Ref:29
Title
Weaving Global Sustainability Theme into Undergraduate
Curriculum of Textiles and Clothing
Abstract
Textiles and Clothing program is an integral part of Family and Consumer Sciences.
The main purpose of this paper is to develop a vibrant discussion on a new
framework for textiles and clothing curriculum incorporating sustainability theme
into various aspects of apparel design and merchandising in a global setting.
Countries Credited
USA
KOREA( R.O.K)
Author Details
AUTHOR 1
Title of author
Surname
First Name
Name of Institution
Address of Institution
Dr.
Lee
Jaeil
Seattle Pacific University
3307 Third Ave West
Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, Washington
98119. U.S.A.
leej@spu.edu
E-mail address of author
Author biography
Dr. Lee is Associate Professor and directs fashion program at Seattle Pacific
University. Her research interests include apparel product analysis and technical
design, creative teaching and curriculum development, symbolism in postmodern
advertising, and cross-cultural study of fashion consumerism.
AUTHOR 2
Dr.
Title of author
Lee
Surname
Yoon-Jung
First Name
Korea University
Name of Institution
Department of Home Economics Education,
Address of Institution
College of Education,
Korea University, Anam-dong, Songbuk-ku,
Seoul, Korea
yleehe@korea.ac.kr
E-mail address of author
Author biography
Dr. Yoon-Jung Lee is Chair and Associate Professor of Home Economics Education
Department at Korea University. She also is a faculty director of the Interdisciplinary
Program in Fashion Design and Merchandising at Korea University. Her research
emphasis is on Social Psychological Aspects of Dress and Fashion Consumer
Behaviour.
1
Category
Sustainable Development
Home Economics
Education
Theme
Environment
Sustainable Consumption
Type of Contribution
Discussion Paper
2
Weaving Global Sustainability Theme into Undergraduate
Curriculum of Textiles and Clothing
Jaeil Lee and Yoon-Jung Lee
The Textiles and Clothing program is an integral part of Family and Consumer
Sciences (FCS), an applied field of study which deals with issues related to
individuals, families and communities. The world’s production of textiles and
clothing are growing, especially with the development of efficient production and
consumption methods that involve uses of energy, toxic chemicals and sometimes
unhealthy labor conditions. 1 The clothing and textiles program should prepare
students
with
the
knowledge
of
sustainable
apparel
design,
production,
merchandising, and consumption so that they can become more sensitive to the
potential harms that the industry may cause to families, consumers and communities.
The main purpose of this paper is to develop a vibrant discussion on a new
framework for textiles and clothing curriculum incorporating sustainability theme into
various aspects of apparel design, product development, and merchandising in a
global setting. In order to achieve the goal, several questions are raised. 1) What are
the current trends of Textiles and Clothing Curricula?; 2) How well are the
sustainability issues reflected in the current U.S. undergraduate Textiles and Clothing
curricula?; 3) How can we develop and implement a Textiles and Clothing curriculum
that discusses sustainability issues in apparel design and merchandising in a global
setting?; And lastly, 4) What are the expected outcomes of the implementation for the
future? Based on the findings of the paper, a new apparel design course including
objectives, learning activities, schedule, assessment tools, and other related course
details, is developed as an example.
Defining sustainability in textiles and clothing area
Sustainability is an environmental terminology which means ‘the awareness of
the short term and long term consequences of any transformation of the
environment’.2 The concept of sustainability can apply to various aspects of human
life in that it is an ethical and ecological proposition related to various areas of our
JM Allwood, SE Laursen, CM Rodriguez, & NMP Bocken, ‘Well dressed ?’, The present and future
sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom, University of Cambridge Institute for
Manufacturing, Cambridge, 2006.
2
LD Burns & NO Bryant, The business of fashion, Fairchild Publication, New York, 1997, p.415.
1
3
everyday life. Thus, the difficulty with the term ‘sustainable’ is that the term is very
elusive and inclusive, and does not have any clear-cut, universally–accepted
definition. In other words, the term may be interpreted in various ways. Therefore, it
is recommended that the term is used more as a philosophy or a way of life than a
label.3
An apparel product may be considered sustainable if it can be created without
generating negative environmental effects, without causing wastes to accumulate as
pollution, and without compromising the wellbeing of workers or communities. 4
Sustainable apparel design and merchandising start with the design creation,
production process, use, and discard of apparel products.
