Circular Fashion: Design, Science and Value in a Sustainable Clothing Industry

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The fashion industry has a large influence on the global economy and is more and more known for its social and environmental impact. Everywhere, new sustainable initiatives are arising from recycling, upcycling to creating clothes from compostable materials. Circularity tough, is a complex phenomenon. What will the future bring us? Are we indeed going to decompose our clothes in our own garden?

The MOOC Circular Fashion: Design, Science and Value in a Sustainable Clothing Industry brings you a comprehensive introduction in circular fashion brought to you by roughly thirty different experts from both academia and practice. You will learn about the versatile task of transitioning towards circular fashion, from the unique collaboration between Wageningen University & Research, ArtEZ University of the Arts and many other experts.

After the course you will know the core concepts and tools to help better understand circular economy in the fashion industry. Some of the topics that are covered focus on understanding the challenge of recycling, design for circularity, alternative textiles through biobased innovation and circular business modelling to help bring innovations to the market.

For whom?

This course will provide designers, retailers, scientists, engineers and all working at the industry or with an interest in fashion with holistic insights in the complex challenges of circular fashion, while engaging you to start the transition to circularity within your personal and/or professional practices. We will bring together art, design and science to move beyond an ego-centric approach of fashion and start from an ecosystems perspective.

Learn the theory, understand the practice and start your own circular fashion journey. Join the movement towards a circular fashion industry!

What you will learn

1. The difference between sustainability & circularity

• Constructing identity through consumption
• The difference between eco to ego in fashion
• Design for circularity
• Reflect on design thinking

2. Ecosystem circularity

• Individual agency and organic collectives in fashion
• Critique small-scale solutions
• Ecosystems in nature
• Challenge of governing the transition towards circularity from outsourcing countries

3. Closing the loop in fashion

• The complexity of textiles
• Challenges and opportunities of textile recycling
• Understand the loop of organic- and synthetic textiles
• Challenge of textile blends
• Design for recycling and disassembly

4. Biobased innovation and new materialism

• Learn about future raw materials
• New production processes
• Production capacity, automation and upscaling
• Forecasting biomaterials in fashion
• Debating fast fashion and online marketing

5. Business as crafting value

• Circular business modelling
• Circular business in second hand clothing market
• Learn about a new economic paradigm
• Understand investment and acceleration
• Insight into blockchain
• How blockchain can be used for transparency in the fashion value chain
• Understand fashion from a retail perspective
• E-commerce and circular retail models

Skills you learn

• Sustainability Initiatives
• Ecosystem Science
• Fashion Design
• Innovation
• Textiles
• Business Modeling
• Business Process Modeling

Syllabus

Module 1: Translation and interpretations

Introduction to terms and concepts such as sustainability and circularity, understanding the role of eco in fashion. First introduction to design for circularity.

Module 2: Ecosystem circularity

Understanding the role of ecosystems in fashion. How to disrupt current thinking and mindset in the fashion industry and govern this transition.

Module 3: Closing the loop

Introduction to the complexity of materials and recycling of textiles. Understand the importance of design for disassembly and recycling.

**Module 4: Biobased innovation & new materialism **

Learn about new biobased materials for textiles, understand the change in production processes and reflect on the future influence of biobased materials in fashion.

Module 5: Business as crafting value

Introduction to economic paradigms and new forms of value creation for circularity in the fashion industry. Understand investment and acceleration and circular retail models.

Auto Summary

Discover the essentials of circular fashion with this foundational course on edX. Focused on sustainability in the clothing industry, it explores new textile materials, circular design, and innovative business models. Ideal for those in Arts & Humanities, the 63-hour course is taught by experts and offers flexible subscription options, including Professional and Starter plans. Perfect for learners eager to understand and implement circularity in fashion.