Weaving the Threads: The UCRF Research Tapestry
Tapestry, Photo by Vika Strawberrika via Unsplash
Join us on a journey to shape the field of fashion sustainability through research! Introducing the UCRF Research Tapestry—an interdisciplinary exploration of the roots and possible futures of inquiries into transforming the textile- and apparel sector. Explore key insights from our kick-off workshop from 13th April 2024, and join the conversation as we unravel the threads of sustainability in fashion. Together, our voices reveal the paths forward, spinning into existence a healthier industry.
Unraveling the Tapestry: Goals and Aims
As the fashion industry grapples with the imperative for sustainability, the UCRF embarks on an initiative to weave together the diverse strands of research and practice in this critical, yet fraught arena. The UCRF Research Tapestry project aims to illuminate the research landscape, empowering the current and next generation of researchers to make an impact beyond publications. From sharpening the focus of scholarly inquiry, to championing plural, inclusive and collective action, the UCRF Research Tapestry is an invitation to scientists, authors and practitioners from all corners of the industry to unite and focus attention to the most pressing debates and priorities of sustainability-in-fashion research.
Weaving Together Questions and Challenges: Insights from the community
The UCRF Research Tapestry project team engaged the UCRF membership to come together and explore these questions in an open forum. On April 13th 2024, the UCRF hosted a vibrant kick-off workshop. Participants from diverse backgrounds and disciplines converged to share their insights, aspirations, and visions for the future of sustainable fashion research and practice.
The workshop commenced with an exploration of the multifaceted nature of sustainability research in fashion, underscoring the need to both distinguish and improve alignment between different streams and epistemological approaches in research. The differing foci, methods and language used to investigate sustainable fashion from an e.g., International Business perspective, versus a Design-, Human Rights or Material Science lens, underscored a need to bring together different disciplines closer and break down silos, accelerating progress and creating holistic impact rather than duplicating efforts.
Taking a deeper look into how academic inquiry is conducted revealed many challenges ranging from the ontological, to the practical and the personal issues. Participants highlighted the tendencies of universities to prioritise epistemological and ontological perspectives originating in the Global North (echoed also in discussions around development of regulatory frameworks), as well as the difficulties of researchers to obtain funding or legitimacy for textile sustainability research projects in institutions in the Global South. Experienced academics also surfaced challenges in shifting the educational paradigm, stressing the need for more participative and less hierarchical strategies for building curricula, and ‘decolonising’ research and practice. Finally, participants also discussed how the experience of being a researcher in the field is often a lonely one, showing that more connectedness and cross-pollination is urgently needed.
A universal acknowledgement of the dearth of discussions around degrowth, social sustainability and indigenous practices and perspectives, further illustrated the need to center often forgotten voices. Intersectional approaches geared towards elevating immigrant- and people-of-colour perspectives, considering the local contexts of issues and tailoring solutions appropriately were also championed as necessary steps for future-facing research.
Spinning Forward: The Journey Ahead
As well as exploring the research landscape, we invited ideation on extending research impact outside of publications and traditional academic channels. Four opportunities for broader engagement emerged as potential ways forward:
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: To tackle complex sustainability challenges effectively, bridging the gap between theory and practice, academia and industry, government, civil society and indigenous knowledge systems is essential. Creating opportunities for knowledge co-development is vital, as is ensuring that the governance of such initiatives is transparent and just.
Education and Knowledge Exchange: There was a consensus on the need for transformative shifts in education to embed sustainability as a foundational principle rather than an isolated topic in curricula. Roundtable discussions among educators and students were proposed to provoke critical thinking and drive innovative teaching practices.
Communicating Beyond Publications : Leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, newsletters, and newswire services was highlighted as effective strategies to disseminate research findings more broadly and engage with different industry stakeholders. Clear and accessible communication, including one-pagers and summaries, emerged as crucial for reaching non-researcher audiences.
Real-world Engagement within the research community and between diverse stakeholders before and during research is seen as a vital way to cut through the noisy, brand-led narratives around sustainability. Within the research community, there is a need to come together and share perspectives and experiences in accessible, inclusive and transparent forums. Further, creating opportunities for direct engagement through witnessing – between researchers, wearers, designers, spinners and makers – can reveal a more familiar, human-centred experience. Site visits to manufacturers, field trips to communities can reveal the lived reality of clothing creation, grounding research in the human experience and fostering interconnectedness. Treating garment workers not as research subjects, but as invaluable change agents who participate in the creation and dissemination of research brings different groups closer and creates a shared purpose.
Global Collaboration and Indigenous Wisdom: Recognizing the importance of bi-directional knowledge exchange between the Global North and South, participants underscored the need for equitable collaborations at both faculty- and student levels. Learning from diverse indigenous knowledge systems while respecting their context-specific nature was emphasized for fostering inclusive and sustainable solutions.
Formulating these future visions is essential for leading the debate and creating an activist knowledge ecology, as rooted in the UCRF Manifesto. With this project, we aim to facilitate a transparent, diverse and inclusive space for debate, ideation and conception of action.
As the UCRF Research Tapestry project unfolds, it promises a journey of exploration, discovery, and transformation. Through subsequent workshops, participants will continue to weave together the threads of sustainable fashion, creating a vibrant mosaic of research, practice, and advocacy.
Stay tuned for updates and insights from the UCRF Research Tapestry project as we continue this journey together.
Join us in reshaping the future of fashion research—one thread at a time. 🧵
For more information on the UCRF Research Tapestry project and upcoming events, visit our website or contact us directly.