A sustainable textile product is, therefore, expected to have
minimum environmental and social impact during its life
cycle.
Since university education shoulders the responsibility of
nurturing and equipping students for the future while
enabling them to fit in and contribute positively to the present, integrating sustainability in design practice is the
emerging solution. The cradle-to-cradle concept of McDonough and Braungart reframes design as a positive, regenerative force that has the power to bring about change and
eliminate the concept of waste with enduring benefits for
society (McDonough and Braungart 2002). The circular
economy model proposed by the Ellen McArthur Foundation has been interpreted into “make fashion circular”
to replace the take-make-dispose model (https://www.
ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/industry-leaders-joinforces-to-make-fashion-circular). This paradigm shift from
those previously acquired by (fashion) practitioners is being
explored in this paper through the application of sustainable
fashion concepts of zero-waste, upcycling, and reconstruction, that focus on the reduction of textile waste generated.
The paper discusses the innovation and possibilities in
fashion education practice to enable student designers to
recognize their place in the future fashion system.
According to the United States Environment Protection
Agency (EPA), between 70 and 80% of a product’s environmental impact is locked-in during the design and development
and-sales/business-sustainability/checklist-designing-sustainableproducts). The fashion industry is a mix of complicated
processes and activities; therefore, the designer has the
responsibility of not just designing an outfit but managing
the whole production pipeline to be able to minimize or
eliminate waste at every step (https://www.cetonline.org/
fast-fashion-textile-waste/; Domina and Koch 1997). Education offers an opportunity to foster new ideas with a deep
concern for the ethical that would lead to ecologically literate fashion graduates who would shape the contribution of
the various stakeholders in the fashion supply chain.
Change-oriented sustainable fashion practices reinforce the
concept of environmental responsibility among design students and prepare them for the future direction of the fashion
industry.
The two major challenges facing sustainability are the
increase in population as well as an increase in the use of
limited resources. According to McKeown (http://unesdoc.
unesco.org/images/0015/001524/152453eo.pdf), education
for sustainable development (ESD) is where education is
used as a tool to attain sustainability. ESD needs to be
applied and relevant locally and culturally to have a bubble
effect and find application on a larger scale. It is a holistic
approach to education that has been defined by UNESCO
(http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001393/139369e.pdf)
as “education that allows learners to acquire the skills,
capacities, values, and knowledge required to ensure sustainable development”, leading to viable employment.
Bhamra and Lofthouse (2008) stressed that designers need to
understand the full context of sustainability to propagate the
fact that sustainability is more than recycling and using
recycled materials—it must be applied to design at the
concept stage and maintained through the production to the
ultimate use by the consumer. The development of new
courses and curricula, as well as case studies, play important
pedagogical roles in expanding the context and application
of sustainability in fashion education (Parker and Dickson
2009). Through transformative learning and teaching practice, students are encouraged to critically reflect upon and
work towards a progressive future for fashion (Sala 2016).
2 Sustainable Concepts in Fashion Design
Practice
Studies have revealed that the fashion design production process gives little or no consideration towards the life cycle of a
garment and the textile waste generated during pattern cutting,
manufacture and use of the garment (Eskandarypur et al. 2009).
Textile waste has, therefore, become a serious environmental
threat—if current practices continue, it is estimated that by
2030, fashion’s annual waste from production and consumer
disposal will increase by 60% to 148 million tons globally
(Pulse-of-the-Fashion-Industry_Executive-summary_2).
Broadly categorized as pre- and post-consumer textile waste, it
is either landfilled or incinerated. While post-consumer waste
consists of second-hand textiles and clothing, pre-consumer
waste includes the waste generated before the textile even
reaches the consumer and generally includes end-of-rolls,
damaged textiles, sampling yardage and the textile scraps
generated during garment manufacture at the cutting table
(https://www.redressdesignaward.com/learn/zero-waste/). It
is, therefore, imperative that the designer integrates sustainable design practices during the fashion design process, and
consequently brings about change in the way that garments are
produced, used, and discarded.
2.1 Zero-Waste
“Zero-waste” is a design technique that focusses on eliminating the pre-consumer textile waste at the design stage by
cutting patterns in a way that all the fabric is used up in the
garment without leaving any cut-off pieces (Gwilt and
Rissanen 2012). This saves approximately 15% of the fabric
that is wasted in conventional design approaches, as mentioned by “zero-waste” pioneer Risannen in his thesis
(Rissanen 2013). The designer needs to carefully plan the
96
S. Agarwal
minimum environmental and social impact during its life
cycle.
