Sustainable Education Empower Large-Scale Revolution for Fashion Industry

Abstract

To overcome the mainstream fashion system, which is the major unsustainable factor in the fashion supply chain from design thinking to product end-use. Educators can play an activist role, and the fashion education system can be challenging as a medium for large-scale change. This chapter will explain the constructive model of the fashion system to make a strategic sustainability revolution by discussing China’s fashion industry and education initiatives. To drive the model, this study intends to illustrate (1) the aspects of sustainable fashion education, (2) the collaborative approach of education and the fashion industry, and (3) the implementation of “design thinking” to transform the concept of fast fashion. Keep an emphasis on “design thinking” for a sustainable mindset; this study will explain the potential factors that can significantly impact sustainability. This chapter will conclude by analyzing the influence of the education system in a contemporary sustainable approach. It will provide insights and recommendations to achieve a significant change in the fashion supply chain for the development of the textile sector.

1. Introduction

The emergence in today’s fashion consumption getting influenced by sustainability concerns to minimize the environmental impact. In 2022, Vogue Business discussed the interconnection among the fashion industry, product supply chain, carbon emissions, and sustainability measurements. They observed that a significant number of initiatives had been planned, and a notable awareness arose for the equity of environmental changes, but the ratio of implementations is significantly less [1]. It analyzed that the fashion industry has a large-scale effect on biodiversity that threatens human existence because the industrial supply chains are interconnected with natural resources, ecosystems, and human life [2]. The realization of fashion industry supply chains and the measurements of the threat ratio on human life due to the destructive biodiversity of each phase in the value chain highlights the extreme necessity of maintaining sustainability (see Figure 1). The negative impact of biodiversity has been shown from raw material production to product end use, and the “design thinking” of clothing including material uses, production process, and lifecycle can play a crucial role in root-level sustainable production [3]. Therefore, it is essential to develop a strategy for the fashion industry that will remodel the way clothing is made with significant innovation and change, which can be possible by establishing sustainable education systems and industrial implementation worldwide. This sustainable education system intends to develop a mindset to generate interest by providing encouragement and support to investigate, discover, and create an innovative approach to design thinking [4, 5].

Figure 1.

Impact of the fashion industry’s supply chain on biodiversity. Source: McKinsey Insights [2].

From the concern of global climate risk, the mission of the fashion industry is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, keeping global warming below 1.5°, which was reported in the UN Climate Change Report [6]. According to the news of China Briefing published on October 20, 2022, the Chinese government is supporting sustainable business practices throughout sectors and taking action to decrease waste and pollution in the nation. The Chinese government, in particular, committed to reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060 [7]. Given this commitment, increased sustainability in the fashion and clothing sector could soon stop being the exception and start being the education. Also, the fashion industry significantly influences environmental threats because of its massive worldwide scope and the significant amounts of natural resources and labor needed to produce and consume clothes.

Additionally, the present trend of fast fashion manufacturing has resulted in an unthinkable reduction in the production time, cost, and lifetime of clothing, leading to excessive usage and the desire to spend the least money on the most significant number of clothing. Considering the crucial role of designers as the first decision-makers in the product creation procedure, researchers advise fashion designers to learn about the essential stages throughout the lifecycle of clothing [8, 9]. As designers and educators progressively appreciate the need to implement sustainable design concepts into the fashion curriculum, we can gradually grasp how clothing design influences sustainability, which should be prioritized in fashion education. It demonstrates the responsibility to include these topics in the learning stage and provide a fashion education that identifies and discusses ethical fashion and environmental aspects.

Thus, sustainable fashion education can significantly impact the clothing supply chain with a mass manufacturing concept that will facilitate a strategy for cost-effective production to change the fast fashion system. It matters to think about the best ways to include students in these concerns and create an educational system that involves more than just disseminating facts, information, and viewpoints about how fashion and textiles affect life [5, 10]. So, this study discusses the constructive aspects of the fashion system to accelerate a sustainable mindset in fashion creation during the learning stage. Therefore, to explain the potential factors, this research examines the elements of sustainable fashion education, the collaborative approach of education and the fashion industry, and the implementation of “design thinking” to transform the concept of fast fashion.

