Join a fashion revolution to tackle plastic pollution
The University of Portsmouth is supporting a global fashion revolution to reduce the environmental and human costs of making our clothes.
Fashion Revolution Week (19-25 April) is an annual event, now in its eighth year, that commemorates the Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013, which killed 1,134 people in Dhaka District, Bangladesh.
This year, the University will host a series of internal and external events focussed on sustainability, human rights and responsible design in the fashion and textiles industry.
Our shopping habits, choices and the clothes we wear have an impact on the environment and human rights. This recent blog explains fashion’s plastic footprint and why the University is working across different disciplines to develop a more sustainable future for fashion and textiles as part of its Revolution Plastics initiative.
Students and staff are welcome to take part in a series of free online events will bring together experts from around the world:
Exploring seeded ‘living’ textiles
Tue 20 April 2021 | 10.30am – 11.30am
Open to: University of Portsmouth students and staff
Designers are beginning to create hybrid living textiles with applications in interior architecture, fashion and farming. This session will introduce this new materiality as a design option and introduce techniques for including seeded textiles into your own work.
Fashioning a connection: An introduction to sustainable fashion
Wed 21 April 2021 | 1.30pm–3.00pm
Open to: University of Portsmouth students and staff
Have you ever wondered where your clothes come from? Do you love fashion but fast-fashion leaves a bad taste in your mouth? And would you like to know how to become a more sustainable fashion consumer? In this event, PhD candidate and sustainable fashion teacher Helen O’Sullivan will explore our relationships to the items we wear and how these connect us with workers around the globe. We’ll discuss garment workers’ rights and you’ll have an opportunity to learn some simple but affordable steps you can take to become a fashion revolutionary!
Digital futures for sustainable fashion
Wed 21 April 2021 | 10.30am -11.30am
Open to: University of Portsmouth students and staff
Discuss the digital and virtual future of designing and marketing fashion sustainably in this free seminar during Fashion Revolution Week. This event is a collaboration between students and staff of BA (Hons) Fashion and Textile Design at the University of Portsmouth and BA (Hons) Fashion Promotion and BA (Hons) Trend Forecasting at Solent University.
Global Fashion and COVID-19: From Resilience to Resistance
Thu 22 April | 12.00pm-2.30pm
Open to all
The pandemic has exacerbated inequalities, leaving vulnerable communities and workers around the world more susceptible to exploitation and violation of their rights. With its rules for social isolation, Covid-19 has also made it challenging for workers to use traditional methods of fighting against oppression. Have workers and communities translated resilience into resistance and what effect will this have on throwaway fashion?
Charity Shopping: Second Hand Citizens
Thu 22 April | 6.00pm-7.30pm
Open to all
Without being able to ‘offload’ our unwanted clothing at charity shops during the COVID-19 pandemic, what are the consequences on the fashion and textiles value chain? Join this panel discussion about the role of charity shops and thrift stores in fashion consumption behaviours.
