Course Development of "Environmental Issues for Designers and Merchandisers"

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater OK

Investigators

Abstract

Interdisciplinary (99) This project is developing, evaluating and disseminating materials for teaching a science-based course, "Environmental Issues for Designers and Merchandisers," that instructs interior and apparel students (i.e., future designers and merchandisers) about design-related environmental issues. The course emphasizes scientific concepts underlying textile-related environmental problems, and focuses on McDonough and Braungart's "cradle to cradle" design model as an approach for eliminating environmental problems during the design phase of a product's life cycle. The course uses a case studies approach to exemplify model application. Materials being developed include PowerPoint-based classroom materials with embedded videos of case histories. The intellectual merit of the project lies in providing apparel design and merchandising students the scientific foundation and context to make environmentally wise decisions in the design of textile products. The broader impacts of the project lie in providing a relevant science background to a population of non-science students who would not ordinarily receive such an experience, and in helping to bring a scientific and environmental consciousness into the fields of interior design and apparel design.