Sustainable Apparel and Textile Innovation Minor

Minor Requirements:

All courses included in the minor must be completed with a C- or better. At least nine credits must be at the 300-level or above. Substitutions for the courses below may be made with permission of the program director. Independent studies and special problems courses may also count toward the minor with the director’s approval. Only nine credits may be counted toward both a student’s major requirements, other minor, and the Sustainable Apparel and Textile Innovation minor.

FASH 210 - Seminar on Fashion and Sustainability Credit(s): 3
FASH 417 - Fashion and Apparel Studies Research and Discovery Credit(s): 3 (Business Model Innovation or Lifecycle Approach to Design topics)

Required Electives:

Take three credits from each of the three elective areas, and take a fourth elective from any area (12 credits).

Design for Social Change:

Design for Social Change focuses on the critical role of human behavior for sustainable innovation to succeed. Courses in this elective provide a framework for understanding how visual information and artifacts can be used for raising individual and community awareness and understanding, changing attitudes, and generating the political will so that citizens, consumers, business and political leaders, and others can embrace lasting change in what apparel products are offered, and how they are made, used, and disposed of. One of the following:

ART 204 - Media/Design/Culture Credit(s): 3
ART 215 - Seeing and Being Credit(s): 3
ART 324 - The Art of Social Change Credit(s): 3
FASH 417 - Fashion and Apparel Studies Research and Discovery Credit(s): 3 (Lifecycle Approach to Design (if not taken as a core requirement))

Business and Industry Innovation:

Business and Industry Innovation provides students with expanded knowledge on relevant social, cultural, economic, and legal contexts that support and constrain business and industry innovation. Understanding these constraints facilitates innovation by allowing students to analyze the broad contextual factors that may need to be addressed. One of the following:

ACCT 352 - Law and Social Issues in Business Credit(s): 3
ANTH 312 - Asian Women in the Globalized Workplace Credit(s): 3
ANTH 382 - The Anthropology of Capitalism Credit(s): 3
ECON 311 - Economics of Developing Countries Credit(s): 3
FASH 417 - Fashion and Apparel Studies Research and Discovery Credit(s): 3 (Business Model Innovation (if not taken as a core requirement))
FASH 455 - Global Apparel and Textile Trade and Sourcing Credit(s): 3

Alternative Electives:

Alternatively, students may also bundle three of the following one-credit courses to fulfill this elective requirement:

FASH 689 - Apparel Supply Chains & Social Responsibility
FASH 691 - Socially Responsible Apparel: Global Policy
FASH 692 - Sustaining Global Apparel Supply Chains
FASH 693 - Culture & Work in the Apparel Industry
FASH 694 - Apparel Consumers and Social Responsibilty
FASH 695 - Bringing Social Responsbility to Apparel Corporate Culture
FASH 696 - Current Initiatives for Apparel Industry Labor Compliance
FASH 697 - Worker-Centric Social Responsibility
FASH 698 - Redesigning “Green” Apparel
FASH 699 - Producing Environmentally Responsible Apparel

Science and Engineering Innovation:

Science and Engineering Innovation augments student knowledge on scientific and engineering approaches for chemical management, water and waste water treatment, energy management, and/or waste disposal. Innovations in all areas are needed to improve environmental performance in the apparel and textile industry. One of the following:

CIEG 402 - Introduction to Sustainability Principles in Civil Engineering Credit(s): 3
CHEM 683 - Environmental Chemistry
ENEP 420 - Water Resources Management Credit(s): 3
ENEP 425 - Energy Policy and Administration Credit(s): 3
ENEP 427 - Sustainable Energy: Economics and Policy Analysis Credit(s): 3
FASH 215 - Fundamentals of Textiles I Credit(s): 3