Future fashionistas experience “factory” life
Fashion students sweated it out in a simulated factory to gain an insight into clothing manufacturing in poorer countries. |
The 22 student volunteers, who are all in the first year of Fashion Marketing and Fashion Design degrees, worked an eight-hour shift in the School’s sewing room to manufacture the T-shirts.
Students clocked in and out and were set a production target for their shift. They had to adhere to the same set of factory rules that the School’s design technicians, many of whom are former clothing workers, had to abide by and had an opportunity to compare those used in an actual Cambodian clothing factory.
The voluntary factory simulation follows on from a Learning Skills module taken by all first year Fashion Design, Marketing and Communication students, which saw groups design, package and plan the launch of an ethical T-shirt.
Professor Miller hopes that the experience will influence the future behaviour of Northumbria graduates – many of whom go on to be fashion buyers for major clothing retailers.
He said: “Most of our graduates will either set up their own business or gain employment in an existing fashion or retail company so it is important to equip them with knowledge of the ethical issues that they will have to grapple with and if they leave Northumbria with an understanding of how the prices they negotiate will impact on suppliers and workers wages in developing countries, they are more likely to become an ethical buyer or business owner.”
Student Sarah Grant said: “It was a very repetitive experience and did give me an insight into what factory work is like. This summer I plan to work in a clothing factory so this has been good practice.”
Fellow student Koroku Matsuura added: “It is a long day and you are doing the same thing over and over. But the conditions we are working under are good, unlike people working in some real factories or sweat shops where there is more pressure to meet targets.”
The factory simulation was part of a three-day Been There! Done It! Got the T-Shirt! session, where the students heard from Fashion technicians about their experiences working in factories and learned about the technical processes of production.
Date posted: March 27, 2009