2. The emergence of sustainability in fashion education

Education on sustainable fashion may incorporate a wide range of subjects, including the ethical design process, the sustainable economy and industrial implementation, and social liability. The significance of minimizing waste and environmental threats through fashion products and the effects of the fashion industry on the change of biodiversity may also be discussed. It is a subject of study that focuses on design ideas and practical implementation for sustainability [11]. It seeks to instruct students on how to design clothes that are both commercially and socially responsible without compromising fashion trends. Sustainable materials, energy-efficient design, and waste minimization may all be included in sustainable design education. So, sustainable education can play a vital role in the fashion industry, as designers are responsible for providing initial ideas and specifying products for clothing construction with raw materials selection. According to Tim C. McAloone and Niki Bey, about 80% of the product composition is determined at the design stages of the product development process, which can calculate the rate of environmental impact [12]. Every decision made during the product design thinking and development process throughout the industrial supply chain will have social and environmental effects on human life and existence.

Sustainable fashion design education is essential for every level of design development, but it is necessary for higher education, where students are learned, educated, and trained before entering design careers within the fashion industry. However, there have been several studies on sustainable fashion design education and its implementation via different approaches; most researchers have concentrated on particular institutions or specific course ideas [11, 13]. This research analyzes the design values, designers’ responsibility, and educators’ participation by explaining the importance of sustainable education for the long-term development of the fashion industry from the root level. The significance of sustainable fashion education can be shown in many meaningful contexts that highlight how well-versed students are in the fashion industry’s supply chain (see Table 1).

Context	Knowledge and skills
Environmental concern	Knowledge of environmental issues that causes biodiversity generated by the fashion industry supply chain
	Learning the required measurements to solve the issues through design thinking, awareness and implementation
Social concern	Knowledge of social concerns caused by the fashion industry through fast fashion. Also, be aware of ethical fashion, sustainability promotion, and product lifecycle awareness
Clothing materials	Knowledge of using eco-friendly raw materials for design creation comes with design thinking
Eco-design	Knowledge to select the best techniques and materials, understand the significant environmental effects across the product supply chain and determine design values and related sustainability approaches to direct the design ideas
Adaptive design	Knowledge of the fashion supply chain fundamentals with the design thinking to develop multi-shape, multi-category, multi-functional clothing
Zero-waste design	Learning skills incorporate waste, pollution, cumbersome procedures and other issues in the production process into the scope of design thinking. Such designs are intended to address the problems exposed by existing production models and to advance changes in production models
Regenerative design	Knowledge of reducing the development of resources at the end of the industrial chain to find resource compensation, and these resources are often from the fashion industry in the past production of waste materials
	The skill of reusing, recycling, and recovering fashion industry waste or consumer-used clothing with creative design thinking
Project design	Enables students to expand their research knowledge, diversity of information, and potential for innovative problem-solving with design thinking and collaborative practice
Future design	Knowledge of incorporating sustainable fashion ideas into technology, artificial intelligence, and frontier fashion systems

Table 1.

Learning through fashion education about sustainable design (resulting from the Sustainable Fashion Education of Wuhan Textile University, China).

3. The aspects of sustainable fashion education

Fashion education’s approach and structure are changing and evolving in line with sustainability. The traditional fashion education model is coming to an end, and new systems are developing that concentrate on the socioeconomic, human beings, and ecological issues associated with the fashion industry [14]. Therefore, higher-level fashion education provides a distinctive environment for trying out innovative ideas, opposing conventional thinking, and putting cultural, interpersonal, and sustainable development values into practice. This educational environment encompasses progress towards a career path and creating an awareness of individuality in society. Thus, a sustainable mindset is a concept that students can comprehend by following an approach provided by a structure for education that gives a variety of perspectives to think about the context and objectives of fashion (see Figure 2). At the same time, it delivered practical evidence of the positive impacts of awareness and its related compassion-building skills on concerns essential to the advancement of sustainability. The given aspects outline several ways fashion education could empower sustainability in the fashion industry.

Figure 2.

Conceptual diagram for the initial aspects of sustainable fashion education. Source: Author’s elaboration to draw the overall research concept.

