The programme is intended to reach a broad audience but specifically to inform, inspire, and activate future fashion professionals by sharing specialised knowledge about creative innovations in the circular fashion industry. The programme focuses on fashion-focused education because the majority of the workforce in the fashion sector (In the Netherlands) has an MBO education, while the circular economy receives insufficient attention there. We have noticed that teachers often lack expertise in this area, which is why we have engaged ROC Amsterdam, Zadkine Rotterdam and the Summa College in Eindhoven as partners in this project, to develop a programme that suits their needs.

This programme is structured as a six-week course, with one lesson per week lasting 45 minutes to 1 hour. Over the course of six weeks, students will be introduced to circular fashion production, learn about themes such as traceability and end-of-use, and become familiar with innovative solutions to social and environmental issues in the clothing industry.

For example, students will analyse their own clothing to gain a better understanding of the journey of a garment before it reaches the store, and they will consider what small, positive actions that they can implement in their daily routines. Finally, students will learn about innovators who positively influence the fashion sector and they will be challenged to apply their newly acquired knowledge by designing a future-forward garment themselves. Themes covered during the lessons and assignments include traceability, production processes, working conditions, sustainable design thinking, cradle-to-cradle, and fashion consumption.

Contents of the programme:

• Teacher’s handbook: this includes a ‘how-to’ overview with frequently asked questions and suggestions to personalise the programme, and six lesson plans, one for each lesson of the programme.
• A set of slides as visual aids, videos, images, and visual summaries of the programme content.
• A workbook with assignments for the students, including a glossary and a list of research sources and tools to support students in their learning process.
• An extensive glossary and a list of sources for further learning.

Acknowledgements:

The Circular Fashion Programme was made possible thanks to the support of the VSB Fonds and the Cultuurfonds.

Download the toolkit here.