Aspiring fashion designers seeking to get into the fashion industry would do well to consider the fashion revolution that is sustainable fashion before they opt for a degree course or even short courses.
These new design approaches are reimagining the way that fashion industry leaders are perceived and how luxury fashion can become sustainable fashion and ethical fashion.
We’ve got the best of these courses both free and paid for to help you prepare for your life in the fashion industry.
FREE COURSES
You don’t have to spend a fortune to learn about sustainable fashion. All of the following courses are free and will increase your general sustainability knowledge as well as offering some progress to your fashion education too.
UCLA – Sustainable Living Environment
Sustainable fashion is just one of the streams in this course that examines key sustainability agendas and how they might be achieved through sustainable design. This should help you avoid the fast fashion industry.
If you want to understand current and emerging perspectives on sustainability this is a great place to start. It’s also free and accessible wherever you have access to YouTube.
Check it out here.
The University Of Exeter – Who Made My Clothes?
This is a free 3-week course that examines the global industry of fashion and steps behind the scenes to offer a critical understanding of the damage that fast fashion does and why the fashion industry must seek out sustainability and become centered on slow fashion.
It’s a great way to learn about innovative approaches to social responsibility from the fashion industry. We hope it leads to more affordable, ethical clothing brands in the future.
Check it out here.
The Canopy Lab – Sustainability For Youth
This is a set of very short online courses that examine the complex nature of sustainability and how systems thinking can make it easy for us all to have an influence on these things.
It’s not directly about making fashion but all the lessons learned here can be applied to the sustainable fashion industry all the same.
Check it out here.
London College Of Fashion
The London College of Fashion is one of the top brands in fashion learning, they created their Centre for Sustainable Fashion in 2008 and this is a free introduction to sustainability and business strategies relevant to the promotion of a better fashion business.
Check it out here.
Columbia University – The Age Of Sustainable Development
This is our finally free course and it runs for 14 weeks, it’s run by Jeffrey Sachs the world-leading economist with serious insight into sustainable design strategies and how they impact the world of not just luxury fashion but of all business. This is a really in-depth look at the business drivers that will help develop innovative approaches to making kinder more ethical products.
Check it out here.
PAID COURSES
California College Of Arts (BA in Design Fashion)
CCA may be the biggest education brand in luxury fashion design in the world. They understand all the key sustainability issues and their programs are tailored to helping new entrants to the fashion business avoid the currently damaging systems and to create new forms of business practice that serve the planet as well as the people in the industry.
They’ve got the best educational resources out there and many of their graduates have gone on to become movers and shakers in the industry at large.
Tuition is, however, nearly $40,000 though nearly 85% of students qualify for some form of financial aid.
Check it out here.
London College Of Fashion (MA In Fashion and The Environment)
If you enjoyed their free course above then there’s nothing wrong with opting for fashion’s centre in Europe, London.
The London College of Fashion is not only home to some of the best sustainability education in the world but it’s also great value for money and international students pay less than $20,000 on a full-time course and there is a scholarship available to help with that too!
Check it out here.
Parsons The New School For Design (Various Courses)
If you want a top-notch educational establishment but don’t have a lot of time to spend committed to a degree program then Parsons might be the perfect paid option to improve your sustainable design skills.
They offer a ton of programs, including the world’s first zero-waste fashion design course and they incorporate sustainability into every single discipline that they teach.
Check it out here.
Fashion Institute Of Technology (Sustainable Design Entrepreneur Certificate Program, BFA)
FIT is another huge name in the industry and they can offer their graduates a competitive advantage in the workplace.
In addition to the BFA, they also offer a set of four-week zero credit fashion sustainability courses that are open to the general public and this is a super cheap way to learn about the topic area.
These courses cost as little as $115 each! You can’t beat that for a world-leading education.
Check it out here.
ESMOD Berlin (MA Sustainability in Fashion)
This program is taught in English, so don’t panic about having to learn German (though you’ll probably pick up some German as you’ll be living in Berlin).
This is one of the most holistically aware courses for those looking for more ethical and eco-friendly fashion and it’s a huge amount of fun.
They were the first university in Europe to put sustainable design at the forefront of their courses and their graduates go on to do great things.
Check it out here.
Whatever your budget and whatever amount of time you have available there’s a sustainable fashion course available to suit your needs!