Madeira provides sustainability insight for GCU students

Two International Fashion Branding students have spoken of their delight at having the opportunity to travel to Madeira as part of a GCU-led project.

The second part of the Erasmus + Project - Sustainable Fashion and Employability Skills (SFES) saw Glasgow-based students and staff join their peers from Universidade da Madeira, Universitat Politècnica de València, Universidad Villanueva (Madrid) and EDHEC Business School (Nice) for four days of activities related to sustainable fashion and local culture.

The purpose of the overall initiative is to help the next generation of fashion and business professionals understand sustainability and support them in driving societal change around the world.

The trip to the Portuguese Island took place in September, just three months after students and staff had met for the first time on a similar tour around Scotland’s sustainable hotspots.

Kirsty Shearer was lucky enough to attend in June, visiting the likes of ACS Clothing and Harris Tweed. She was joined in Madeira by fellow third year GCU student, Chloe Smith.

We caught up with them both to hear about their experience and how it has influenced their future career plans:

What did you think when you heard about the opportunity to go to Madeira?

Chloe: “I’d missed out on the Scotland trip, so I was quite excited to go and meet the other students from the different Universities – a few of my classmates at GCU had said they were all really nice. I was looking forward to talking with people that had a similar passion to me. I must admit though, I knew nothing about Madeira!”

Kirsty: “I was super excited. The Scotland trip was amazing, so I knew the Madeira one would be on another level!

“Not many students get the chance to work with others from different Universities, never mind in different countries. To actually get the chance to travel and meet people from another culture is something I greatly value.

Give us an insight into the trip, what sort of things were you involved in?

Chloe: “We had a whole range of experiences – both cultural and academic. It was mainly the Portuguese students that organised it. One thing that sticks out for me was when we tried Madeira Wine - it was so sweet! I wasn’t a fan.”

“Madeira is also known for its embroidery, and we went to one of the local factories where we saw the whole manufacturing process for Bordal, a local company that export their designs around the world. It was really interesting to see the whole embroidery process first-hand. The women who were making it had blue hands from the chemicals used – that was a bit strange to see but the overall visit was really good!”

Kirsty: “I’d first of all like to say I really enjoyed the wine! Another cultural highlight for me was the Madeira Mandolin Route, which was really cool. It gave us the chance to actually learn more about Madeira and the different products the island offers to the wider world."

There’s obviously an academic element to these trips as well, tell me about your time at the University of Madeira?

Chloe: “A big part of our visit was creating a podcast on a sustainability topic. We were all given different areas to look at and I focused on communicating sustainability as a brand message. We basically had to make a podcast with a lecturer or fashion expert and I had to ask them a few questions and create the podcast, which was quite a big thing for me.

“The whole experience developed lots of new skills, because I’ve never made a podcast before. I was paired up with a Portuguese girl, and I was also the only one at my table from Scotland. I actually helped a Spanish and French student write their script in English – even though I’m not very good at spelling!”

Kirsty: “We also created a Visual Executive Summary, which is basically an academic poster. This was for the White Paper, which will basically showcase all the work from the SFES project across the trips. Businesses, students and academics will then be able to use it as a way of developing an understanding of sustainability and how it can be used within the fashion industry.”

How has taking part in this trip benefitted you?

Chloe: “I feel like I’ve become closer to the likes of Kirsty and the other two girls involved, Bethany and Nicole. We’re all quite pally now, which is nice. We started Uni during Covid and it was so hard to speak to anyone, so it’s just been nice getting to meet other people that have been through that.

“It’s also great to meet students from the other Universities and discover they have the same passion as you. I think it’s just nice to see everyone’s positivity overall. You can tell all the lecturers absolutely love what they’re doing, which definitely acts as a motivation.”

Kirsty: “I liked the fact that most of the other students from around Europe actually study different courses, there was no-one else doing fashion marketing or branding. They focused more on the business side, so it was interesting hearing their thoughts on sustainability and gaining a different perspective.

“The students from Valencia are from a communications University, so they’re really good at their visual design work. We learned a lot from them and picked up skills we can take into our studies and future career.”

What are the next steps with the project?

Kirsty: “We’ll both be heading to Madrid in June next year, which will be the third and final part of SFES. The idea will basically be to do more workshops, learn about sustainability in Spain, and experience the local culture.

“The Madeira trip continued the work we’d done in Scotland – it all linked in really well. I think the first trip was basically a good way of just introducing everyone to the project and what sustainability and employability skills actually are. We basically got the background knowledge when we went around Scotland and then in Madeira, we were actually diving into it and getting down to business.”

Has the trip to Madeira impacted on what you want to do after your degree?

Chloe: “I’m not actually sure if I want to work in fashion at this point, but it’s really important to have that knowledge of sustainability for whatever I'm going to do. I actually got a new job in Ikea working in events and marketing, and talked about this in the interview as an example of using my initiative during group work.

“All companies are trying to be more sustainable, so you can bring this sort of experience in at any time.”

Kirsty: “I’ll definitely be working in sustainable fashion – I’ve always known that since the start of Uni. I’ve learned so much from the project and I think it’s also broadened my horizons around the possibility of moving away. Madeira is so different and it’s definitely made me realise that there are opportunities out there that could suit me.”

You can find out more about the Erasmus + Project – SFES here

By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter