/a>, how will we deliver education for sustainable development? England, for example, has the\u00a0highest tuition fees<\/a>\u00a0in the developed world and the narrative of value for money has created a culture of students as consumers.<\/p>\n

And where better to start than looking at how fashion students are taught to think about sustainability. The fashion industry has a well-documented history of\u00a0unsustainable practices<\/a>\u00a0including intensive and excessive production, textile waste, lack of transparency and poor labour conditions. Attending an international conference on how to create a more sustainable fashion system I recall a delegate saying: \u201cWe need to talk to industry,\u201d to which I responded: \u201cOur students\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demanding a sustainable curriculum<\/h4>\n

Educating future leaders is critical to achieving sustainability targets \u2013 and those working in fashion are no different. Graduates increasingly want to work with purpose, but are we equipping them with\u00a0sustainability literacies<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the information, skills and aptitudes \u2013 to challenge existing systems and structures, including the universities in which they study?<\/p>\n

A 2021\u00a0Deloitte survey<\/a>\u00a0confirms my own experience that younger people are increasingly concerned with issues such as income inequality and climate change. Many are looking for purpose over pay cheques when weighing up job opportunities. The survey reported that 44% of millennials and 49% of Gen Z base their choices on personal ethics when it comes to the type of work or the organisations they would consider joining.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just employers that need to change attitudes towards creating workplaces that are more responsible when it comes to climate change. Another\u00a0recent survey<\/a>\u00a0of prospective international students found that a university\u2019s reputation and commitment to sustainability ranked higher than its location. According to\u00a0Students Organising for Sustainability UK<\/a>\u00a0(SOS UK), 60% of students want to learn more about sustainability, and 80% of students want their institutions to do more about it.
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