Lecture2：Fashion and the Environment: The Power and Responsibility of Design

Lecture 2 was held, and we would like to introduce a part of the lecture and what the semifinalists learned/new perspectives they noticed.

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　　Lecturer / Theme

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Lecturer: Ms. Aya Nagata (Director, Office for Mainstreaming Biodiversity, Biodiversity Policy Division, Nature Conservation Bureau,Ministry of the Environment, Japan / “Fashion and the Environment” Task Force Leader)

Theme: Fashion and the Environment: The Power and Responsibility of Design

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　　Profile

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Joined the Ministry of Environment in 2005.

She has been in charge of industrial waste management, air pollutant emission control measures, legal reforms related to the Nagoya Protocol and Minamata Convention, policies and projects related to environmental and ESG finance, and plastic resource recycling measures.

Current position from July 2024. Responsible for promoting the transition to a nature-positive economy, among other things.

For fashion and the environment, a task force of volunteers from within the Ministry was set up in 2020, and the task force leader was appointed in July 2024 after returning from a secondment to the Kyoto City.

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　　Lecture Outline

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As the title “The Power and Responsibility of Design” suggests, the participants learned a comprehensive perspective on the responsibility of manufacturing in the future and the future that can be opened up by the power of design. First, the premise was the current state of the climate crisis and the fashion industry’s impact on climate change, and how the Japanese and other governments and global initiatives are responding to this situation. And what should companies (brands and designers) and consumers be doing about it? We shared the importance of recognizing these situations not as constraints, but as basic rules for future manufacturing, and how we can play our own way within this context.

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　　Key Points Learned

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Some of the key points that were learned by the semi-finalists who attended the course and last year’s winners are listed below.

A participant from Europe shared their unique perspective, saying, ‘I really appreciated the way the presentation was structured and, mainly, the sharing of data from her research related to fashion and sustainability in Japan.’ One also mentioned, ‘I realize that the main problems are often the same, but this has also allowed me to understand that together we can build a better future,’ highlighting the importance of global collaboration.

Regarding the lecture’s discussion on ‘comparing Christian and Buddhist approaches to the understanding behind the concept of sustainability,’ another participant was struck by the new perspective that ‘Christian countries have the idea of somehow “controlling” the world around us, while Buddhist countries like Japan try to live “with” the world.’ Being part of a group gathered from around the world, they felt it was an opportunity to reevaluate their own cultural backgrounds from multiple angles.

Additionally, there were opinions expressing that ‘by not just setting goals and making statements, but by communicating the “why” to consumers and those around us, we can connect this to the realization of new fashion = a new way of life.’ Some participants also reflected on the challenges faced by creatives, saying, ‘How do we use the power of beauty in fashion, design, and art to convey a message to society?’

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We will continue to provide an overview of each lecture and what the semifinalists learned from it.

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