Dr. Virginia Wimberley on Student Designers' Perceptions of Recycling and Green Trends

Dr Virginia Wimberley, Assistant Professor at The University of Alabama, filled us in on her findings from the University's annual 'Tee-Time Design' event where students are challenged to deconstruct an ordinary staple item- the t-shirt. They can be died, cut or reconstructed in any way and are then sold following a catwalk show at a silent auction. 

Following the event, students were emailed and asked to take part in a survey to gauge their perceptions on recycling and other green trends. Among the findings of the 40% reply rate were that most who took part in the Tee Time event were females aged 21-23 with the most popular motivation being to do creative design and secondly to use recycled materials. Most of those surveyed would characterize themselves as concerned with social issues but less would class themselves as eco-friendly shoppers- a trait a lot of young people here in the UK could attest to......

Sorry I missed......... Susie Ralph (University for the Creative Arts) speaking on Colour, Culture and Clothing:   The Cape Town Garment Industry in the 1980s.