Point of Departure

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Abstract

Many well-intentioned academics, students, industry professionals, and design pundits have placed a great deal of attention and effort towards creating a set of sustainable practices for the fashion industry. The industry is in a state of crisis with wide spread environmental pollution and degradation, worker abuse, and a declining financial return. Due to this wide-spread set of issues affecting the industry, it is safe to say that finding a solution towards the sustainability (in the truest sense of the word) of this global industry is a top priority. Those sustainable practices or possible solutions are often based on theory or informed by testable scenarios in the form of surveys. This article reviews a project that was undertaken in the summer of 2015 with three academics that attempted to utilize several theoretical sustainable practices in tangible product or as a “testable prototype.” The goal was to utilize as many of the current procedures that we could accommodate; from organic fabric, natural or sustainably treated dye processes, local labor, hand crafted details, and zero waste. While the collection did not address the full extent of what we hoped to achieve, the process provided several essential points that can be learned from and incorporated in future undertakings. Here we discuss our process, observations of roadblocks and opportunities, as well as suggested possible alternatives for future endeavors.