Topics

Trying to narrow down my focus for the first module has been tricky. When I started this Master’s I had an inkling of an idea of what I wanted my areas of focus to be based on so I created a mind map to really hone in on what interests me.

As an overarching theme, I’d say I am passionate about the planet, caring for nature and utilising the natural resources we have available to us, in a conscious and purposeful manner. To break this down further, I want to research sustainable fabrics and how we can use seaweed as a material. This was a big drive for me to return to education.

As I expressed in my personal statement when I applied for this Masters, “I want to explore the relationship between nature, texture, patterns and organic material, and how they compliment each other as well as how they can be pushed and manipulated to create new materials.”

“Slow fashion” as we have termed it in the West, is also something I care about. The fashion industry to be blunt, is broken. No part of the process works. There is so much environmental damage, violations of human rights and discrimination, an atrocious carbon footprint, and that is before garments are brought by consumers. Then there is sustainable greenwashing, over consumption, waste, pollution and the economical impact on third world countries preventing them from being able to establish their own thriving industries. It seems, the more I research, the more horrifying it gets. And without shifting consumer ignorance / mindset and reducing the demand, nothing will change. And it needs to be a global, industry wide, change for it to have any impact.

But, as it was pointed out to me recently. I am only one person, and there is only so much one person can do. So it is important for me to make my own moral compass and rules around my own consumption as a starting point as well as reaching out to the wider community, as I know I am not alone in feeling this frustration.