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Fashioning Development: Integrating sustainability into fashion business training programmes
Definitions For the purposes of this project, sustainability is defined as: An approach to business which safeguards the livelihoods and wellbeing of people, reducing poverty at the same time as minimising impact on the environment. Overall Aim: To reduce poverty and create sustainable livelihoods in the supply chains to the UK fashion industry: through increasing understanding of development issues amongst fashion professionals, in particular the opportunities for poverty reduction, and to provide the tools and resources they need to make informed choices in their professional roles Specific aims:
Key Objectives:
What are the key activities (with dates)? The project includes 3 main components, as follows:
What are the expected results including specific learning outcomes? Expected Results: The project will raise awareness and increase knowledge and understanding of development issues in relation to fashion, and the roles fashion professionals can play towards poverty reduction and the creation of sustainable livelihoods in their everyday decision making. The project will actively engage at least 2000 fashion graduates and professionals during a 3 year timescale, and will be promoted to fashion sector networks of at least 10,000 members, all of whom will have access to resources made available online through the project. Specific Learning Outcomes: Training, seminars, and resources will be organised around key themes, including the following: 1. Fashioning development To include increasing understanding of the people and communities behind fashion products, the role fashion professionals can play in relation to these, the challenges and opportunities and how to address these, purchasing practices, examples of best practice and case studies, adding value through fashion business supply chains 2. A global industry Global interdependence and the role of developing countries in fashion supply chains in relation to professional practice, relevance of development issues to the fashion industry in the UK including UK manufacture, trade barriers , least developed countries, values led models for international trade, country of origin and labelling, developments in international trade regulations with relevance to best practice 3. Empowering the people behind fashion Practical ways of working with suppliers and empower the people who make fashion- including skills development, living wages, sustainable livelihood creation, with a view to long term poverty reduction. Training and seminars will look at practical initiatives and business models which have been implemented to address challenges in this arena, from stakeholder involvement, to working with local NGO's and community support groups, to building partnerships between the conventional and the fair trade/ NGO sector, to the role of trade unions 4. Standards, Certification, Codes of Conduct, and auditing, in relation to fashion Tools to monitor, evaluate and communicate standards to consumers, opportunities and challenges, examples of best practice in this area and how this can be built upon Main target groups The primary target group in relation to this project is fashion graduates and fashion professionals, working within the fashion industry in the capacity of business managers, designers, buyers, suppliers, distributors, CSR specialists, or other relevant roles. The training workshops and seminars and online resources will also be available/ open to fashion students and other interested individuals. UK Background to the project The Fashioning and Ethical Industry project was launched by Labour Behind the Label in 2005. This project responds to needs within further education in fashion for awareness raising around labour conditions in the fashion industry, the role fashion designers and professionals play in relation to this, and the need for socially responsible practices. This project has created a strong steering group led by fashion tutors and course leaders from colleges across the UK. The project has encouraged and provided the resources to support fashion colleges, in integrating teaching on social responsibility issues as part of fashion degree courses. As a result of the work of Labour Behind the Label and other awareness raising initiatives around social and development issues, many more graduates are aware of these issues than ever before, and keen to take active roles. However, once students graduate, and start to play a professional role in the fashion sector (even if they have had some grounding in these issues) they often experience difficulty in applying what they have learnt and making informed choices in their professional roles. There is currently limited support available to facilitate this. There is a need for business support organisations and specialist business training bodies, which focus on training and support for graduates and fashion professionals, to respond to this. How the project supports the aims of DfID The project increases knowledge and understanding of the major challenges and prospects for development, in particular the poverty reduction agenda, and increases understanding of the role individuals can play, enabling them to make informed choices, through training seminars, workshops, and resource provision, as set out above. Challenging stereotypes and discrimination The fashion sector is primarily women led and is remarkable for its black, Asian and other UK ethnic minority role models. The training and seminars are about building collaboration and mutually beneficial trade relationships not just between developing countries and the UK but also between different cultures and races. Case studies and best practice models will be chosen from across the sector including those representing black and minority ethnic communities. Space will be given to hear the voices of a diverse range of leaders which cross cultural and race boundaries. Equal opportunities The project will encourage active involvement by all in all activities and events. Representatives of diverse cultures and origins will be encouraged to take part both as speakers and participants. Disabled access will be considered carefully in terms of venue choice as well as online resource provision. Long term impact/ sustainability A steering group of representatives of other fashion business support organisations and institutions will be built from the outset. The aim of this is to develop ownership of the project by these organisations and encourage them to include training on development issues and the roles of fashion professionals in relation to this as a core part of all their training programmes. This will mean that after the grant ends, these organisations will continue to build upon work already done and deliver training in line with this projects aims. Share this Article:                        Advertisement |
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