5
In case of apparel
production, more and more textiles and clothing products result from global
production as their components and manufacturing operations originate from around
the world.
6
Thus, the sustainability issue in clothing and textiles production,
marketing process, consumption and discarding process needs to be taken into
consideration within a global context, which focuses on the issues of fair trade and
labour condition.
Sustainability in undergraduate curriculum of Textiles and Clothing
Since it is imperative that future professionals in the industry are equipped
with the sensitivity to sustainability issues, a serious review of the current Textiles
and Clothing Curriculum is needed. We examined the current curriculum of Textiles
and Clothing in 4 year universities in the U. S., for the purpose of obtaining insights
for a new curriculum framework development.
Ten representative universities in the U. S. which have undergraduate Textiles
and Clothing programs are selected from the directory of International Textiles and
Apparel Association issued in the year of 2006. The selection criterion was the
program size as measured by the total number of faculty members. The 10 schools
selected are listed below in Table 1.
For the chosen schools, we have visited the departmental website to obtain the
most current curriculum to review. Course requirements and course descriptions for
each school were carefully reviewed and compared to each other.
3
Sustainable dictionary, sustainable, retrieved 1 October, 2007,<
www.sustainabletable.org/ intro/dictionary>.
4
ibid.
Burns & Bryant, op.cit.
6
K Dickerson, Textiles and Apparel in the global economy, 3rd edn, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1999.
5
4
Table 1. List of 10 representative schools
10 representative schools

1.
Fashion Institute of Technology
2.
Auburn University
3.
Colorado State University
4.
University of Delaware
5.
Florida State University
6.
Iowa State University
7.
University of Minnesota
8.
University of North Carolina
9.
Oklahoma State University
10.
Ohio State University
What are the current trends of Textiles and Clothing Curricula?
All ten schools reviewed have 2 main specializations of Textiles and Clothing:
Fashion Merchandising and Apparel/Fashion Design. Core courses which cover
foundational knowledge of the discipline are required for both specializations:
Introduction of Fashion Industry, Textiles, History of Costume and Appearance and
Culture, etc. In addition to these core courses commonly required for all students,
separate lists of courses were designated for each specialization. For example, courses
like Retail Merchandising, Merchandising Product and Market, Retail Math, etc were
required for Fashion Merchandising specialization and Fashion Illustration and CAD
Design, Flat Pattern, etc for Apparel Design specialization.

How well are the sustainability issues reflected in the current U.S.
undergraduate Textiles and Clothing curricula?
There are no specific course titles and course descriptions reflecting the issues of
sustainability in the 10 schools’ curricula reviewed. At least sustainability issues have
not been reflected in the current U. S. undergraduate Textiles and Clothing curricula
at the course title level.
Some schools offer upper division seminar courses such as “Special Topics” or
“Workshops”. These courses do not have any specific topics preset before the course
is taught. The course might be the possible courses in which the content of sustainable
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issues may be included. However, since there is no specific information available in
the course description, it was impossible to check whether these courses dealt with
sustainability issues or not.

How can we develop and implement a Textiles and Clothing curriculum that
discusses sustainability issues in apparel design and merchandising in a
global setting?
Currently, sustainable design is a budding trend in the fashion industry. Several
companies in the industry incorporate the sustainability theme into their production
and marketing. Nike, one of the previous trouble makers for their practices such as
involvement with sweatshops, toxic content of their shoes, manufacturing short-life
disposable shoes, has become the leading advocate of sustainability.
How they approached and applied the concept of sustainability gives us insights
regarding how we can apply the concept in the current Textiles and Clothing
curriculum. Nike’s new line, “Considered” is a great example. Their goal is to
incorporate recycled rubber, use only total component disassemble materials, reduce
manufacturing wastage, and abstain from using adhesives of any kind to reduce the
toxic effect on the environment and workers in their factories. They also try to source
materials for production within 200 miles of factories in order to reduce fuel
consumption. 7
Sustainable issues should be incorporated in each specialization, Apparel Design
and Fashion Merchandising uniquely since the two are very different in its nature.
