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2015 Conference

The Emperor’s New Clothes – a sustainable future for fashion and textiles (2015)

In June 2015, more than 120 delegates attended a one-day event on sustainable fashion and textiles at the University of Leeds. This conference aimed to host an open discussion between stakeholders from a range of spheres: industry and academia, engineering and the arts, micro enterprises and industrial giants.

The Emperor’s New Clothes 2015 presentations

Speakers Presentation topics
UK Champion for Global Food Security: Prof. Tim Benton Do farmers grow cotton and wool for clothing or do they grow food for the predicted population explosion? What can the fashion industry learn from the food industry to ensure a secure supply of sustainable raw materials into the future?
Vice President, Global Responsible Sourcing, VF Corporation: Sean Cady How do stakeholder expectations and business responsibilities align to drive change?  Success in a world of transparent operations, ambiguous chemical management demands, strong government requirements and active NGO campaigns require enhanced leadership.
Mistra Future Fashion Project: Sandra Roos The highlights of the MISTRA project to improve the sustainability of the Swedish Fashion industry is explored to show what the rest of the industry learn from this 4 year project.
MCL Global: John Mowbray As joint founder of the RITE group, Ecotextile News reviews progress towards a sustainable fashion industry. Has the textile industry really changed since the RITE Group was formed back in 2007?
Linnaeus University, Sweden: Professor Mathilda Tham Consider fashion at the level of purpose and meaning and explore how fashion design can intervene beyond levels of products and systems to promote futures of sustainability.
NIRI Technologies: Steven Neill An exploration of new technologies that enable product disassembly for recycling and repair, and how the design processes, business models and infrastructures evolve to capitalise on these developments.
Anthesis Group: Fiona Place Examination of how climate change and associated risks will affect organisations and their future operations. How can companies integrate sustainability into their culture to achieve long-term benefits?
University of Chester: Dr. Rebecca Collins Exploring how young people managed the divestment of unwanted material possessions, including clothing, to highlight the motivations for those acts of divestment; and the range of emotional and practical responses to those unwanted items. Is generation Z the fashionable and sustainable generation?
Head of Sustainability and Responsible Sourcing, John Lewis: Stephen Cawley An open discussion to share the nuts and bolts of the John Lewis partnership – what’s worked and where the key challenges are.  How do companies like John Lewis measure progress and track social improvements in the value chain?

 Postgraduate Research Students’ work showcased at Parkinson Court

As part of the RITE at Leeds conference the School of Design postgraduate research students showcased their work at the Parkinson Court. The showcase encouraged the PGRs the opportunity to share their research with the wider research community and get valuable feedback.