{"id":28287,"date":"2022-01-26T17:27:01","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T22:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=18495"},"modified":"2022-01-26T17:27:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T22:27:01","slug":"fashion-and-textile-management-student-explores-industry-sustainability-through-kontoor-internship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2022\/01\/fashion-and-textile-management-student-explores-industry-sustainability-through-kontoor-internship\/","title":{"rendered":"Fashion and Textile Management Student Explores Industry Sustainability through Kontoor Internship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Mary Giuffrida<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For fashion and textile management (FTM)<\/a> student Eva King, working towards sustainability in the textile industry became a priority early on in her career at the Wilson College of Textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The senior credits her initial interest in sustainability to Professor Karen Leonas<\/a>, whose class she took her freshman year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI took FTM 217 with Dr. Leonas and she was a really big push for me towards sustainability,\u201d King says. \u201cAnd then when I was trying to pick a minor I chose to do environmental science.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n King\u2019s drive towards sustainability led her to pursuing a summer internship with Kontoor Brands<\/a>, a global lifestyle apparel company which houses brands such as Wrangler and Lee, focused on sustainability in the textiles industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had never really seen an internship for a textiles company that was solely sustainability focused,\u201d she says. \u201cWrangler and Lee are really big denim brands, and denim is a huge water-wasting product<\/a>. I thought it would be a cool experience to get to work on a sustainability team at a company like that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n King conducted research for Kontoor, investigating ways the company could be more sustainable and comparing them to competitors. Her favorite project involved garment ticketing, or working with the tags placed on clothing for sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI looked at how having a sustainable tag would have an effect on people actually purchasing sustainable products,\u201d King says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with individual assignments, Kontoor paired her with other interns to complete larger projects in a collaborative setting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a great learning experience because we got to present our work to the executives,\u201d King explains. \u201cSince we were working remotely, learning how to communicate with people was something that I really learned how to do.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The skills and knowledge put to use at Kontoor came in large part from her time at the Wilson College. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would say a lot of the more science-based textile classes that I would be in, I didn\u2019t know why I was in those classes at the time, but they actually came up a lot in my internship,\u201d she says. \u201cA lot of my courses really prepared me for the work I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working at Kontoor also helped her learn about how large companies handle sustainability. She explains how her understanding of sustainability within the industry has expanded through her internship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how much went into it,\u201d King says. \u201cI just didn\u2019t know all the different reports and laws about how you can market sustainable products, so I definitely learned a lot.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n After a summer in the program, King is confident in working with a large corporation, from communicating with co-workers, to conducting research, completing Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)<\/a> reports and presenting her work. Her experience at Kontoor has encouraged King to continue down the path of sustainability with future jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really want to work for a company that truly values sustainability,\u201d she says. \u201cI think doing more marketing so I can promote it, because that\u2019s really my strong suit.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n By Mary Giuffrida<\/p>\n\n\n\n For fashion and textile management (FTM)<\/a> student Eva King, working towards sustainability in the textile industry became a priority early on in her career at the Wilson College of Textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The senior credits her initial interest in sustainability to Professor Karen Leonas<\/a>, whose class she took her freshman year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI took FTM 217 with Dr. Leonas and she was a really big push for me towards sustainability,\u201d King says. \u201cAnd then when I was trying to pick a minor I chose to do environmental science.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n King\u2019s drive towards sustainability led her to pursuing a summer internship with Kontoor Brands<\/a>, a global lifestyle apparel company which houses brands such as Wrangler and Lee, focused on sustainability in the textiles industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n