Criterion A: Sustainable Design |​ Sewciety 

Name:  Class:   
 

 
Image: FashionRevolution.org 
 
Key Concept​:  Systems 
Related Concepts​:  Sustainability, Resources 
Global Context​:  Globalization and Sustainability 
 
Statement of Inquiry 

 
“Designers have a responsibility to seek sustainable solutions.” 
 
 
Inquiry Questions 
Factual:  What is fast fashion?​ ​What is planned obsolescence? 
Conceptual:  What does sustainability really mean? What is the circular economy?  
Debatable:  How close are we to a sustainable society? 
Debatable:  Who is responsible for sustainability? 
 
Design situation 
Millions of tons of textiles end up in landfills and incinerators around the world every year. This is a problem as the textile industry 
uses huge amounts of raw materials, water, energy and chemicals for the production of their products. It is often claimed that this 
industry is a prime example of an ​industry that is not sustainable​. As designers (and world-citizens), we have a ​responsibility to 
design and create with sustainability in mind.​ Governments, industry, and consumers ask us to come up with better solutions to 
the life-cycle of textiles.  
 
Your challenge is to recycle a fabric or textile garment into another product that 
will be useful for your intended client. This upcycled product will effectively help 
to extend the life of your garment.   
Task A1 | ​The Problem 

🔎 What? 
 
❗Why? 
 
Explain and justify the need for a solution to a problem.  You need to fully understand the ‘problem’ and identify where 
you can make a meaningful contribution towards solving this. 
 

⚙ How? 
Design situation 
● Explain​ what you are challenged with to create in this unit and why it is important i​ n your own words. 

As  a  designer,  I  am  challenged  to  create  a  more  sustainable  industry  in  fashion,  through  recycling  and  reusing 
textiles/fabrics.  To  create  a  sustainable  product,  extending  the  garment’s  life  is  essential.  My  goals  are  to  prevent  the 
consumption  of  textiles/fabrics  to  my  design  and  to  recycle  the  garment  and  fabric  used  to  make  a  new  design.  This  is 
important  because  today’s  fashion  industry  lacks  manufacturing  clothes  in  an  environment-friendly  way.  Creating  and 
designing these environmental-friendly products can influence many clients and consumers to become more resourceful. 

● Identify​ the fabric your project will focus on and which garment(s) you will retrieve this from. You should have a 
collage (and ​possible gif​ of you wearing the garment) with an explanation of the material properties. Example H​ ERE​. 
Insert the annotated collage below. 

 
garment analysis 
Project justification 
● Explain​ what fast fashion is and why it is problematic. 
● Present​ photographic evidence of different aspects of the problem. Caption the photos explaining what the image is 
showing. 
● You must use in-text citation OR footnotes to indicate what source you have used! 

- ​ ast fashion refers to clothes that were quickly disposed of due to a trend that has passed or finished. Fast 
F
fashion also allows consumers to purchase clothing at a cheap price. It is a problem in the fashion industry 
because of the number of waste consumers create every time there would be new affordable and pretty 
clothes. One of the bad effects of fast fashion is its mass production of cheaply made items. Globally, we 
produce 13 million tons of textile waste each year. One of the many solutions to this problem is recycling 
and reusing these clothes, instead, of throwing them away.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This photo is an evidence that the manufacturing of clothes greatly affects the destruction of our environment. The 
picture shows how river is polluted by this production of garments. This goes the same with fast fashion. The more 
clothes are being manufactured, the higher the risk our world gets polluted. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This image is an evidence of how poor working conditions are in the countries that produce most of the clothes we 
wear today. One of the contributing factors for this country’s poor conditions, is the fast fashion. Very unfair 
treatment is given to the workers who make expensive clothes for cheap labor. This is one of the disadvantages in 
fast fashion. Clothing companies that are doing fast fashion tend to be greedy and irresponsible to create profit. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This photo shows how much clothes are dumped when clothes are out of fashion. Consumers prefer clothes that are 
new and trendy and so, they change their clothes and style in a fast phase.  
Clothing companies keep on producing different and new clothes that are updated and stocked every season.gg 
 Works cited (in MLA format using NoodleTools) 
● List​ any sources of information used in this section. That includes s​ ources of photos​ used in the project justification. 

Rashid, Jasmine. Bangladeshi Garment Work ers Fight for Their Wages. 5 Apr. 2017. 
Case Study: The Reality of Retailers Such as H&M and Walmart, Micahael 
Arria, 5 Apr. 2017, sweatshopsthevoicesbehindtheproducts.wordpress.com/2017/ 
04/25/case-study-the-reality-of-retailers-such-as-hm-and-walmart/. Accessed 
16 Feb. 2020.  
 
Cruz-Sy, Gigie. Greenpeace. Fashion's Environmental Impact, 
www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-environmental-impacts. Accessed 18 Feb. 2020.  
 
 

Assessment 
Level  Descriptor  Typical features of student work 

0  The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below. 

1-2  The student ​states  ❏ You have copied and pasted the challenge from above. You should show your 
the need for a  understanding of the challenge by explaining it and its importance in your own 
solution to a  words. 
problem.  ❏ You did not provide multiple photos nor explain the properties of your fabric. An 
annotated collage with this information was required. Reviewing the provided 
example would help you with this. 
❏ You provided a limited justification of the problems with fast fashion with no 
photographic evidence. More explanation with evidence is needed. 
❏ You did not list your sources nor provide citations. Reviewing expectations for 
citations are needed. 

3-4  The student  ❏ You have simply identified the challenge of the project. You should show your deeper 
outlines​ the need  understanding of the challenge by also explaining its importance in your own words. 
for a solution to a  ❏ A number of required elements of the collage were not included. An analysis of the 
problem.  material was needed. Reviewing the example would help you with this. 
❏ You provided an adequate justification of the problems with fast fashion with no 
photographic evidence. More explanation with evidence is needed. 
❏ You list your sources but did not provide citations and did not use proper MLA format. 
Please use Noodletools to ensure proper formatting. 

5-6  The student  ❏ You have paraphrased the challenge of the project. You should show your deeper 
explains​ the need  understanding of the challenge by also explaining its importance in your own words. 
for a solution to a  ❏ A few of the required elements of your collage were not included. An analysis of the 
problem.  material was needed. Reviewing the example would help you with this. 
❏ You provided an adequate justification of the problems with fast fashion with 
photographic evidence. You needed to provide a caption that explained the photo. 
❏ You list your sources in MLA format but did not provide citations in your writing. 
Please use Noodletools to ensure proper formatting. 

7-8  The student  ❏ You effectively showed your understanding of the challenge by also explaining its 
explains​ and  importance in your own words. 
justifies​ the need  ❏ You provide an annotated collage with all of the required elements including multiple 
for a solution to a  labelled photos of your garment and explanation of the properties of your fabric.  
problem.  ❏ You provided a detailed justification of the problems with fast fashion with captioned 
photographic evidence.  
❏ You list your sources in MLA format and provided appropriate citations in your 
writing.