I thought the past two lectures for sustainability were both interesting in the way that they were connecting certain historical events to things sustainability related such as the dust bowl. Being from Oklahoma I had never really thought that those two things were directly connected but as I learned in the first lecture they are. I also thought it was interesting that it put the responsibility of sustainability not just on the designer of the garment but also the merchandisers and buyers. I believe if companies really value and want to benefit the environment making it more sustainable then every level from production to consumption will value sustainability and not allow the garments they create, buy, or produce be actively harming the environment in any way.

Sustainability to me is the standards in which companies or consumers are valuing the amount of harm the creation of products is having on the environment as well as the long term abilities for the business to stay competitive. From the 11^th hour movie notes I thought it was scary that the amounts of chemicals affecting the atmosphere and the effects that it has. I also think it would be cool to look into forecasting the future if humans are consuming the amounts of natural resources as we are now and what that will do within the next 100 years.

I liked in the fashion and sustainability issues article that really mapped out the consumption process and the negative aspects of it, but then following it with solutions to it with standards of sustainability. The article mentioned water efficiency and substitutes for cotton for other natural materials would definitely benefit certain retailers like Levi’s. This would also change the relationships between suppliers and manufacturers putting a new level of responsibility on the entire supply chain, which I think would highly benefit the fashion industry and the world’s ecosystem.

I thought the wildest things exercise was actually really fun and interesting since each group we could see their previous thought process and how we disagreed or agreed with the topics or solutions they chose, then being able to brainstorm with our learning community to develop an actual plan. It made it really engaging and enjoyable.

My carbon footprint was 7.9 tonnes and some of the suggestions the website had for me was to eat less dairy, but in my life living at home we eat beef all the time so that would be very difficult for me. It also suggested me to fill up my washing machine, which I always do, and to also turn off my TV, which I could definitely get better at. The overall suggested carbon footprint for me was 2 tonnes.

I am excited and interested to see how my views and understanding of sustainability in my field change throughout this semester as well as any other DHM class I take at my time here at OSU.

-Lauren Burks