• Length:
    5 Weeks
  • Effort:
    8–12 hours per week
  • Price:

    FREE
    Add a Verified Certificate for $169 USD

  • Institution
    WageningenX
  • Subject:
    Art & Culture
  • Level:
    Introductory
  • Language:
    English
  • Video Transcript:
    English
  • Course Type:
    Self-paced on your time

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Interested in this course for your Business or Team?

Train your employees in the most in-demand topics, with edX for Business.

Purchase now|Request Information

About this course

Skip About this course

The fashion industry has a large influence on the global economy and is more and more known for its social and environmental impact. Everywhere, new sustainable initiatives are arising from recycling, upcycling to creating clothes from compostable materials. Circularity tough, is a complex phenomenon. What will the future bring us? Are we indeed going to decompose our clothes in our own garden?

The MOOC Circular Fashion: Design, Science and Value in a Sustainable Clothing Industry brings you a comprehensive introduction in circular fashion brought to you by roughly thirty different experts from both academia and practice. You will learn about the versatile task of transitioning towards circular fashion, from the unique collaboration between Wageningen University & Research, ArtEZ University of the Arts and many other experts.

After the course you will know the core concepts and tools to help better understand circular economy in the fashion industry. Some of the topics that are covered focus on understanding the challenge of recycling, design for circularity, alternative textiles through biobased innovation and circular business modelling to help bring innovations to the market.

For whom?

This course will provide designers, retailers, scientists, engineers and all working at the industry or with an interest in fashion with holistic insights in the complex challenges of circular fashion, while engaging you to start the transition to circularity within your personal and/or professional practices. We will bring together art, design and science to move beyond an ego-centric approach of fashion and start from an ecosystems perspective.

Learn the theory, understand the practice and start your own circular fashion journey. Join the movement towards a circular fashion industry!

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn

1. The difference between sustainability & circularity

  • Constructing identity through consumption
  • The difference between eco to ego in fashion
  • Design for circularity
  • Reflect on design thinking

2. Ecosystem circularity

  • Individual agency and organic collectives in fashion
  • Critique small-scale solutions
  • Ecosystems in nature
  • Challenge of governing the transition towards circularity from outsourcing countries

3. Closing the loop in fashion

  • The complexity of textiles
  • Challenges and opportunities of textile recycling
  • Understand the loop of organic- and synthetic textiles
  • Challenge of textile blends
  • Design for recycling and disassembly

4. Biobased innovation and new materialism

  • Learn about future raw materials
  • New production processes
  • Production capacity, automation and upscaling
  • Forecasting biomaterials in fashion
  • Debating fast fashion and online marketing

5. Business as crafting value

  • Circular business modelling
  • Circular business in second hand clothing market
  • Learn about a new economic paradigm
  • Understand investment and acceleration
  • Insight into blockchain
  • How blockchain can be used for transparency in the fashion value chain
  • Understand fashion from a retail perspective
  • E-commerce and circular retail models

Syllabus

Skip Syllabus

Module 1: Translation and interpretations

Introduction to terms and concepts such as sustainability and circularity, understanding the role of eco in fashion. First introduction to design for circularity.

Module 2: Ecosystem circularity

Understanding the role of ecosystems in fashion. How to disrupt current thinking and mindset in the fashion industry and govern this transition.

Module 3: Closing the loop

Introduction to the complexity of materials and recycling of textiles. Understand the importance of design for disassembly and recycling.

Module 4: Biobased innovation & new materialism

Learn about new biobased materials for textiles, understand the change in production processes and reflect on the future influence of biobased materials in fashion.

Module 5: Business as crafting value

Introduction to economic paradigms and new forms of value creation for circularity in the fashion industry. Understand investment and acceleration and circular retail models.

Meet your instructors

Wageningen University & Research
Prof.dr.ir. Louise O. Fresco
President of the Executive Board
Wageningen University & Research
Dr. Kim Poldner
Professor of Circular Business
The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Dr. Nishant Shah
Vice-President Research
ArtEZ University of the Arts
Paulien Harmsen MSc
Senior scientist at Wageningen Food and Biobased Research
Wageningen University & Research

Course created with support from

Pursue a Verified Certificate to highlight the knowledge and skills you gain
$169 USD

View a PDF of a sample edX certificate

  • Official and Verified

    Receive an instructor-signed certificate with the institution's logo to verify your achievement and increase your job prospects

  • Easily Shareable

    Add the certificate to your CV or resume, or post it directly on LinkedIn

  • Proven Motivator

    Give yourself an additional incentive to complete the course

  • Support our Mission

    edX, a non-profit, relies on verified certificates to help fund free education for everyone globally

Learner testimonials

''Great course, I think I learned a lot! I would definitely take another course related to sustainable fashion if it was offered.''

''I loved this, I really did. I hope I can do more studies like this in the future.''

''It was very interesting and rewarding. Happy with the scientific contributions of research and development for innovation.''

Interested in this course for your Business or Team?

Train your employees in the most in-demand topics, with edX for Business.

Purchase now|Request Information