Since university education shoulders the responsibility of
nurturing and equipping students for the future while
enabling them to fit in and contribute positively to the present, integrating sustainability in design practice is the
emerging solution. The cradle-to-cradle concept of McDonough and Braungart reframes design as a positive, regenerative force that has the power to bring about change and
eliminate the concept of waste with enduring benefits for
society (McDonough and Braungart 2002). The circular
economy model proposed by the Ellen McArthur Foundation has been interpreted into “make fashion circular”
to replace the take-make-dispose model (https://www.
ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/industry-leaders-joinforces-to-make-fashion-circular). This paradigm shift from
those previously acquired by (fashion) practitioners is being
explored in this paper through the application of sustainable
fashion concepts of zero-waste, upcycling, and reconstruction, that focus on the reduction of textile waste generated.
The paper discusses the innovation and possibilities in
fashion education practice to enable student designers to
recognize their place in the future fashion system.
According to the United States Environment Protection
Agency (EPA), between 70 and 80% of a product’s environmental impact is locked-in during the design and development
and-sales/business-sustainability/checklist-designing-sustainableproducts). The fashion industry is a mix of complicated
processes and activities; therefore, the designer has the
responsibility of not just designing an outfit but managing
the whole production pipeline to be able to minimize or
eliminate waste at every step (https://www.cetonline.org/
fast-fashion-textile-waste/; Domina and Koch 1997). Education offers an opportunity to foster new ideas with a deep
concern for the ethical that would lead to ecologically literate fashion graduates who would shape the contribution of
the various stakeholders in the fashion supply chain.
Change-oriented sustainable fashion practices reinforce the
concept of environmental responsibility among design students and prepare them for the future direction of the fashion
industry.
The two major challenges facing sustainability are the
increase in population as well as an increase in the use of
limited resources. According to McKeown (http://unesdoc.
unesco.org/images/0015/001524/152453eo.pdf), education
for sustainable development (ESD) is where education is
used as a tool to attain sustainability. ESD needs to be
applied and relevant locally and culturally to have a bubble
effect and find application on a larger scale. It is a holistic
approach to education that has been defined by UNESCO
(http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001393/139369e.pdf)
as “education that allows learners to acquire the skills,
capacities, values, and knowledge required to ensure sustainable development”, leading to viable employment.
Bhamra and Lofthouse (2008) stressed that designers need to
understand the full context of sustainability to propagate the
fact that sustainability is more than recycling and using
recycled materials—it must be applied to design at the
concept stage and maintained through the production to the
ultimate use by the consumer. The development of new
courses and curricula, as well as case studies, play important
pedagogical roles in expanding the context and application
of sustainability in fashion education (Parker and Dickson
2009). Through transformative learning and teaching practice, students are encouraged to critically reflect upon and
work towards a progressive future for fashion (Sala 2016).
2 Sustainable Concepts in Fashion Design
Practice
Studies have revealed that the fashion design production process gives little or no consideration towards the life cycle of a
garment and the textile waste generated during pattern cutting,
manufacture and use of the garment (Eskandarypur et al. 2009).
Textile waste has, therefore, become a serious environmental
threat—if current practices continue, it is estimated that by
2030, fashion’s annual waste from production and consumer
disposal will increase by 60% to 148 million tons globally
(Pulse-of-the-Fashion-Industry_Executive-summary_2).
Broadly categorized as pre- and post-consumer textile waste, it
is either landfilled or incinerated. While post-consumer waste
consists of second-hand textiles and clothing, pre-consumer
waste includes the waste generated before the textile even
reaches the consumer and generally includes end-of-rolls,
damaged textiles, sampling yardage and the textile scraps
generated during garment manufacture at the cutting table
(https://www.redressdesignaward.com/learn/zero-waste/). It
is, therefore, imperative that the designer integrates sustainable design practices during the fashion design process, and
consequently brings about change in the way that garments are
produced, used, and discarded.
2.1 Zero-Waste
“Zero-waste” is a design technique that focusses on eliminating the pre-consumer textile waste at the design stage by
cutting patterns in a way that all the fabric is used up in the
garment without leaving any cut-off pieces (Gwilt and
Rissanen 2012). This saves approximately 15% of the fabric
that is wasted in conventional design approaches, as mentioned by “zero-waste” pioneer Risannen in his thesis
(Rissanen 2013). The designer needs to carefully plan the
96
S. Agarwal