Integrating Sustainable Development Goals into Fashion Education: Bridging Sustainability and Awareness among Future Designers

Abstract

Although the fashion industry is a challenge in boosting the economy of the world, it is one of the most resource consuming and polluting industries. There is an urgency to do something about its environmental and social imprint, especially considering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. As the pillar of producing future designers, fashion education is the key to the development of sustainable practices and attitudes. The article discusses the idea of SDGs implementation in fashion schools as a method of developing sustainability consciousness and responsible design thinking in students. The review of the existing literature and the analysis of the curriculum and the views of stakeholders allow determining that the following opportunities and barriers exist in the processes of implementing sustainability in fashion pedagogy. The results indicate that integrating design education into SDGs can improve student awareness of ethical and ecological issues as well as equip them to become change agents of the fashion industry. The study is a proposal of a framework of curriculum development, which bridges sustainability and innovative creativity, such that future designers can be capable to make a significant contribution to the global sustainability agenda.