3.1 Raw materials in fashion design thinking

According to Vogue Business, most clothing raw materials are obtained in processes that have affected the environmental condition, with the contaminating and draining of water resources, the destruction of the environment, and the harvesting of forests to make commercial cotton and viscose [15]. The industrial supply chain for sustainable fashion selects biodegradable materials produced by natural processes or reused textiles. Designers are gradually shifting to eco-friendly raw materials for animal- and petroleum-based fabrics, such as bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, recycled polyester, and linen [16]. Conventional fashion education focuses less on raw materials production and compositions, which can provide in-depth knowledge for fashion material selection during design thinking and production supply chain. At the same time, sustainable fashion education teaches design students about the composition of clothing raw materials and producing lifecycle, which can show the knowledge of the necessity of sustainability from design thinking. Also, it encourages implementing eco-friendly raw materials while designing fashion with long-time development values for the fashion industry. Therefore, the sustainable education system raises consciousness that allows design transformation toward the positive environmental impact of the fashion industry, and the knowledge of eco-friendly raw materials have great importance, such as:

• Biodegradable design thinking;

• Functional use of clothing;

• Health consciousness;

• Environmental consciousness;

• Design aspects;

• Fashion diversity;

• Awareness of sustainability issues which involves thoughtful, versatile and adaptive;

• Recycling properties;

• Natural resources;

3.2 Zero-waste design practice

The study adopts the idea of “zero-waste fashion design practice” to make the most effective utilization of fabric possible to minimize financial losses and environmental degradation brought on by fabric waste generated by the fashion industry [17]. In zero-waste design thinking, the creative mind works within the confines of the fabric width to pattern-cut an item of clothing. This method impacts fashion design since cutting patterns is an important stage in the design process. Designers are embracing the process and using a variety of forms, resources, and tools to create the ideal zero-waste clothing [18]. With this pattern, fashion designers may cut the fabric from a two-dimensional surface to make three-dimensional clothing without wasting material. Fashion education plays a vital role in the emergence of learning zero-waste design techniques on a large scale to serve sustainability in the fashion industry. Sustainable fashion education allows experimenting and developing zero-waste fashion and encourages students to find a different practice-based method with challenges to create new patterns and to lessen the use of fabric [19].

This research aims to construct and assess educational values that students practiced when thinking of zero-waste fashion to ensure that students will become mindful of the textile waste produced throughout the designing approach and also increase students’ awareness of sustainability practices. It might be anticipated that as students become more familiar with sustainable design ideas, such as zero-waste design, they will choose to be forward-thinking instead of responsive when developing sustainable strategies during industrial implementation.

3.3 Multi-functional design thinking and practice

When a piece of clothing has two or more useful and attractive alternate techniques, it is called multi-functional. It is a design thinking in which a dress can be altered into multiple shapes using various manipulation techniques, such as binding, wrapping, tumbling, bending, attaching, folding, and assembling. With the use of multi-functional design, a piece of clothing may be worn in a variety of ways to suit various demands and objectives, including behavioral, functional, and decorative ones [20]. In order to minimize entire apparel usage, multi-functional fashion design may be used to shift out, rearrange, or replace clothing pieces. By effectively including academic design practice in the alternative design creation process and encouraging sustainable thinking, it may act as a driving force for ecological change. This design practice will produce many creative designs because of the adaptability and flexibility of fashion. So, this design thinking would embrace: (1) the awareness of wearing multi-functional fashion; (2) the increasing lifetime of clothing; (3) the reduction of clothing behavioral expiration; and (4) the reduction of dumping fashion wastage [18].

Thus, sustainable fashion education encourages upcoming designers to utilize multi-functional, cutting-edge design thinking approaches to promote awareness of the value of creating affordable designs for consumers of every level through higher education. Throughout the educational context, fashion students are trained to think about how their design output fulfills the fashion requirements of persons with a sustainable approach and the possibility of expanding their creativity in the fashion industry supply chain.

3.4 Understanding the ethical fashion design process

The knowledge of ethical fashion comes from the life cycle of raw materials and the product supply chain, including the overall transparency of a fashion product. The ethical fashion design process is a crucial focus to maintain in the industrial supply chain that includes material resourcing by considering social responsibility. The main fundamentals in the fashion industry are establishing sustainability throughout clothing production, offering transparency of clothing materials and design process, verifying labor standards, and using sustainable materials. Introducing students to these concerns in the context of sustainable fashion is an emerging approach to academic achievement. The objective of sustainable education is to demonstrate the fashion design students about real problems in the context of the fashion industry and, in particular, to provide an understanding of clothing design that considers ethical fashion throughout the design supply chain.

