What’s it all about?
At present, veganism is generally understood as a dietary choice, but the lifestyle can inform other consumer behaviours too. As awareness increases through social media, activism and firsthand experience of climate change events, people are becoming more conscious of the impact of their individual decisions on the resources of the planet. This has allowed veganism to grow and become one of the largest consumer trends in the western world which goes hand in hand with the growth of the vegan fashion industry.
What will we cover?
We will first discuss what is and isn’t vegan in fashion including fibres and textiles. We will then talk about the product life cycle including dyes and chemicals, the dilemma behind the “ethical” label and discuss the much heated debate of leather vs pleather. We will finish by discussing second-hand fashion, exciting vegan and closed-loop innovations in the space of fibres and textiles, and ways to embrace a vegan and sustainable approach to clothing.
Who will be teaching?
Rachel Lamarche is studying the relationship between sustainability, veganism and fashion as a PhD student at RMIT University. She is passionate about fibres and textile innovations and has both a Degree in Fashion merchandising and Master’s in Arts management. She briefly worked at luxury fashion house Stella McCartney before moving to Australia in 2013. She is working on her own label, Les DeVoirs, a brand of durable, ethical and vegan office wear for women. Rachel is also a co-founder of the Vegan Women Collective and produces their podcast on which she interviews inspiring vegan activists and entrepreneurs.