India’s National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have announced a collaboration to launch a general elective course on ‘Design Innovation for Sustainable Fashion’. Currently, more than 20 batches are already running across 17 NIFT campuses in India.
UNEP India’s country office Head, Atul Bagai said in a webinar that the organisation is also working on several other sustainability initiatives in the textiles sector as well. "We are helping the (textiles) ministry to develop a road map for a sustainable textile hub in Surat for assisting sustainability and circularity in this sector. We are also working on a study on sustainability in the Indian Handlooms and UNEP has been working with Lakme Fashion Week on the Circular Design Challenge,” he said. UNEP, in partnership with R|Elan has been holding the Circular Design Challenge for three seasons now. The winner of each challenge is given a chance to showcase their creations at Lakme Fashion Week.
NIFT’s director general, Shantmanu said in a statement, “Looking at the overwhelming response, we may make ‘Design Innovation for Sustainable Fashion’ a mandatory course for students or even a certificate or diploma course in the future because sustainable fashion and sustainable development is the need of the hour.”
While various institutes across the country have started offering varied courses within the space of fashion, NIFT and UNEP’s ‘Design Innovation for Sustainable Fashion’ will be one of very few with sustainable fashion at focus. With changing times, the industry as a whole has been shifting focus to a more sustainable way of business, and the launch of the course is only more proof of the same.
Image used for representational purposes only.