From the perspective of the ethical fashion published in the UNESCO Courier, clothing design, material collecting, and manufacturing, known as “ethical fashion,” aims to provide the most significant advantages to individuals and communities while reducing environmental damage [21]. Thus, sustainable mindful fashion produces ethical products combined with socially and ecologically responsible practices with creative design thinking. However, through sustainable design education, students develop critical thinking, inventiveness, accountability, interaction, and communication skills for ethical fashion thinking.

3.5 Sustainable awareness creation

Along with instructing how to implement sustainable fashion design, sustainable design education trains students to investigate the underlying concepts and prospects of sustainable development, determine societal challenges, and propose approaches to challenges. By introducing innovative concepts concerning sustainable design and widening the context, effective instruction on sustainability may transform the mindset of students who will eventually work as designers, leading to better-developed design abilities [22]. Consequently, this study aimed to raise sustainability awareness, establish educational factors for sustainable fashion design, and propose the industrial application of sustainable design. Therefore, research on sustainable fashion design and design thinking became the basis for developing an educational program for fashion design students.

According to McKeown, the four key components of sustainable fashion design education are consciousness, ability, integration, and implementation. These components work together to influence students’ behavior toward sustainability [23]. Therefore, when it comes to education related to sustainability, the topics, amount of challenge, and study focus may vary depending on current issues and future development. In this context, Lee (2017) recommended a sustainable education structure based on the educational targets at different levels of implementation [24]. Thus, for this study, to create awareness the sustainable fashion design education can explain with five aspects: (1) developing the sustainable mindset; (2) integrating knowledge; (3) using strategic design thinking (4) interpreting the idea of sustainability, and (5) executing practice-based fashion design.

3.6 Development of minimalistic fashion concerns

In fashion, minimalism is the practice of concentrating on what is really important in life, minimizing unnecessary clothing consumption, and upgrading living standards by staying away from materialism. In the context of fashion education, minimalistic concerns create awareness to reject the flow of fast fashion and make an influence through creative multi-functional design toward fashion sustainability [25, 26]. Creative design thinking with sustainability considerations for the clothing’s longevity and multi-purpose use might encourage people to embrace minimalist fashion much more [27]. Whereas giving priority to fashion without compromising the trend, the minimalistic design incorporates the fashion industry supply chain considering the sustainable economy. Sustainable education enables students to learn about problem-solving techniques using creative ideas by increasing minimalistic awareness campaigns with practical implementation. This practice is not only about fashion; it can potentially lessen the widespread usage of fast fashion, balancing the worldwide need for more garments at less and lower costs.

3.7 Understand the responsibility toward sustainability as a future fashion designer

Through a sustainable education system, it is fundamental to understand in-depth ideas about the role of design thinking in developing large-scale sustainable change in the fashion industry. A sustainable fashion designer’s responsibilities include creating environmentally friendly and socially responsible designs [28]. Therefore, the sustainable supply chain of the fashion industry includes using sustainable materials, reducing waste and pollution, and ensuring workers are treated fairly and paid a living wage. The designer should also be aware of their designs’ environmental impact throughout the product lifecycle. It also includes the clothing production process, transportation, use, and disposal. In addition to the perspectives which considered it beneficial to classify sustainable fashion design strategies using materials and manufacturing processes, the use of a sustainable design approach that incorporated biodegradable resources and minimalistic manufacturing processes allows in-depth knowledge of different approaches to sustainable fashion design, also the knowledge of critical thinking is an essential way for broadening the concept of sustainability. Additionally, researchers acknowledged that planned, responsible design implementation and education might be achievable for the development of the fashion industry if sustainable design approaches and design procedures incorporate eco-friendly materials and manufacturing techniques.

4. The emergence of collaborative education for large-scale fashion sustainability

Looking back at the history of design, we can see that most of the contemporary design ideas that have a significant influence on the field of international design education can be found in the second half of the twentieth century, and their emergence and expansion of influences that are often closely related to design education [29]. From another perspective, design education, the important approach to developing design talents, has contributed to the growth of these design trends’ influence toward sustainability. Therefore, through investigating outstanding international design schools, design development aspects, and academic publications, this part of the study aims to illustrate the emergence of collaborative design education tendencies and how this perception will enhance future sustainable design education growth. The following factors describe the necessity of collaborative education for fashion sustainability with global interaction by giving the example of Chinese educational exchange.

