GIF – Green Innovation in the Fashion industry management
GIF-Project

The fashion industry is one of the largest and most complex industries in the world, encompassing a multitude of players including designers, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and consumers. However, in recent years, the industry has faced several challenges that affect its growth and sustainability. Some of the most critical challenges facing the fashion industry are the talent deficit, disregard for sustainability practices, unnecessary textile waste, changing desires (AR, fashion NFTs, etc.), supply chain bottlenecks, rising returns, and increasing mistrust.

The challenges of the fashion industry can only be solved with the help of trained staff who are equipped with adequate competencies. This is where the GIF Short Learning Programme takes effect. It is aimed at offering managers and experts in the field of fashion/textile industries, designing and managing industrial processes, the trainer community, and, more broadly, researchers and academics, a clear framework for understanding and identifying training needs and for shaping training programmes and strategies for continuous professional development.

The GIF short learning programme consists of three (3) Modules composed of ten (10) Units. The core element of each unit consists of video lectures linked with activities for learning by doing, potentially including self-graded finger exercises, assignments, simulations, and case studies.

Module I: New regulations have been introduced to the fashion and textiles industry to ensure that products marketed as sustainable are genuinely environmentally friendly. This module aims to provide learners with an understanding of these regulations and the measures that companies can take to ensure that their products are truly sustainable.

Module II: This module aims to familiarise students with the environmental, societal, and economic impacts of textile production. It explores mitigation strategies through sustainable sourcing, eco-friendly textiles, and the integration of circular business models. The module also delves into innovations in sustainable textiles, showcasing their role in developing more environmentally friendly and innovative products, thereby advancing the transition towards a circular economy.

Module III: The aim of this module is to inform the learner about the critical role that the design stage plays in the fashion and textile supply chain by influencing the environmental and social impact of products. By adopting sustainable and circular design practices, designers can contribute to a more sustainable and circular fashion industry.

Course structure:

Module 1 – New Regulations in the fashion and textile industry
Unit 1.1 - EU strategic and legal framework for the textile and fashion sector
Unit 1.2 - Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Reuse and Recycling of textile waste
Unit 1.3 - Green Claims for truly sustainable textiles
Module 2 - Promote the transition to a circular economy
Unit 2.2 - Sustainable Textile expertise
Unit 2.3 - Understanding the impact of fashion and textiles supply chain
Unit 2.4 - Different Circular Business Models
Unit 2.5 - Innovative technologies in the textile and garment manufacturing phase
Module 3 – Circular Design
Unit 3.1 – Circular Design
Unit 3.2 - Digital innovations in fashion design

Prerequisites:

  • A basic understanding of challenges faced by the fashion industry
  • Familiarity or willingness to work in the fashion/textile sector
  • Interest in promoting sustainability through your actions and work
  • Willingness to engage in self-reflection and examine personal biases
  • Openness to learning about new international regulations and transition processes towards a circular economy
  • Basic computer literacy and internet access for online course materials and discussions

Objectives:

  • Understand and apply the new EU regulations of the Circular Economy Action Plan for textiles perspectives on circular transition.
  • Gain tools to address current challenges in the fashion and textile sector
  • Understand the concept of circular economy
  • Promote competencies for the transition to circular business models
  • Understand and apply circular design methods to a product
  • Understand the impact of linear fashion production on the environment
  • Apply circular/sustainable alternatives in a fashion/textile business at every stage of production