23 Mar Secondary School Students Learn All About Ethical Fashion Practices

On 21st February Fashion-Enter Ltd (FEL) welcomed inquisitive and engaged pupils from Park View secondary school in Tottenham.

The session was organised by Collage Arts and was a part of the Reduce Your Carbon film project. The idea was to explain why fashion is the second most dirty polluter on the planet, and how FEL is trying to pave the way for more sustainable design and manufacturing practices. 

The full-day session started with CEO Jenny Holloway providing a review of fashion both in the UK and internationally. A great debate started about why making in the UK is now a prerequisite for the retailers and etailers and how everyone can make a stand against throwaway fashion. 

Jenny provided an overview of the way FEL has been responsible and ethical from the conception of the company in 2006 long before it was trendy to discuss what sustainability really means. 

Following the interactive session the pupils then followed the garment life cycle starting with design and patterns, then leading on to a full production tour in the Fashion Studio and Factory.

The finale was in Unit 4 with the Kornit digital printing machines for both fabric and garments – these machines are the most ethical in the world today using water to only clean the ink heads and using kind pigment inks. 

The Kornit machines were put into work and the pupils were amazed at the speed of the machines allowing for just one meter of fabric to be printed rather than the normal 50 minimum with conventional sublimation printing methods. 

Finally there was a Q and A session which summarised all the lessons learnt.

Jenny Holloway commented: “What a delight it was to meet the pupils of Park View secondary and have such an interactive session. The pupils were excellently prepared and asked questions that were well constructed and deep. They genuinely care about the planet and the harm that’s being caused by carbon emissions flying fabric and garments around the world. Thank-you for visiting and see you again next year!” 

Here is the film the pupils made with Collage Arts about their visit to Fashion-Enter Ltd.