Whether you just watched the eye-opening The True Cost fashion documentary or are just concerned about climate change and the state of our planet, we’re glad you’re here and looking to get educated about the clothes you wear and how you can bring more sustainability into your wardrobe and other aspects of your life.
So without further ado, here are some online sustainable fashion and ethical business courses that will improve your knowledge, help you become a better, conscious consumer or designer and prepare you for our eco fashion and evolved future.
1. Fashion & Sustainability: Understanding Luxury Fashion in a Changing World
The first digital course to focus on luxury fashion and sustainability, the course curriculum was developed by French luxury fashion behemoth Kering in partnership with London College of Fashion, UAL a world leader in fashion design, education, media and communications. Given that Kering is the parent company of such high-end brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen, this course is expected to deliver the very best in fashion luxury education. In fact, we’ve heard great things from our very own readers who completed the course earlier in the year (the next one starts soon, don’t miss out, make sure to register here).
Best for: Fashion students, the luxury style obsessed, emerging designers and those already working in the industry.
Course delivery: Online
Course duration: 6 weeks
Cost: FREE!
Click here to sign up to this free sustainable fashion course.
2. Who Made My Clothes?
This free three-week digital course is for anyone keen to understand the story behind their clothes. Students will get to understand the people who made them, the skills and techniques required, the environment in which the garments were made and the creative and profit desires of those involved.
Created by University of Exeter in partnership with Fashion Revolution, this online course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and tools they need to understand what was involved in the making of their clothes, encourage and foster a deeper connection with the garments and the people who made them, and become engaged in transforming the fashion industry for the better, and perhaps become a fashion activist.
Best for: Anyone with an interest in fashion, ethics, culture and activism.
Course delivery: Online
Course duration: 3 weeks
Cost: FREE!
Click here to register for this free ethical fashion course.
3. Business Futures: Sustainable Business Through Green HR
This isn’t a sustainable fashion course per se, but a business course that provides you with the knowledge to understand ‘green’ focussed human resources, something well worth learning about, particularly if you’re keen to green the business (and its human resource systems and processes!) that you’re working in or about to launch one.
Created by RMIT, this free online course will help you become a more rounded sustainability advocate and practitioner, learning the value of sustainable human capital. You’ll develop knowledge and skills in business sustainability and human resources, learn to balance competing business demands, demonstrate Sustainable return on investment (S-ROI) and ‘Triple top line’ (TTL), overcome barriers to sustainability, drive sustainable approach in your organisation, work with key stakeholders and manage expectations around sustainability practices.
Best for: Anyone who loves business and keen to develop sustainable leadership and sustainable business skills.
Course delivery: Online
Course duration: 3 weeks
Cost: FREE!
Click here to register for this free ethical fashion course.
4. Innovation: The Fashion Industry
While this free course doesn’t focus solely on sustainable fashion, it’s still a great short course to complete if you’re keen to hone your creativity and critical thinking skills in relation to fashion innovation outside of manufacturing such as technology, advertising and marketing.
Created by the University of Leeds, this free online course focusses on how innovation takes place in a big fashion business, and more specifically British retailer Marks & Spencer which is used as a case study of sorts. The course modules explore different types of innovation, the future of fabric innovation and technology and how advertising has changed since the 1950s.
Best for: Anyone keen to flex their creativity muscles and those interested in fashion innovation.
Course delivery: Online
Course duration: 2 weeks
Cost: FREE!
Click here to register for this free fashion innovation course.
5. Becoming a Changemaker: Introduction to Social Innovation
This six-week online course will empower you to become a changemaker or social entrepreneur within the fashion industry or any other part of your life. It will provide you with an understanding of social innovation and give you the tools you need to achieve maximum social impact in whatever it is you plan to do.
Created by the University of Cape Town‘s Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship in partnership with award-winning non-profit RLabs, this interactive course will focus on real-world case studies and push you to think outside the square and develop the mindset, the skills, the confidence and the networks to help you be the change.
Best for: Entrepreneurs who want to start mission-led businesses for the purposes of making a difference in the world.
Course delivery: Online
Course duration: 6 weeks
Cost: FREE!
Click here to enrol in this free social innovation course.
6. Managing Responsibly: Practicing Sustainability, Responsibility and Ethics
This six-week free digital course delivered by the University of Manchester in partnership with Principles for Responsible Management Education (a UN-supported initiative) is for corporate managers and team leaders working within a larger organisation and seeking to improve their management skills.
The course explores the following six modules: Managing Responsibly, Sustainability, Responsibility, Ethics, Professions and Occupations and Integration ‘Bringing It All Together’. Students will learn to adopt a systemic perspective and learn sustainability management tools, such as codes of ethics, impact assessments, corporate citizenship and life-cycle management.
Best for: For those working in multinational companies, large organisations or fashion businesses with complex international supply chains.
Course delivery: Online
Course duration: 6 weeks
Cost: FREE!
Click here to enrol in this free social innovation course.
Recommending reading:
- 32 Thought-Provoking Quotes About Ethical, Sustainable and Fast Fashion
- 4 Must-See Short Online Films on The Topic of Fast Fashion
- 69 Facts and Statistics About Fast Fashion That Will Inspire You To Become An Ethical Fashion Advocate
- The Sustainable Fashion Blueprint Report 2018: Industry Overview and Business Opportunities
- 9 Reasons Why Sustainable, Eco and Ethical Fashion Businesses Close and Finish Up (AKA Fail)
Disclosure: The curated list is based on the writer’s research and all details are correct at time of publishing. All images unless specified are courtesy of Unsplash. This list also contains affiliate links. For more information, click here.
