Browse Hierarchy SOLM318: Fashion, Sustainability and Law

The module provides students with the opportunity to consider in detail the critical issues around sustainability in the fashion industry. Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, both in its production and its waste. The international nature of fashion production, from the supply chain through to distribution and sales, as well as the enforced obsolescence through trends and consumer targets, together mean that fashion presents a complex array of issues for responding to sustainability. The module will also examine the concepts of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in fashion, as well as the concepts of slow and fast fashion, circular fashion and textiles, and greenwashing. Students will acquire a critical understanding of the complex commercial, social, and cultural environment presented by the fashion industry. The module will address sustainability in fashion in detail through an international and comparative approach to the existing legal and regulatory frameworks, the soft law of declaratory and other instrument, and the social norms of fashion (including fast fashion) and consumer behaviour.