AFDxTalk: Be Aware of What You Wear

Clothes make the (wo)man.

The earth hosts a huge diverse group of people and clothing is one of the most obvious ways to spot our differences and similarities. Clothing is embedded in culture, religion and nationality. Clothing is also a way to express yourself and for many people, clothing is essential to the way they live.

But this need for self-expression also has big downsides. Child labour in East-Asia and other parts of the developing world is one of these downsides. The growing pressure on the global climate by the clothing industry is another. The rising trend of ‘fast fashion’ in the West has been one of the biggest contributing factors in these growing ecological and societal problems. But how big are these issues exactly? And what role can science, the business world, the government and we, the consumer, play in fighting them? Becoming aware of the issues we’re facing and discussing these questions gives us valuable insight into the world of clothing and the many sustainable solutions surrounding it.

By inviting three guest speakers on the 18th of February, we will explore the issues relating to the clothing industry in an informative and interactive session. The end goal: becoming aware of what you wear!

THE SPEAKERS:

The first speaker is Anneke Smelik, a Radbout University professor, specialised in Visual Culture. Her current research focuses on slow fashion and issues of sustainability, as well as technological advances in fashion.

Eva, from the social enterprise MudJeans, will tell us more about the mission of the company: creating new jeans out of old ones and working completely according to the principles of a circular economy.

Our last speaker, Henriëtte-Floor, works for the NGO ReShare, part of the Salvation Army. She will tell us more about the mission of ReShare and also has a bit of insight into the actions the government take in fighting problems in the clothing industry

Join us on the 18th, let these interesting speakers expand your knowledge of the clothing industry and become conscious of what you wear!