Sustainability theme should be weaved into various aspects of 1) product design, 2)
product development and production, 3) product merchandising, and 4) consumer’s
product use and disposal. Sustainable design begins with the inspiration and design
creation when there is a marriage between the concept of green design and ecofriendly material (e.g., recycle material, organic cotton with non-hazard/ toxic free
production process). It is connected to green production process, hand in hand with
energy efficiency as well as environment friendly manufacturing process (e.g.,
manufacturing by solar energy). Related to the increase of global production practices,
sustainability issues are also pertained to the issues of fair trade and work condition
(e.g., sweatshops and child-labour). The consumption of apparel products may also
7
Nike considered: Hope for the Sinners? , retrieved 7 March 07,
<www.treehugger.com/files/2005/03/nike_considered.php>.
6
involve how consumers care for (1 hour tumble dry versus 10 minutes natural dry)
and discard apparel products (recycling versus permanent disposal).
Students will need to be sensitive to sustainability issues in various steps of
apparel product lifecycle, from conception to disposal, and this cannot be achieved by
simply talking about it during class once or twice. Only after students actually engage
in sustainable practices, the concept or philosophy of sustainability will be
internalized and become a part of their lifestyle. Professors or instructors in
universities and colleges will need to be creative in developing various approaches to
be incorporated in the Textiles and Clothing curriculum.

What are the expected outcomes of the implementation for the future?
Students are the future professionals of the industry. In several years, they will be
in the position to direct the design, production and merchandising process in the
Clothing and Textiles industries. Therefore, equipping these future professionals with
the increasing awareness of and sensitivity to sustainability is imperative. As
mentioned above, sustainability is a philosophy or a way of life. Helping the students
develop a sustainable way of life probably is more important than trying to conserve
the environment. It will ultimately provide a better environment to the future
generations and further enhance the well-being of individuals, families and
communities who will continue to have clothing needs.
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Example of new curricular development—Sustainable Apparel Design
Course
As an example, we propose an upper division Apparel Design Studio course reflecting
sustainability.
System
Semester (15 week course)
Course Name
Eco-Friendly Apparel Design
Course
Required course for junior or senior students in the apparel design major
Characteristics
upper division apparel design studio course
Course Format
Lecture and studio course
Total Credit
3 Credits
Prerequisite
Basic Sewing Course
Fashion Illustration I
Flat Pattern Design I
Fashion Trend Analysis.
Course Objectives
1. Understand the history and concept of sustainability
2. Forecast up-coming fashion trend
3. Apply the concept of eco design in apparel design
4. Develop sustainable design lines
Learning activities
Lecture
1. History of sustainability ( 1week)
2. Different aspect of sustainability (1 week)
3. Design aspect of sustainability ( 1 week)
4. Application of sustainability ( 1 week)
Student Studio
1. Group work- research and theme selection( 1 weeks)
2. Group work- design selection ( 1week)
3. Product development (6 week)
4. Fashion show production ( 3 week)
Assignments
1. Individual project: Green design concept paper: Include the history
of green design and the current trends in the industry.
2. Group project: Current fashion trend analysis and product
development plan presentation
3. Group and individual project: Based on the group project in #2 (trend
analysis and product development plan), produce a collection of
green products:
- Using eco-friendly material and/or reusable or recycled
fabric/clothing, reconstruct garments that are trendy in styles
- Try to minimize waste as much as possible
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- Try to implement an eco-friendly process wherever possible
Assessment
Participation
20%
T Test
20%
I Individual green design concept paper
10%
G Group work
20%
Design product development
20%
Show case production
10%
9
References
Allwood, J. M., Laursen, S. E., Rodriguez, C. M., & Bocken, N. M. P. Well dressed?
The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom,
University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing, Cambridge, 2006.
Burns, L. D. & Bryant, N. O. The business of fashion- Designing, manufacturing, and
marketing, Fairchild Publication, New York, 1997.
Dickerson, K. Textiles and Apparel in the global economy, 3rd edn, Prentice Hall,
New Jersey, 1999.
International Textiles and Apparel Association. ITAA Membership Directory,
International Textiles and Apparel Association, Colorado, 2006.
Nike considered: Hope for the Sinners? , retrieved 7 March 07,
<www.treehugger.com/files/2005/03/nike_considered.php>.
Sustainable dictionary, sustainable, retrieved 1 October, 2007,
< www.sustainabletable.org/ intro/dictionary>.
Wikipedia, Sustainable Design, retrieved 1 October, 2007.
<www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sustainable_design>.
10