BTEC Higher Nationals Ivy Goes Green: Sustainability project at Ivy College of Management and Science
Students from the IVY College of Management and Science, based in Lahore, Pakistan, have recently completed an exciting project as part of their BTEC Higher National studies. Learners on the Level 4 Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Art and Design (Fashion and Textiles) worked collaboratively as a class to create a sustainable ‘green carpet’ collection.
Hear from Hammad Hassan Khawaja, Head of School of Art and Design at the College and leading tutor for this project, about his students' successes:
“The project for Unit 9 of the Art and Design – Fashion course was aimed at educating and sensitizing our young learners, at the very beginning of their professional studies to get them into the habit of researching and opting for sustainable supply chain options. This also ensures that what they produce, showcase, and sell, should have minimal carbon footprint.
Pakistan is one of the most adversely affected countries due to climate change. Floods of 2022 that affected 70% of the country and disrupted people’s livelihoods and still continue to do so, gave us this idea to initiate a visual conversation, that would help to highlight the importance of finding solutions to the climate crisis. I wanted my students to realize that everyone has a role to play and that everyone can contribute, in their own unique way, towards a more sustainable environment for everyone.
“Climate Crisis is one such challenge and the 'IVY GOES GREEN' project led us to think out of the box and suggest new ideas. The industry visits to explore sustainable printing techniques was an absolute eye opener.”
- Zahnoor Kashif Khan (HNC Art and Design student)
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In order to produce Pakistan's first ever ‘green carpet’ fashion collection, students started by researching and sourcing recycled fabric that would be fit for purpose. Students sourced recycled polyester that can be printed on, and when they tested sublimation printing on it the result was amazing. The drape and feel of the fabric was absolutely luscious, so students chose to go for this sumptuously sustainable material.
“This project has been an enthusiastic yet a bumpy ride where we experienced a lot of creative challenges, learned modern techniques that can make our choices along the value chain more sustainable. We learnt about innovations in textiles as a result of which there are a few recycled fabrics available albeit the options remain limited. This project prepared us to function within a timeline and under pressure.”
- Muntaha Ahmed (HNC Art and Design student)
My level 4 students come from varied backgrounds, and most have very little prior designing experience. They have limited drawing and computer aided design skills. Most were learning these skills for the very first time in their lives. So, to aid them in the design development process, they were taught and encouraged to use AI designing tools (including Midjourney) to develop mood boards. Integrating AI into the design development process made it even more interesting.
Learners took elements from their mood board and used those elements to develop running textile prints on Photoshop using basic repeat techniques. So, through this project, students were learning and practicing the application of newly acquired textiles knowledge and skills. Sublimation printing on recycled polyester was used to develop textiles surfaces. As the collection was being designed for a ‘green carpet’ evening event, the sublimation printed surfaces were further enhanced with hand embellishment techniques to add pizazz and bling in a sustainable manner.”
“My personal experience being a part of the 'IVY GOES GREEN' assignment has been nothing but excellent. The teachers have been a great help to me and have inspired me to push myself to explore previously unexplored subject matters. From not paying too much attention to the issue of climate change to absolutely becoming passionate about sustainability, is what this project has done for me!”
- Khansa Asad (HNC Art and Design student)
