15student designers, for distribution to producers in the IFAT
network.
In the case study of the Customised Denim Project
with Further Education Students, Maria Skoyles, from
Oxford and Cherwell Valley College in the UK, provides
an example of how students have explored ethics and
sustainability by using the issues as the focus for developing
communication and drawing skills, materials, techniques and
process, and contextual influence.
The Clothing Care Calculator by Katie Dombek-Keith and
Suzanne Loker from Cornell University in the USA is an
interactive tool using Microsoft Excel. It was developed by
Dombek-Keith based on the Energy Star Calculator (www.
energystar.gov) to calculate the energy use of an individual’s
clothing care behaviour and alternatives that would lower
the energy expended. Its intent is to raise the awareness of
designers, consumers and businesses to the major impact
of everyday clothing care on the total energy used in a
clothing garment’s lifecycle. It can be used in the classroom
as a tool to introduce lifecycle analysis and the clothing
care stage, or as the basis for a design problem reflecting
the importance of considering the clothing care stage of a
garment’s lifecycle in the design process.
In Style Showdown, Sara B. Marcketti and Sara J. Kadolph
from Iowa State University in the USA provide a series of
questions to explore a news article comparing a $1,
sweater with one that costs $100. The questions stimulate
students to explore the issue of price, business practices
and sustainability.
In Design Piracy: A Constructive Controversy, by Sara
B. Marcketti from Iowa State University, USA, students
are encouraged to work cooperatively in small groups
to debate the pros and cons of design piracy, considering
the diverse points of view of designers, garment workers,
manufacturers and consumers.In the short activity, Cotton Cultivation and Sustainability,
by Südwind Agentur, Austria, students learn how cotton is
cultivated, and about the social and environmental issues
associated with its cultivation. With a set of images and
matching descriptions about cotton cultivation, students
clarify the meaning and content of these and put them in
order. Students should be able to show understanding by
explaining the images in their own words and using new
vocabulary to do so. This activity can also be used as an
English as a foreign language lesson and German-English
translations are provided.In Ideas for Design Briefs we bring you five short ideas for
design briefs from Fashioning an Ethical Industry and Abbie
Price from R. A.J. E, UK. The assignment ideas are based on
designing for fair trade producers, designing a collection
for a brand that promotes itself as ethical and designing
for different lead times. A range of ideas for approaching
sustainability are also included, such as design for leasing,
design for multiple-use and design based on producers’
skills and capabilities.dEsIgn