{"id":47622,"date":"2023-03-24T12:02:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T16:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=47622"},"modified":"2023-07-12T08:46:10","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T12:46:10","slug":"jyotsna-gopinath-21-connects-chemistry-with-her-passions-for-sustainability-and-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/jyotsna-gopinath-21-connects-chemistry-with-her-passions-for-sustainability-and-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"Jyotsna Gopinath ’21 Connects Chemistry with her Passions for Sustainability and Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Sarah Stone <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you think about chemistry, fashion may not necessarily be the next word that comes to mind. Wilson College of Textiles<\/a> alumna Jyotsna Gopinath (\u201921 M.S. Textile Chemistry<\/a>), on the other hand, makes that connection every day through her job at Fashion for Good<\/a>\u2019s headquarters in Amsterdam. Fashion for Good is the global platform for innovation, uniting the entire fashion ecosystem, from brands, manufacturers and suppliers, to consumers, to collaborate and drive the change towards a circular industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Innovation Analyst for Fashion for Good\u2019s Innovation Platform<\/a>, Gopinath manages all innovators focused on the chemical or mechanical recycling of textiles and clothing at the end of their use. She also provides support for any end-of-use-related projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does that look like day-to-day? A little bit of everything, working in collaboration with stakeholders from all areas of the fashion supply chain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery day is different, but my days often involve collaborative meetings with other Fashion for Good analysts, external calls with Innovation Programme alumni, Fashion for Good brand partners, industry experts, and\/or new innovators. Fashion for Good’s office is located in the heart of Amsterdam, so a typical day for me also includes a walk through the canals.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting passions for sustainability, science and fashion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gopinath has had a passion for both STEM and style for a long time. She started thinking about how to combine those during her undergraduate education at Santa Clara University. In addition to pursuing bachelor\u2019s degrees in bioengineering and chemistry, she spent much of her free time designing clothes and modeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI got a fellowship to go to Cochabamba, Bolivia to work for a fair trade manufacturer called AHA Bolivia<\/a>, and I started realizing that there’s a need for engineers within the fashion industry to make more sustainable systems and uplift the people within the supply chain that are often forgotten,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s when I decided to apply to graduate school in textiles. I wanted to focus on how to create technology that will alleviate some of the pollution that comes from textile manufacturing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to focus on how to create technology that will alleviate some of the pollution that comes from textile manufacturing.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Once that decision was made, she says the reputation of the Wilson College of Textiles made it the obvious choice to pursue her education. After working in research and development for Elevate Textiles following graduation, she heard about Fashion for Good and realized the opportunity she had to make an impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a great deal of innovative science being done across the globe to address the challenge of waste in the fashion industry and tap into the opportunities it presents,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd to be able to learn about their technologies and participate in their scaling journey is quite exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hands-on learning and valuable mentorship<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you ask Gopinath what helped prepare her for this impressive career success, she will immediately tell you: working with Pamela McCauley. McCauley, who serves as the associate dean for academic programs, diversity, equity and inclusion at the Wilson College of Textiles, also has an impressive track record in engineering research, including stints at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Science Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCauley joined the Wilson College about a year after Gopinath enrolled. This provided Gopinath with a unique and valuable opportunity to help the associate dean set up her new Women’s Ergonomics in Footwear and Textiles (WEFT) research lab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n