Special Topics: Fashion and Sustainability

Course Description:

This course presents topics in sustainability and will engage and educate students on how sustainability
influences fashion systems from industry and consumer perspectives. Students experience self-directed
and reflective learning, with Florence as a backdrop, that will inform other studies and prepare them for a variety of careers and to become better global citizens.

By the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Define “sustainability” as it applies to them through survey and primary research
2. Conduct research with the provided course resources and tools through podcasts, websites, and
interactive and promotional materials in order to apply the knowledge to independent initiatives
3. Study course topics using a “holistic” approach to sustainability
4. Examine how the fashion industry is addressing sustainability challenges and opportunities
5. Create their own initiatives to promote and further the knowledge of sustainability within the
fashion industry