Free sustainable fashion classes from the Slow Factory Foundation

Fashion And …

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Fashion And Colonialism:

This class examines the current practices like sourcing, manufacturing, and exporting waste that replicate colonialism and exploitation in fashion — and explores potential solutions. 

Start date: February 12

Instructor: Céline Semaan, a Lebanese-Canadian researcher, designer, public speaker, entrepreneur, and the co-founder and executive director of Slow Factory Foundation.

Fashion And Waste:

The Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana case study is the foundation of this class which takes a granular look at fashion’s waste crisis. 

Start date: February 19 

Instructor: Liz Ricketts, a designer, educator and co-founder of The OR Foundation, a USA and Ghana based non-profit working at the intersection of environmental justice, education and fashion development. 

Fashion And Culture:

Fashion is a critical part of culture. Learn the best practices for impacting culture through fashion and how culture moves the needle. 

Start date: February 26

Instructor: Tracy Reese, a fashion designer and founder of the sustainable clothing brand Hope for Flowers.

Fashion And Spirituality:

The fashion industry has seemingly embraced spirituality in recent times as evidenced by its gravitation towards yoga wear and making leggings a must-have item. Examine fashion’s adoption of religion — and whether there is room for improvement. 

Start date: March 5

Instructor: Hawa Arsala, a cultural anthropologist and creative director. 

Fashion And Resistance:

Learn how fashion can be used as an agent of positive social and environmental change in this class about combating repressive systems through culture, history, knowledge, and art. 

Start date: March 12

Instructor: Korina Emmerich, founder of the Brooklyn-based clothing brand EMME Studio

Fashion And Prison Labor:

This course explores the issues surrounding creating sustainable fashion using prison labor and what abolition of this system would mean for the fashion industry. Topics for discussion include the history of prison labor as it relates to economic domination, the clothing produced in prison, and brands that have used and continue to use prison labor to manufacture garments. 

Start date: March 19

Instructor: Teju Adisa-Farrar, a Jamaican-American writer, poet and geographer.

Fashion And Cultural Heritage:

This class focuses on preserving Indigenous fashion practices like embroidery, weaving, and pattern-making.

Start date: March 26

Instructor: Yasmeen Mjalli, creative director of Nöl Collective, a feminist and political fashion collective based in Palestine.

Fashion And Reproductive Health:

Start date: April 2

Instructor: Erica Chidi, founder of LOOM, a sexual health and wellbeing education platform.