Upskilling Future Workers in the Fashion Sector: An Educational Toolkit for Sustainability Assessment
From Firenze University Press Journal: Fashion Highlight
Claudia Morea, Università degli Studi di Firenze
The production and consumption of textile products continue to grow and so does their impact on climate, on water and energy consumption, and on the environment. Global textiles production almost doubled between 2000 and 2015, and the consumption of clothing and footwear is expected to increase by 63% by 2030. In the EU, the consumption of textiles, most of which are imported, now accounts on average for the fourth highest negative impact on the environment and on climate change, and third highest for water and land use from a global life cycle perspective (EEA, 2022). These negative impacts have their roots in the linear economic model, and Fast fashion is one of the most shocking examples. Fast fashion is the phenomenon of enticing consumers to keep on buying clothing of inferior quality and lower prices, produced rapidly, causing overproduction and overconsumption. To the environmental issue is added the social issue. The main apparel industry, driven by pressures to minimize production costs to meet consumer demand for affordable products, is currently facing worrying child labour and gender equality issues. As women make up the majority of the low-wage and unskilled textile workforce (ILO, 2016), improving the sustainability of the supply chain has also an important cultural dimension. The European Strategy for fashion (EC,2022) declare that advancing towards sustainability of the textiles ecosystem requires deep changes in the currently prevailing linear way in which textile products are designed, produced, used and discarded, together with reducing its impacts on climate change, unsustainable resource use and environmental pollution, and halting the violation of human rights in the textile value chains. Areas such as eco-design, fibre development, innovative textile production, repair and reuse service are judged as particularly important by the European Commission to maintain competitiveness of European companies in the global market.The Strategy for a Sustainable and Circular Textile (EC 2022) proposes actions for the entire lifecycle of textiles products while supporting the ecosystem in the green and digital transitions. It addresses the way textiles are designed and consumed, including looking at sustainable technological solutions and innovative business models. However, the textile sector struggles to attract qualified young talents. SMEs in the textiles ecosystem are being held back by a lack of skilled employees who can enable the changes. 40% of European companies reported a green skills gap (Euratex, 2021)3. 77% of European companies reported difficulties in finding workers with the necessary skills (Eu Year of Skills 2023)4. Under the EU Pact for skills the Commission (EC, 2020). supported the establishment of a large-scale skills partnership for the textiles ecosystem to promote upskilling, reskilling and the acquisition and transfer of green and digital skills, including knowledge on life cycle assessment and value chain assessment. Vocational education and training, both initial and continuous, including apprenticeships, are essential for equipping people with the necessary skills.From the Design Council’s Report 2021 Beyond Net Zero: A Systemic Design Approach, most designers are still not fully using their skills and knowledge to support the transition to sustainability. There are still many designers who are not sufficiently aware of sustainability issues and continue to create harmful product-services. At the same time, many designers are working superficially without addressing the underlying issues. From the interviews conducted in the report, it is the designers themselves who report as a limitation the inappropriate knowledge of the tools and approaches needed to design for sustainability.Andrews (2015) points out that to achieve a radical shift in design thinking in line with sustainable thinking, it must be essential to integrate within Design training academic curricula concepts related to Sustainable Development. The designers have the opportunity to lead the new paradigm through design and communication tools.This paper presents the intensive workshop What’s inside? and the BA course Sustainability in Textile
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/fh-2259
Read Full Text: https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/fh/article/view/2259
