Industry Standards For Ethical and Sustainable Fashion / Textiles 2020

Introduction

Never has the fashion and textiles industry been under such close government and public scrutiny. Consumers are calling for accountability and transparency around issues such as workers’ rights, environmental sustainability and modern-day slavery. As a small or medium size business it is easy to become overwhelmed and challenged by the current discourse around ethics and sustainability that we see in the media every day.

Global business says that consumers faced with the challenge of paying more for ethical and sustainable products will still be swayed by the cheapest price. Yet, customers are demanding more information from the producer or service provider and it is difficult to know from a business perspective what should be shared, by whom and how.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the challenge and be unsure where to begin. This introduction to industry standards is for any business that services the fashion and textile industry supply chain from designers to logistics service providers in Scotland.

Objective

This one-day course is an introduction to ethical and sustainable fashion and textile industry standards in 2020.

It is aimed at helping businesses:

1. Learn about industry standards, how they are used, monitored and the pros and cons of committing yourself to a standard.
2. Understand what you can do to operate in the current marketplace by developing tools for transparency in your supply chain and business practices.
3. Understanding the ethical and environmental performances of your suppliers. What to look out for and what questions to ask.

Target Audience

Fashion and Textile Startups/SMEs and established small businesses in Scotland that want to develop an understanding of how to develop their ethical and sustainable business credibility.

Venue: TBC (central Edinburgh)

Cost: £250.00

(£195.00 with Student I.D.)

Duration: one day

Capacity: 25

Time: 09:30 – 4:30

Content of the day

The day will be delivered in three interactive learning sections.

UK legislation and workers’ rights

This part of the session introduces current UK policy and legislation around workers’ rights, minimum wage and call off contracts.

The session will present case studies from businesses in the UK and globally that provide various levels of consumer transparency and weave it in as part of their brand story.

This session will introduce the various schemes that employers can commit to and what is involved.

Modern Day Slavery in the UK and the Global Supply Chain

This session follows on from the first and takes a deeper look into some of the issues that the media has been highlighting in the UK and globally.

This is an interactive session and participants will engage in group exercises.

(After Lunch)

Environmental Sustainability

This session will unpack what environmental sustainability means for the fashion and textiles industry and how it is measured.

1. What is environmental sustainability?
2. What to look for in your supply chain
3. Communication not greenwashing – how to talk about environmental sustainability in your brand
4. Standards and accreditation – Oeko-Tex, GOTS, BSI, Sustainable Fibre Alliance

Closing Session

During this final session participants will have the opportunity to do their own research based on one of the three topics covered in the session.

A story board sheet will be provided, and they will be asked to select one of the three topics and story board their own business story.

Example: Environmental sustainability

1. How much do you know about your own supply chain?
2. Map out your daily business operation. Looking at each part of the business model and supply chain, how much information do you have from your suppliers and service providers and how much do you need?
3. What environmental standards do you look for?