The 13th oikos Winter School “You call it Eco. We call it Common Sense. Sustainability in the Fashion Industry” will take place from 5th- 11th March 2017 in Witten, Germany and addresses the issue of sustainability in the apparel industry.
The topic of sustainability in the fashion industry has been brought into the public eye by scandals such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, or alarming studies on the effect of chemicals used in production of raw materials. Low wages, unfair employment conditions and violations of freedom are often associated with parts of the global apparel industry. Furthermore, following the oil industry, the textile industry is the second largest contributor to current environmental pollution. It is evident, that there is a long list of problems that can be observed along the textile value chain. They range from poor working conditions and child labour in production countries to health effects caused by contaminated products, to the salinization of soil, as well as, the massive threat to bio-diversity by genetically modified cotton plants.
Each day a top-class key note speaker (e.g. Larry Brown, vice president of Esprit) will offer you brief insights into one dimension of the topic. In the afternoons, you can improve your insights and broaden your mind with workshops on different topics related to the key note speech of the day. It will be all about exchange of ideas, mutual inspiration and critical reflection. You are asked to bring your knowledge, questions, ideas and inspiration to create an amazing, vivid atmosphere together. While university courses often end with providing knowledge and examining different topics, we will go further and want you to make a difference. We will offer you two different expert-led practical session for applying all what you have theoretically learned. Additionally, we provide a pleasant framework: “Warm up” sessions in the morning, freshly prepared organic food, a convenient social program and leave you enough space to just hang out together, enjoy the international community of your fellow participants, switch your brains and dance!
The early bird participants fee for the first 10 applicants is 129 Euro instead of 159 Euro, including the conference program, full board and accommodation in student shared flats.
Sounds good? Apply now: www.oikos-winterschool.org or Contact us: info@oikos-winterschool.org
