Oeko-Tex and AMD cooperate for more sustainability

Oeko-Tex, the international independent textile testing institute, and AMD (Akademie Mode & Design) have entered a cooperation to highlight how certifications can optimise manufacturing processes with regard to sustainabl aspects and create more transparency along the textile value chain. Georg Dieners, Oeko-Tex' secretary general, explained this to students of the AMD location in Düsseldorf, Germany, on 10th April 2018.

"I am very pleased that we were able to enter into this cooperation with the Akademie Mode & Design. Production that has been tested for harmful substances and is ecologically harmless are criteria that are becoming increasingly important to the customer when making a purchase. Our aim is to give tomorrow's designers and fashion journalists this awareness. We see this cooperation as a transfer of knowledge in both directions," said Dieners.

By sponsoring a design competition, Oeko-Tex supports the second semester of the 'Fashion Design (B.A.)' course and thus promotes the discussion with regard to product safety and greater sustainability in the production of textiles. As part of this, 24 fashion designers will design exhibits within the framework of the curriculum 'Form Finding Dress'.

These dresses are made with the certified fabrics and additions of Oeko-Tex. The first three places will receive prize money and ten additional models will be shown at AMD's graduate fashion show EXIT as part of Platform Fashion in January 2019. A jury consisting of representatives of Oeko-Tex, AMD, the trade and press will evaluate the works in two steps.

"For us as a design department, is is an important part of our teaching to convey a sensitivity and an understanding of sustainable topics to our students early in their education. We are very pleased about the option of implementing a practice-oriented project with Oeko-Tex and the fashion designers from the second semester and are very excited to award the prizes for and exhibit the innovative results of the form finding dresses at the end of he semester," commented professor Claudia Ebert-Hesse, dean of the department of design and study dean in charge of the programme for Fashion Design (B.A.).

Together with Georg Dieners, Gudrun Allstädt of Textilwirtschaft magazine and Uta Feldmann, senior design manager C&A Europe, she will present the first drafts to the jury in May at a so-called 'Glance over the shoulder'. The final jury meeting will take place at the end of July.

At the same time, students of the 'Fashion journalism/ Fashion communication‘ course will accompany the project and adopt parts of the media coverage in texts, photos and films in the social media. In particular, the topics 'Sustainability' and 'Confidence in Textiles' should be reflected in the designs and reporting of the students. Materials awarded the MADE IN GREEN Oeko-Tex label guarantee that they have been tested for harmful substances and at the same time are produced in a sustainable and socially responsible manner.

Photos: © Oeko-Tex / Christian Holthausen