Letter of Concern

1-3 hours

Individual / Group / Discussion

Conceptualise

Description

In addition to technical and physical aspects such as origin of the raw material, material compositions, design intentions and sizing, it is important to consider and acknowledge all the human beings that have been involved in the realisation of a garment.

In this activity, students are asked to investigate and reflect on the social and ethical conditions of the clothes they are wearing through understanding and discussion of transparency and traceability in the fashion supply chain. The scope of their investigation could include worker conditions and rights, legislation and corporate responsibility.

hat kinds of social concerns might we have when acquiring new clothes?

Links to Pillar(s)

Cultural - Economic - Environmental - Social

Delivery

STEP 1: INDIVIDUAL

Ask students to identify the brand and the last piece of clothing they bought from them. They should then answer the following questions:

What did you buy, which material is it made from and where is it made?
If you had to write a letter to the brand behind your product, what would you ask? What would you require? What would you wish for?
Likewise, if you had to write a letter to the person making your item, what would you write?

STEP 2: GROUPS (2-3 students)

Ask students to read out their letters of concern to each other and discuss the (lack of) transparency in the fashion supply chain. Questions could focus on:

What kinds of information and knowledge have students sourced or are missing?
What are challenges with more transparency in the fashion supply chain?
How can the designer help to enhance transparency?

STEP 3: CLASS

Collection of letters

Ask students to share their letters of concern, for example by uploading to a shared platform or mailing the tutor. The letters of concern can be collated into a collective testimony and shared with students.