Pancyprian TS Fashion Design II: Sustainability, Ethics and Safety in Fashion Production

Sustainability, Ethics and Safety in Fashion Production

The exam tests whether you can evaluate impacts across the whole life cycle, make defensible claims, and identify real workshop hazards with real controls.

Environmental thinking

Impact concentrates in fibre production, dyeing and finishing, and the consumer care phase. Choosing a fibre is a trade-off, not a moral absolute.
Circular design: mono-material construction, removable trims, design for disassembly, recycled content, take-back, repair services, durability.
Cutting waste typically runs at 15–20% of fabric; marker efficiency and zero-waste patterning are measurable interventions.
Microfibre shedding from synthetic textiles during washing is a recognised water-pollution pathway.

Social and ethical standards

Living wage, freedom of association, no child or forced labour, gender equity, safe buildings, grievance mechanisms.
Audits (amfori BSCI, SMETA/Sedex) are assessments, not certifications. Certifications include GOTS (organic cotton, processing), GRS (recycled content), RWS (wool), OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 (chemical safety) and Fairtrade.
Regulation: EU REACH restricts chemicals; the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation introduces a Digital Product Passport for textiles; France's EPR law makes producers pay for end-of-life.
Greenwashing: vague, unverifiable or irrelevant claims. Use specific, verifiable, bounded statements, and avoid 'eco-friendly' where no standard exists.

Workshop safety

Hazard identification, risk assessment (likelihood × severity), controls in hierarchy, residual risk, review. Typical controls: machine and needle guards, eye protection at the overlock, power off when threading, ventilation and safety data sheets for adhesives and spray starch, PAT testing, cable routing, blade discipline, iron and steam safety, housekeeping, fire exits, manual handling and ergonomics.

Worked example

Sewing room risk assessment: hazard - needle breakage near the face. Severity high, likelihood medium. Controls: needle guard fitted, safety glasses worn, correct needle size for the fabric, prompt replacement of blunt needles, no levering of fabric under the foot. Residual risk low; review monthly and after any accident.

Traps

'Natural means sustainable' as a blanket claim.
Marketing language with no standard or number behind it.
Confusing an audit with a certification.
Ignoring the care phase, which often dominates total impact.
Safety answers that say only 'be careful' rather than naming a control.

Portfolio Development, Presentation and Professional Practice

The final domain tests whether you can present work to a professional standard and understand the commercial and legal realities of the trade.

Portfolio structure

A portfolio proves process as well as outcome: research, development, toiles, technical drawings, final illustrations, photography of the finished garment.
Sequence: introduction and CV, two or three major projects in depth, one or two smaller projects, technical and illustration samples, contact details.
Show 4–6 projects in depth rather than fifteen superficially; selection is itself assessed.
Layout: a consistent grid, generous white space, one typeface family, captioned images that state what is shown and who did what.
Digital version: PDF under about 10 MB, landscape, sensible file names, plus a clean website or profile. Test it on a projector before the interview.

Commercial practice

Line sheet, lookbook, tech pack and costing are the four documents a buyer expects.
Trade fairs (Première Vision, Who's Next, Pure London) and sales agents build wholesale accounts.
Costing: direct materials + labour = direct cost; add overheads for total cost; apply markup for wholesale; the retailer applies keystone markup to reach retail price.
Margin is not markup. Margin is profit divided by selling price; markup is profit divided by cost.

Worked example

A dress: fabric 1.4 m at €12 = €16.80, lining €3.50, trims €2.20, labour 45 minutes at €18/hour = €13.50. Direct cost €36.00; overheads at 15% = €5.40; total cost €41.40. Wholesale at 2.2× = €91.08. Retail at 2.2× wholesale = about €200. The retailer's margin is (200 − 91.08) ÷ 200 ≈ 54% - a figure you can quote and defend in an interview.

Traps

A portfolio of finished illustrations only, with no evidence of thinking.
Inconsistent typography, mixed image styles and cluttered pages.
Uncredited collaborative or borrowed work - a serious professional breach.
Pricing below cost because overheads were forgotten.
Confusing markup with margin and quoting the wrong figure to a buyer.
A CV longer than one page and not tailored to the job.