Fashion
in the Future:
Environmental sustainability in fashion
Tiffany Ciarico
tciarico@nscsd.org
North
Syracuse Central School District
Photo Credit: Fashiontribes.typepad.com
Introduction:
Do you keep up with the latest fashion trends? Know what’s in before your friends? Have you
ever thought about what the future might hold for the fashion industry? Over the last few years there has been an
increase in the public’s awareness of how, what, where and whom produced the
clothes that they wear. The world is
changing. Every year millions of tons of oil, coal, and natural gas are being
used, population is increasing, vast amounts of waste is being generated,
consumption is increasing, and there is an excessive use of chemicals,
plastics, metals and other non-biodegradable materials.
All these changes are
affecting all the aspects of your life. (Even your fashion!)
Important
natural recourses are not only being used in the fashion world, but also in
other industries. Soon there will be a
shortage. How is the fashion industry
going to be affected by this shortage of resources? How will people care for
clothes with water shortages, and the cost of energy increasing?
Over
the last few years there has been an increase in the public’s awareness of how,
what, where and whom produced the clothes that they wear. To understand the depth of the challenges
fashion is facing in the future, you must understand where your clothes come
from. How they are made, and how they are cared for? What type of fabric and
textiles are used; do these textiles or fabrics have pesticides in them, (What
type of chemical dye was used for the color?)
How can we move towards environmental sustainability
in fashion? How does preserving the environment affect the fashion industry?
According to the forum for the future,
(forumforthefuture.org) some things to think about are as follows:
- How will the industry react to
climate change impacts, shortages of cotton and other raw materials?
- How might technology influence
fashion and change the way it is produced and sold?
- How will people care for their
clothes in a future of water shortages and high energy prices?
- How could reuse
and remanufacturing of clothing develop as a response to higher demand and
prices?
- How will
advertising change due to this environmental shift?
Using the Public
Policy Analyst (PPA) you will examine the future effects of the fashion
industry, and you will develop new strategies for fashion in the future. You
are to look at the situation, gather ideas and information about it, and
suggest a well thought out solution. This solution must keep the effects on the
environment as an important factor.
Task:
You will work in groups of two. Each
student must play an active role in this project. In your group you
will analyze and assess the current state of the fashion industry. You will also need to think about how we can
move towards having more environmental sustainability in the fashion world. How
does preserving the environment affect the fashion industry? Look at current
and possible solutions to remedy the problems and look at possible strategies
to implement.
To research this project you will use
the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) and the worksheets. Each member of the group will need to fill
out the worksheets. You will be expected to create a Public Service
Announcement (PSA) to raise awareness of the affects on fashion we may be
facing in the future. You may use
Windows Movie Maker, Photo Story, PowerPoint or any other media you feel
comfortable with.
You will need to include in your
multimedia presentation solutions to these challenges fashion may be
facing. You are writing the PSA as if
you needed to convince the public and the fashion industry to implement these
strategies immediately. You are basically marketing these strategies. People who will listen to this announcement
must leave with understanding of how important environmental sustainability is
in the fashion industry.
Process
Present
the information to educate the viewers of the Public Service Announcement,
about moving towards becoming more environmentally sustainable in the fashion
industry.
Use
the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) steps below. The links below will also
help guide you in the step process including worksheets for assistance.
Complete each worksheet before you move on to the next.
Step 1: Define the Problem (worksheet #1)
Step 1. Define the Problem
Step 2: Gather the Evidence (worksheet
#2)
Step 2. Gather Evidence
Step 3: Determine the Causes (worksheet
#3)
Step 3. Identify Causes
Step 4: Examine the Existing Policy
(worksheet #4)
Step 4. Evaluate a Policy
Step 5: Develop (3) Policy Solutions
(worksheet #5)
Step 5. Develop Solutions
Step 6: Select the Best Solution/Policy
(worksheet #6)
Step 6. Select Best
Solutions
Public
Service Announcement
After you complete the PPA worksheets
you will be prepared to create a Public Service Announcement (PSA). Public Service Announcements are basically
announcement about what you want the world to know. You must have a main question/topic before
you start working on your PSA.
Use the
following worksheets to help you create the PSA. (Hand in these worksheets at
the end for an additional grade)
2.
How
to create a PSA outline worksheet.
Student
Reflections /Assessments
How
to make a PSA using Windows Movie Maker worksheet
All steps of the PPA process must be visible in your presentation. Bullets should be used to focus main ideas.
Graphics, including charts, graphs, photos, and illustrations from Internet
resources, must be cited.
Resources:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/6628
Assessing Our Natural
Resources
Fashion designer
using innovation
Search Engines
Evaluation Rubric:
|
|
Beginning 10 |
Developing 20 |
Accomplished 30 |
Exemplary 40 |
|
PPA Worksheets and Content in the PowerPoint |
Incomplete
work sheets and limited information on causes, effects, and solutions to
environmental contamination problem. |
PPA
worksheets mostly completed, includes information on causes and
effects of environmental contamination but limited emphasis on solutions. |
All six
worksheets completed and include information on causes and
effects of but not enough emphasis on solutions to this problem. |
All six
worksheets completed and detailed information on causes, effects,
and solutions to problem. |
|
Presentation |
Delivery not
smooth and audience attention often lost. |
Delivery
not smooth, but able to maintain interest of the audience most of the
time. |
Rehearsed with
fairly smooth delivery that holds audience attention most of the time. |
Well
rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention. |
|
Storyboard |
Story
board demonstrates very little planning or preparation for the project |
Storyboard
demonstrates some planning and preparation but contains very little detail. |
Storyboard
demonstrates good planning and preparation for use of visual images, script,
text and music. |
Storyboard
demonstrates outstanding preparation with every detail of the PSA |
|
Attractiveness |
Use of
font, color, graphics, effects, etc., but these often distract from
the content. |
Makes use
of font, color, graphics, effects, etc., but occasionally these distract
from the presentation content. |
Makes good
use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation. |
Makes
excellent use of font, color, graphics, effects,
etc. to enhance the presentation. |
|
|
PSA demonstrates
a poor use of visual images. Images fail to have any persuasive effect. |
PSA
demonstrates only partially effective use of visual images to communicate the
message. |
PSA
demonstrates a good use of visual images to communicate the message effectively. |
PSA
demonstrates a powerful use of visual images to communicate the message very
effectively. |
|
Mechanics
|
More than
4 errors in spelling or grammar. |
Four
misspellings and/or grammatical errors. |
Three or fewer
misspellings and/or mechanical errors. |
No
misspellings or grammatical errors. |
Conclusion:
Upon completion of this task, students will
have gained a better understanding of the future of fashion. They will also have gathered information on
what type of strategies may work in creating a more environmentally sustainable
fashion industry. Students will also
learn how decisions that we make today may affect the world in the future.
Using this knowledge, students will then be
able to create an awareness ad to inform the public on what types of strategies
we need to implement to move toward a more environmentally sustainable fashion
industry. These reports will aid in
helping people understand the need for a change and why it is important to look
at the future of our natural resources.
New York State
Learning Standards:
ELA Standards:
Standard 1: Language for Information and
Understanding
Students will listen, speak, read,
and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students
will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and
generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and
electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and
written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language
to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and
Evaluation
Students will listen, speak,
read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers,
students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by
others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they
will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the
English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and
judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.
Career Development and Occupational Studies
Standard 2: Integrated Learning
Students will demonstrate how
academic knowledge and skills are applied in the workplace and other settings.
Standard 3a: Universal Foundation Skills
Students will demonstrate mastery
of the foundation skills and competencies essential for success in the
workplace.