Textile Toolbox – Sustainable Fashion Guidance from MISTRA

The Textile Toolbox is a web platform, created by TED for  MISTRA Future Fashion, which explores the nexus between sustainability and profitability in the fashion industry.This open website is a global collaborative effort that draws on the expertise of researchers from an array of fashion schools, and it acts as a platform for designers, professionals and students to explore sustainable design, manufacturing, and consumption solutions.

Repair it yourself shoes
Repair it yourself shoes

To understand the philosophical framework underlying the content housed on the site, click first on the “Approach” navigation link. Here you will find a description of the TED Ten, which are ten design strategies to inspire and drive sustainable innovation. The “Exhibits” section shows these principles in action with links to research and writings, and under “Resources” there is a growing list of well-thought-out lesson plans for all educational levels. The “Writing and Research” link takes you to the Textile Toolbox blog, which consists articles with bibliographies, as well as announcements. One recent announcement  of note is an open call to designers to submit sustainable design projects for the Textile Toolbox gallery that follow the the TED Ten.

I can see this wonderful site being used as as a substitution for for a traditional textbook in a class focused on sustainability. The videos, writings, lesson plans and leads to further research make it a rich resource for students, faculty and librarians a like. This is an excellent resource to add to your library’s research guides or pathfinders.

This post originally appeared in the Fashion, Costume and Textile Librarians blog on January 9, 2015.  

4 thoughts on “Textile Toolbox – Sustainable Fashion Guidance from MISTRA

  1. Hi Bret,
    Couldn’t find your contact through the FIT directory, so reaching out this route. Thought you might be interested, I am the Associate Dean for the School of Art and Design, and one of the contributors to the MISTRA Textile Toolbox guide. If you look at the authors of which there are 10 to fit the TED 10 guidelines, I am listed as one.
    Sincerely,
    Sass Brown

    1. Sass – Yes. Let me add that information as an addendum to this posting, which as originally written for the Fashion, Textiles and Costume Librarians blog where I was trying not to show any particular favoritism toward FIT. – Helen

      1. Hi Helen,
        Just wanted to let you know in case you were interested. We likely have the MISTRA exhibit going up in our Pomerantz lobby exhibit space over the summer, and Becky Earley the lead researcher of MISTRA, speaking at FIT around the same time.
        Sass

  2. Going by the fact that people spend considerable time, ,money and “thought” over “what to wear”, promoting sustainable fashion is an essential step towards making our lifestyle earth friendly! Of course, striking a balance between sustainability and profitability is necessary for the “eco-fashion” industry to thrive. The Textile Toolbox is definitely an invaluable resource for students interested in making a splash in the sustainable fashion industry! More on “sustainable fashion” at : http://greeniesglobe.com/green-living-sustainable-fashion.html

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