Tag Archives: FYI

Sustainability Awareness Week – Patagonia Worn Wear

FIT’s Sustainability Awareness Week Quick Summary

Here at FIT we dedicate a week every semester to the sustainability of our industry with the sustainability council and club leading the way for events and panel discussions.

I stopped by the Patagonia Worn Wear pop-up to learn a little more about what they do and their journey. Their FIT setup consisted of three sewing machines (one industrial brother machine and two home machines), sewers tools, and a big box of trims and notions. The repair technicians mended several different types of damages such as broken zippers and buttons, busted seams, and patching holes. Patagonia owns the largest repair facility in the US located in Reno, Nevada, which is even more astounding when you realize that they only repair Patagonia products.

Patagonia’s Worn Wear wagon

The Worn Wear team even consisted of an FIT alumn, a TDM (Textiles Development and Marketing) graduate, who is with the materials innovation team at Patagonia. She spoke with me about the Patagonia branch “Tin Shed” which is a corporate venture capitalist fund they use to invest in environmentally and socially responsible start-up companies which they use to further their corporate mission!

What aspects of sustainability are you interested in?

How I Made My Summer ’19 Decision

Recently, I went through a very difficult decision process to sort out my summer plans. For context, I am a junior soon to be heading into my senior year, and I am originally from Washington state. I have been working as a production intern at Tory Burch since the Fall semester and was offered an opportunity to stay with them as a product development intern over the summer. I have yet to stay in NY over the summer, and I always miss home this time of year since I’ve been away for so long. There were many things to consider when debating to accept this offer from Tory Burch. I wouldn’t be able to see my friends and family from back home over the entire summer, I wouldn’t be back in the PNW during one of my favorite seasons, and I wouldn’t be saving money from not paying rent. It is also my last summer as a student and I wanted to be very careful with how I used this fleeting freedom. On the other hand, if I stayed with Tory Burch, I would be building my resume and developing more skills and experience to further my career and eventually achieve my long term goal; I eventually want to move back to the West coast and work for iconic outdoor apparel and lifestyle brands, with one of my top picks located in Seattle, WA. If I stayed in NY over the summer, I would be helping my future job search when applying for positions back home, but was this worth not seeing my friends and family? In the end, I chose to take the internship with Tory Burch with hopes that working towards my long term goal would be best for me. There was really no right or wrong decision in this situation for me because I could see myself being both thankful and regretful at the same time for making either decision. Sometimes, you just have to push aside your critical analysis and just make a decision when one is needed. It made me realize that I’m at a point in my life where my choices are going to have direct consequences on aspects of my life, and that real planning needs to be put in place if I don’t want to lose control of my life. One thing I did to sort out my decision was I put together a 5 year and a 10 year life plan for myself, mapping out different aspects of my life, including career, health, and relational. These things are important to think about and develop an understanding of what you want. It’s never too early to start planning.

Production Management Semester 4 Review

Alright everyone, now this is a pretty big deal. When you finish your 4th semester, you will be graduating with your AAS. This went by extremely fast for me and shows just how much you have to pay attention and savor the moment, because time really does fly by.

MG 252 – Product Data Management

This class is focuses on identifying all the different types of information in a business environment, where this information comes from, and where it then is directed. Students familiarize themselves with key business documents such as NDAs, project workflows, and 26 other documents, and create samples for their personal use. Final project is breaking down all the data for a sample product and presenting this information.

IC 297 – AAS Internship C: Career Exploration

This course is taken at the same time that you are placed in your Spring credited internship. The main goal of this course is to help students identify their desired career path and to start working towards it through their current internship. Students share personal experiences with their internships to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the opportunities in the industry.

EN 321 – Strategies of Business Communication

Students learn proper business communication etiquette and use this to create job search documents, reports, memos, and customer service documents.

MA 213 – Quantitative Methods

This is a required math class that is fairly basic. Linear algebra is the main focus of this class, with some focus on interest, used to calculate things such as loans. Students create a report using this interest math to calculate what their financial situations would be if they took out loans.

Fashion News Source Pt. 4

Hi there everyone! We’re starting the countdown for the year and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s been busy since Spring Break with not much time for relaxing, but it’s all been very much worth it. This installation of Fashion News Sources brings to you a site you might have previously heard of before as it is a major resource in the apparel industry.

Fashion News Source: #4

Apparel Magazine

Designed for industry executives, Apparel Magzine knows whats going on in every aspect of the apparel industry. Separated into five categories, they provide in-depth information and analysis fit for execs. Catagories include Design, Supply Chain/Production, Retail Intelligence, Apparel Tech, and Financial News. As a production student, I love that they have a category dedicated towards the subject. It includes all sorts of information that we go over in class, including PLM systems, sourcing, transportation, and order management.

As a production student, I don’t focus as much on the other categories provided by Apparel Magazine, however, knowing the depth and breadth of the information provided in the Supply Chain/Production section, I would bet money that they live up to the high standards set on it by the industry.

This is truly a fantastic source to get your information. It is a necessity in your information loop.

(photo courtesy of Apparel Magazine)

Fashion News Source Pt. 3

Here we are again, back with the third installation of fashion news sources. This media outlet is very special. They are relatively young, being around for just about 6 years, though they have made a name for themselves, both in the media world and in the world of their readers. I’m proud to introduce you all to our next news source.

Fashion News Source: #3

Industry Dive

Created with executives in mind, Industry offers insightful analysis on key topics in a variety of industries. Starting out with only two industries, over their 6 successful years, Industry Dive now covers thirteen industries: biopharma, CIO, construction, education, food, HR, healthcare, marketing, retail, smart cities, supply chain, utility, and waste. For students at FIT, we are most likely interested in their retail coverage.

Retail Dive is not specific to the apparel industry, but seeing how the apparel industry is massive, it is often covered. From e-commerce to brick-and-mortar, Retail Dive covers the major stories. You can subscribe to Retail Dive to get important articles sent to you so that you never miss a beat.

As a Production Management student at FIT, it is hard for me to not bring up Supply Chain Dive. The supply chain is a major component of any product, and all FIT students should be aware of what is going on in the industry to some extent. Again, you can subscribe to Supply Chain Dive to make sure you receive articles in your email.

I highly recommend looking at Industry Dive and seeing what interests you. They cover all the major happenings in the respective industries and truly supply information worthy of an executives time.

(photo courtesy of Industry Dive)