90859 - Sustainable Fashion Management

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student is expected to: - recognise the main theories of economic, social and environmental sustainability and apply them to the context in which fashion industries operate; - identify and combine appropriate tools for a more sustainable management of fashion industries; - engage with the contemporary debate on sustainability in fashion, by critically discussing production-related and managerial perspectives but also the aspects related to consumption and societal impact.

Course contents

After reviewing the basic tools related to business management in the fashion domain (e.g., marketing mix, branding, segmentation, targeting, positioning), the course will introduce the most important concepts in the field of social, environmental, and economic sustainability studies.

The second part of the course will address key issues in sustainable fashion management, which will be critically discussed in light of contemporary debate among both academics and practitioners. In particular, the ethical dimension of sustainable fashion will be investigated with particular interest, emphasizing the contradictions that emerge when fashion managers try to implement campaigns that tend to give a superficial and limited view of sustainability ("greenwashing").

The course will examine the codes of conduct of companies considered most sustainable, then reflect on the most common mistakes fashion managers encounter when designing their management plans.

Students with temporary or permanent ASD or disabilities: it is recommended to contact the responsible university office in advance (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it); it will be your responsibility to propose any adaptations to the interested students, who must in any case be submitted, 15 days in advance, for approval by the teacher, who will also evaluate the appropriateness in relation to the educational objectives of the teaching.

Readings/Bibliography

The course bibliography is based on a combination of texts in Italian and articles in English. In particular, the course will discuss a selection of academic articles (predominantly in English) and articles from contemporary business magazines.

The list of articles will be finalized and communicated during the first week of class, also based on the students' preliminary preparation, which will be assessed by the teacher during the first day of class.

Teaching methods

The course is based on a combination of lectures and more interactive sessions, where students will be asked to critically discuss case studies and scientific articles in small groups.

Typically, the facilitator will assign students some weekly readings, which will form the basis for class discussion. Attending classes is strongly recommended, but it will be possible to prepare for the exam even as non-attendees (see below).

THE COURSE IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN.

Assessment methods

The learning test modality consists of an individual written exam. The use of generative AI applications is not permitted during the exam.

Teaching tools

All materials and resources are available on https://virtuale.unibo.it/

Office hours

See the website of Massimo Giovanardi