The Fashion Department at the University of Westminster has transformed a previously designated space on the Harrow Campus into a dedicated sustainable fashion enclave known as the “Conscious Fashion Space.”
Made possible through backing from the University’s Green Fund, this innovative hub places sustainability, collaboration, community engagement, entrepreneurship, educational initiatives, and inspiration at its core, harnessing the power of fashion for meaningful change.
This redesigned, adaptable area serves as a catalyst for creative ideas and tangible initiatives, fostering an informal yet collaborative environment dedicated to sustainable fashion. Within this space, University of Westminster students will have the chance to assume roles of leadership and responsibility, actively engaging in various activities such as organising events, curating window displays, gaining expertise in merchandise management, sourcing and hosting guest speakers, overseeing a clothing recycling program, and even nurturing their own micro fashion enterprises.
Notable student contributors to the space’s development include Paolo Barbaran, Julia Jasinka, Maria Barini, and Xiaowei Xia, all hailing from the Fashion Business Management with Professional Experience BA Honours program.
Collaborating closely with them were esteemed academic partners Denise Francis-Brown, Christine Hammond, Nicola Mansfield, and Caroline Curtis. Furthermore, the project established a valuable partnership with Love not Landfill, a London-based nonprofit organisation, to establish an on-site clothing recycling facility.
The project team said: “When it comes to climate change, fashion is guilty: the industry is responsible for 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions. Every second, the equivalent of a rubbish truck load of clothes is burnt or buried in landfill.
“As a leading educator in fashion, we believe that the University of Westminster can and should play a part in changing the business of fashion for the better. Our Green Fund project demonstrates how fashion can be sustainable & ethical, moving towards a circular, renewable system rather than the current linear, wasteful, damaging one.”
In 2021, the University of Westminster Green Fund was established through collaborative efforts by the University’s Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation (CETI) and Sustainability Team. This initiative extends an open invitation to students from all academic disciplines to undertake sustainability-oriented projects.
The primary mission of the Fund is to foster comprehension, raise consciousness, and drive transformative actions in the realm of environmental leadership. By doing so, it seeks to empower both students and faculty members through the provision of support for community-based sustainable initiatives.
