My essential question is how can we create a more sustainable fashion industry, by reducing waste and creating more ethical work conditions? I am interested in this because I am really interested in sustainable fashion and it is a huge issue for the environment. Textiles are the largest polluting industry creating 21 billion tons of garbage a year and 10% of our global carbon emission. In addition, fast fashion is extremely unethical by having workers work in poor condition and unfair wages. Overall, the fashion industry is really cruel and something that needs to be fixed, I know that there are sustainable alternatives however I am interested in furthering my knowledge deeper.

During this time of uncertainty, I am unsure what I can make possible. I initially hoped to intern at a sustainable fashion brand in New York. This would be a great way to learn about the process that brands go through to source and create fashion sustainably and ethically. My other option that I wanted to do was to create my own sustainable clothes by hand-making them, learning how to sew, follow patterns and finding a way to source sustainable fabrics.

I think that the first option is not very feasible just because of COVID, I also may not be old enough to intern at many of these brands and most of their headquarters are in California. Although I found a few brands with headquarters in NYC, they were smaller brands and I am not sure if they could take interns especially with how little experience I have working in that field. The other option however, is extremely feasible for me. I already have a sewing machine and I know how to sew. I would just need to buy fabrics and patterns, or I could learn how to create my own patterns.