Criterion A: Sustainable Design |​ Sewciety 

Name: DAISY Class: 7DET10 

 

 
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 textiles 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. 

In this unit, we will change old clothes into new clothes, which will not only help us strengthen our environmental 
awareness, but also let us participate in environmental protection. Most of the clothes will be burned or landfilled 
after being thrown away. This does not have a good impact on the environment, so this theme can make us 
change old clothes into treasures. 

● 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! 

● Fast fashion is that for consumers, you can buy trendy clothing in a short period of time and at a low price. 
The negative effects of fast fashion include the use of toxic textile dyes-the fashion industry is the world's 
second largest source of clean water pollution after agriculture. 

● The fashion industry is one of the largest industries in the world, accounting for 2% of global
gross domestic product (GDP). Fast fashion retailers grew 9.7% between 2010 and 2015
 ● The fashion revolution that uncovered child labor and sweatshop abuse will enable researchers
to interview nearly 600 women garment workers in Cambodia, India and Bangladesh.

● Sadly, fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, which is mainly caused by the
bad practices of fast fashion and frequent illegal behavior.

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. 

Works Cited

"Fast fashion quick to cause environmental havoc." ​THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND,​ 14 Nov.

2018,

sustainability.uq.edu.au/projects/recycling-and-waste-minimisation/fast-fashion-quick-cause-envir

onmental-havoc. Accessed 12 Feb. 2020.

Lepore, Sophia. "Will Hearing From Garment Workers Finally Change Fast Fashion?" ​takepart​, 25 Oct.

2016,

www.takepart.com/article/2016/10/25/will-hearing-from-garment-workers-change-fast-fashion.

Accessed 12 Feb. 2020.

 "The Problems With Fast Fashion." ​ROKIT,​ 23 Oct. 2019,

www.rokit.co.uk/blog/2019/10/23/the-problems-with-fast-fashion/. Accessed 12 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.