4.1 Multi-national educational exchange and design practice

Integrating Sustainable Development Goals into international education will not only enable us to understand better and understand the challenges of global sustainable development and contribute to future sustainable development [30]. While the agenda is broad and does not focus solely on education, education is recognized as one of the most important drivers of transformational change for sustainable development. In 2015, the report of the relevant United Nations conference pointed out that “education is considered to be one of the most powerful means to promote the transformational change necessary for sustainable development but to realize this potential, the education system needs to be flexible, culturally sensitive, relevant and applicability, capable of changing people’s values and behaviors” [31]. Under the guidance of the National Committee of UNESCO, the opportunity to initiate and host the first Beijing International Forum on Education for Sustainable Development opens the road of cooperation and exchange between China and foreign countries on education for sustainable development [32]. Consequently, in 2021, the Fashion Institute of Manchester Metropolitan University and the School of Fashion of Wuhan Textile University carried out a joint teaching project on sustainable fashion development [33]. Thus, the multi-national sustainable education exchange has widened the large-scale development aspect and design thinking for sustainable practice.

4.2 Industrial collaboration for practice-based sustainable education

Professional fashion education training is crucial to satisfy the fashion industry’s and society’s demands. However, challenges like the industrial implementation of fashion design and sustainable practice can be resolved through university-industry collaboration. As an example, cooperation between the two organizations, strong interaction, and a common awareness of sustainability support the success of collaborations [34, 35]. The successful implementation of such multiple types of cooperation depends on factors such as the industry, the context of the design practice, and the collaboration objectives. Integrating the fashion industry and education is an area of practice-based sustainable design focusing on collaboration between educational institutions to align with the fashion supply chain. This approach emphasizes practical training and real-world experiences, which can sustainably enhance the application of design thinking at a large scale. To further promote the integration of industry and education, many educational institutions have implemented various programs and initiatives to strengthen ties with industry partners. Given an example from China, the cooperation between Lunyi and Kering began in 2014, a significant opportunity to realize the collaboration of both organizations and recognize that achieving sustainable development is the biggest challenge. Since the cooperation between the two organizations, the following activities have been carried out: jointly creating course modules for master students, setting up incentive programs for undergraduates and master’s, and exploring new directions in sustainable design [36].

4.3 Collaborative sustainable project implementation

The research on sustainable design and knowledge exchange between education and the fashion industry promotes the exploration of essentials for a better life, using design thinking to initiate change, build a sustainable future, and improve our way of life. In addition, sustainable education dares to question and challenge unsustainable fashion culture, expand the connection between fashion and other fields, and enhance the ability to identify individual and collective values. Educators and students cultivate an ethical understanding of sustainable fashion design by participating in diversified critical discussions, exploring sustainable fashion projects, and developing project-based design collections. For example, in 2022, the Wuhan Textile University-Manchester Metropolitan University School of Fashion Union Teaching Project developed a collaborative fashion show designing sustainable clothing with the theme of “New Silk Road” [37]. The cultivation of innovative talents has become the focus of everyone’s attention, so choosing such a theme, bringing together the top fashion experts at home and abroad to have a brilliant confrontation of ideas, and gathering professional fashion scholars to discuss the future of fashion.

5. The importance of design thinking for sustainable fashion

The field of fashion design is expanding quickly, and to be competitive in this environment, fashion designers must be inventive and playful. Design thinking evolved with an innovative perspective on fashion design that empowers designers to develop sustainable products. Despite this, fashion designers are shifting their focus to design thinking largely due to growing environmental consciousness and the necessity to create clothing that serves a variety of customer needs. This section explains how to incorporate design thinking in fashion design to adopt the following sustainable ideas.

