20th February 2009
Fashion students in factory simulation
Students at Northumbria University were given a taste of what it might be like to be a worker making clothes for the high-street. Fashion design and marketing students had to clock on at 8am for an eight-hour shift and produce T-shirts to production targets to gain an insight into clothing manufacturing.
Professor Doug Miller, the new Chair of Ethical Fashion at Northumbria University said, "Most of our graduates will either set up their own businesses or work in a fashion or retail company, so it is important to equip them with knowledge of the ethical issues that they will have to grapple with. There is no such thing as a cheap garment, because somebody is paying for it somewhere and it is likely to be the workers. If the students leave Northumbria University with an understanding of how the prices they negotiate will impact on suppliers and workers’ wages in developing countries, they are more likely to become an ethical buyer or business owner.”
The factory simulation is part of a three-day Been There! Done It! Got the T-Shirt! session, where the students heard from fashion technicians about their experiences working in factories, learnt about the technical processes of production and spoke to Bangladeshi women who have worked in sweatshop environments.
Read more about the experience on the Northumbria website.
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