Growing Sustainable Fashion Economies: Innovating Sustainable Fashion Practices: A Collection of Entrepreneurial Case Studies in the UK/Bangladesh

This paper is an outline of current work of a three year British Council Project called Development Partnership of Higher Education (DelPHE) funded by UKAid that brings together international collaborationbetween London College of Fashion (LCF), the BGMEA University of Fashion Technology (BUFT) in Dhaka and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). As retailers are increasingly under pressure to ensure ethical and environmental standards run all the way through the supply chain, there is a need for research projects to explore best practice and ways forward to improve the competitiveness of the Bangladesh manufacturing sector through adding value in this area. The aim of this research project is to identify the sustainable practices that companies have in their business operations and raise awareness between their trade offs, and the opportunities that the Bangladesh/UK fashion industry faces in creating stylish produces for niche and mainstream markets that have sustainable values. This research work is a Collection of Entrepreneurial Case Studies in Bangladesh and in the UK companies and the experience will be used to analyze the sustainable landscape. It is intended that the knowledge gained during this 3 year funded project will foster new business models, new curriculum programmes and support the drive to better industrial practices.