Evaluating the effectiveness of a fashion sustainability model in undergraduate design outcomes concerning industry practice: a longitudinal study

The Sustainable Fashion Design Specification (SFDS) was developed as a pedagogical tool to integrate sustainable practice and considerate design into project-based undergraduate courses in fashion. The study was conducted across two arts & design faculties in the UK and is grounded in several years of data analysis of completed SFDS assessments from undergraduate fashion students. This paper presents the results of an inductive research study aimed at assessing the long-term effectiveness of an evaluative sustainability model. The research investigates students’ feedback on the SFDS model highlighting its positive influence on students’ sustainable design practices and their understanding of their connection to sustainable fashion industry approaches. This paper contributes substantially to the ongoing discourse on sustainability in fashion education, offering practical guidance for educators striving to improve their students’ professional competencies and readiness when graduating from the fashion industry.