Blog 2
During the better lives lectures we focused on the three main themes running through the two weeks. These themes were social responsibility, sustainability and diversity. Learning about these different values has really made me reconsider and reflect on all angles of the fashion industry.
As creative individuals it is crucial for the future that we educate ourselves on these themes. We are very lucky that our university has created this unit so we can focus from an early start to our education and begin to develop our ideas on these subjects to better enhance the fashion industry in the future. Over the last few weeks I have had the privilege to work with different students of various courses and it has been a huge insight to witness different styles of creativity amongst my group.
I feel there is a lack in the issue of diversity and it needs to be fully recognised. This is a definition of diversity ‘a range of different things’, I believe that it is completely necessary for all sorts of different people from a range of different backgrounds and cultures to come together and learn from each other. Everyone has a different story to tell and in the fashion industry this can blossom into beautiful work, that is not only socially responsible but educational. Including this in future work will then create a broader audience, so the message that is being portrayed is then spread all over the media.
Another issue coming to light is sustainability. I refuse to ignore this up and coming matter, I feel it’s essential for this to be relevant in all of the various stages of production and development of the fashion industry. The definition of sustainability is ‘an avoidance of the depletion of the natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance’. From here on out I will aim to hunt for eco-friendly brands that are watchful about how their products are sourced, produced and advertised. So many companies make claims to be slightly ‘greener’ than another but then the packaging is full of plastic and other materials that can not be recycled. I will try my best to explore eco-friendly brands that really pride themselves on being sustainable from all of these angles.
Social responsibility is the final theme. I believe that many companies are already aware of this and use this to promote positive angles of their brand. However it is so easy to pick and choose what they want magnified, which can then shadow other elements that might need to be considered. In my opinion, to be socially responsible, you need to be 100% honest about all stages of the development of all products within the fashion industry. Social responsibility is a factor that works parallel to both diversity and sustainability, and neither of these will work if you’re not socially responsible.
To finish, when I approach any future work I will be conscious to think of these 3 constructive themes, not only to elevate my work but also to be socially responsible and to better all lives.