Sustainable Clothing and Ethical Fashion

This course focuses on the study and understanding of sustainable clothing and its influence in today’s fashion industry and modern life. Ethical fashion refers to the use of fabrics derived from eco-friendly resources and the study of how these fabrics are made. Being “green” in fashion today means reducing the amount of clothing discarded to landfills and decreasing the environmental impact of agro-chemicals in producing conventional fiber. Special emphasis will be placed on the vintage phenomenon and on recycling as fundamental parts of this complex subject. The course will analyze the impact of the reduction of raw materials and virgin resources, as it relates to fitting in the context of a more powerful globalized fashion industry and how these two worlds often collide as well as how sustainability in the clothing industry can provide a new market for additional job opportunities.

SRISA studio courses will have personal and course materials to be purchased in Florence. A complete list will be provided with the syllabus on the first day of class.