Who Made My Clothes? (FutureLearn)

We will share with you a variety of simple techniques to find the answer yourself, and to use your findings to press the fashion industry to value people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure. It will encourage us to question what we, as active global citizens, can do to enable change.

What topics will you cover?

- Introduction to a variety of techniques to enable learners to understand who made their clothes

- Teach learners how to use this knowledge to influence the fashion industry so that it values people, the environment, creativity, and profit in equal measure

- Enable learners to gain knowledge and practical skills for thinking about our global economy and who makes our clothes

- Encourage learners to consider themselves as active global citizens who can enable change

- Provide tools with which learners can spread knowledge acquired in the course

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

- Explain garment supply chains

- Explore the interdependence of places, resources, and the people upon which supply chains rely

- Investigate your own clothing: its brand, where it was made, and from what materials

- Identify and employ search techniques for investigating the policies employed by clothing brands, and the human stories behind them

- Demonstrate empathetic writing about the stories of garment production

- Reflect on how to use your findings to influence brands

Who is the course for?

This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in fashion, trade, ethics and activism, including those involved in the Fashion Revolution movement. It is also suitable for teachers who want to enrich their school, further education, and higher education curricula.

We will draw together themes from Geography, Fashion and Textile, English Language, English as a Foreign Language, Historical Enquiry, Politics, Sociology, Art, Economics, Environmental Studies, Global Citizenship, Sustainable Development, Personal and Social Studies. It is possible to participate in the course using skills and knowledge acquired outside formal education. Key concepts will be explained in accessible and thought-provoking ways.

What software or tools do you need?

You will need access to an internet browser, and word processing software. You will also be encouraged, with our guidance, to use simple online tools to aid, collate, publish and share your findings.