{"id":17522,"date":"2021-10-18T13:43:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T17:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=17522"},"modified":"2021-10-18T13:43:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T17:43:45","slug":"students-explore-sustainability-in-textiles-through-research-new-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2021\/10\/students-explore-sustainability-in-textiles-through-research-new-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Explore Sustainability in Textiles Through Research, New Course"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Sarah Stone<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilson College of Textiles students taking the course \u201cSustainability in Fashion, Textiles and Retail\u201d this semester have their classmates to thank for the opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The undergraduate course, which Professor Karen Leonas<\/a> introduced this fall, was inspired by the student body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStudents were very vocal about how they felt that they needed more sustainability in their program,\u201d Dr. Leonas says. \u201cOther faculty members and I could add a lot of courses because we think things are important, but we heard a real outcry from our students.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only did Leonas listen to this outcry, she asked to hear more. That\u2019s why she hired two research assistants to provide insight as she planned the course. Both Anna Labar and Alex Tointon had taken Leonas\u2019 FTM 217 course their first year at NC State and left with an increased interest in sustainability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI realized that this is a pretty big issue, and I’m going to be working in this industry, so I want to know more about it and help,\u201d junior fashion and textile management<\/a> student Anna Labar says. \u201cAfter that class, I shopped more consciously.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Labar and Tointon\u2019s research question boiled down to this — what do students want to learn about sustainability and how do they want to learn it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can tell you what I think should be in this class, but I really need to get their input so that it hits home,\u201d Leonas remembers thinking. \u201cWhat are the kinds of projects that they’re going to learn the most from? How do we really design this in a way that they’re going to learn from it and understand it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Put simply, the course provides a foundational understanding of what sustainability means and how it\u2019s examined, including: <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a part of their research, Labar and Tointon also developed a virtual, interactive learning tool called the \u201cTextile Sustainability Experience.\u201d Users can pick from five garments to learn everything from its fiber content, to its dyeing process, product afterlife and how the people making it are treated. Visitors can also watch video messages from industry professionals at companies like Patagonia about the role of sustainability within their brands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Through this research, both students say they\u2019ve become aware that sustainability is anything but \u201cone size fits all.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve just really come to understand how much goes into what makes something sustainable or not, and it’s not necessarily black and white, sustainable or not,\u201d junior fashion and textile management student Alex Tointon says. \u201cYou can say, \u2018Yes, it was made with organic cotton.\u2019 But then you have to take into account how much water is used to make organic cotton possible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She and Labar both say sustainability will plan an integral role in what jobs they apply for. It\u2019s this understanding of, and passion for, sustainability that Leonas believes is more critical than ever before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s vital that we not only make students aware of things in the industry that cannot just go on as they’ve gone on, but also, \u2018How do we look at changing this? How do we go about moving to a circular economy,\u2019\u201d Leonas says. \u201cMy hope is that these students will go out and be change agents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you know that sustainability is one of our three priorities here at the Wilson College of Textiles? Learn more about our mission, vision, priorities and values<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n By Sarah Stone<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wilson College of Textiles students taking the course \u201cSustainability in Fashion, Textiles and Retail\u201d this semester have their classmates to thank for the opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The undergraduate course, which Professor Karen Leonas<\/a> introduced this fall, was inspired by the student body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStudents were very vocal about how they felt that they needed more sustainability in their program,\u201d Dr. Leonas says. \u201cOther faculty members and I could add a lot of courses because we think things are important, but we heard a real outcry from our students.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only did Leonas listen to this outcry, she asked to hear more. That\u2019s why she hired two research assistants to provide insight as she planned the course. Both Anna Labar and Alex Tointon had taken Leonas\u2019 FTM 217 course their first year at NC State and left with an increased interest in sustainability. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSustainability in All of Our Work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n