5.1 Creative mindset design thinking on sustainable fashion

The fashion industry’s overconsumption approach has caused designers to produce clothes in concerning amounts with large quantities, reducing the measures for creative design thinking and the social interaction necessary for effective sustainable design. The issue of altering the industry using design requires establishing the creation-development-use-waste cycle, discovering additional methods to give customers what they want, and determining if the clothes must be manufactured at all [38]. Putting aside the importance given to clothes by the fashion industry, clothing is essential for the human body. Design thinking is an approach to making decisions different from the more conventional and analytical methods used in the fashion industry, but sustainable education attempts to make it with a more creative mindset. It is founded on putting people first within a specific environmental setting. There has been rising debate on design thinking as a philosophy that management experts may embrace, focusing on its potential applications in a larger organizational environment.

5.2 A contribution to growing global sustainability initiatives

For the fashion industry, the significance of COP27 is crucial. During this conference, the fashion industry, non-profit organizations, and government agencies issued sustainable initiatives [39]. They focused on important issues such as supply chains, standardized reporting systems, and impact investing. Also, it formulated practical environmental protection policies and promised to take practical actions to slow down climate change and unite to contribute to the global sustainable development process. Thus, fashion education can significantly focus on design thinking to develop sustainable education as part of global sustainable initiatives that can contribute from the root level of the fashion industry supply chain.

6. Discussion

Sustainability initiatives are promoted on a large scale globally, whereas fashion design is now a fundamental topic for industrial implementation rather than an approach featuring a particular aim or function. The future design is a form of environment-friendly ethical design that considers the need for sustainable development. Instead of focusing on the distinctive qualities of a specific procedure, sustainable fashion design should constantly incorporate the implementation of eco-friendly materials that work with the concept and the idea of minimal waste. Besides, education and industrial applications on a large scale can serve multiple purposes for sustainable development and should also be given priority.

This study illustrates a more significant, showing transformation in how knowledgeable and practice-based fashion education is approached in the fashion industry, moving away from initially concentrating largely on the design thinking aspect of fashion education with a more incorporated and diversified study area and instruction that places equal emphasis on practical skills and expertise, along with understanding the necessity of including innovative and implementation challenges. A positive sign of sustainable development in the educational approach for students is the growing concept of integrating various skills in fashion education. Throughout time, students are educated on the practical and applied abilities required for advancement in the fashion industry with the design and sustainability challenges throughout all phases of the fashion supply chain. Additionally, it is essential to emphasize every phase of integrating sustainability into design thinking and creation that is apparent in the fashion education initiatives could potentially be linked to the advancement of the fashion sector.

Most fashion design approaches should focus on contemporary issues to provide creative thinking that minimizes the problems for the future. In recent years, sustainability concerns have arisen globally at a large scale. Fashion education institutions focus on those concerns to solve them from the initial stages, which will also positively impact the fashion industry and its sustainable economic development. By analyzing all the aspects discussed to show the importance of a sustainable education system, this study illustrates a link between sustainability initiatives and the fashion industry, where fashion education and a collaborative approach catalyze design thinking to develop a sustainable mindset (see Figure 3). Therefore, the given factors can play a significant value in developing the sustainability practice for the large-scale fashion industry revolution from the root level of the industrial supply chain.

Figure 3.

The conceptual framework of sustainable fashion education focuses on design thinking for the long-term development of the fashion industry’s supply chain. Source: Author’s elaboration as a constructive model of this research.

7. Conclusion

This chapter offers insight into the sustainability aspects of the large-scale implementation in the fashion industry supply chain. Sustainable education is becoming a focal point to encourage students, provide awareness about the change in biodiversity and factors that involve environmental crises, and take challenges from that knowledge. It also involves students in finding out the social issues that arise from fashion and practicing possible solutions with creative design thinking cooperating with industry and project implementation that also helps to create mass awareness. The necessity to modify and adapt the aspects of fashion design education at higher education institutions is brought on by sustainable development concerns and the changing in structure of the present fashion industry. These changes are essential if current fashion students develop the expertise, skills, and abilities required for sustainable design, implement design thinking, manufacture clothing, and influence customers’ attitudes. The clothing products with their creative ideas should be well-designed and trendy, which can attract consumer focus and support the fashion industry sustainably and financially. Therefore, sustainable fashion education aims to give students a “sustainable mindset” to be socially responsible and well-trained fashion designers.

Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the Major Projects of Philosophy and Social Science in Hubei Province (Grant No. 19ZD033).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.