Fashion, sustainability and planet health

Our CEO, Chandu Visweswariah, recently visited LIM College, a New York City-based higher educational institution for students in the global business of fashion. He discussed climate change and solutions to mitigate its impact.

As founding President of a mission-driven company that seeks to drive faster adoption of renewables in the energy industry, Chandu believes that educating oneself and others on climate change is a key first step for those looking to make a difference. As someone who lives in a zero-carbon home, he also advocates living a lifestyle with the lightest possible carbon footprint, and incorporating that ethos into the workplace.

After a broadly defined energy domain, fashion/garments contribute the most to global warming, he noted. Chandu was happy to learn that the new batch of students at LIM College is weaving sustainability into their garment design and manufacturing process, as part of a new course taught by Prof. Andrea Kennedy.

(Photo courtesy of LIM College: Chandu Visweswariah, seen in the front row, with the students he addressed as part of a course on sustainability).

"It was heartening to see the next generation caring so much about the environment, paying careful attention through the lecture, asking lots of questions, and then hanging around for almost an extra hour to learn more about the subject," he said.

Students will build concepts they learned from the lecture into their next assignment, in which they are designing a garment while keeping sustainability considerations in mind from a manufacturing and supply chain standpoint.

Chandu's main message to the students was that especially in light of the recent IPCC report on climate change , decarbonizing the economy is an imperative. Electrifying our energy needs including heating and transportation, and switching to renewable energy such as wind, solar, and hydro power, must be the way forward.

Below is an excerpt and link to a related blog posted on the LIM College website, authored by fashion student Michelle Williams:

"On Wednesday, October 17, LIM College's Sustainability and the Future of Fashion course took place in Fashionopolis, where professors and students heard special guest lecturer Dr. Chandu Visweswariah discuss climate change. The founding President and CEO of Utopus Insights , Dr. Visweswariah explained tangible practices brands can put in place to shift their factories and properties to renewable energy.

Dr. Visweswariah started his presentation with three simple questions:

- Is our planet imperiled?
- Can we save our planet?
- What is the solution?"

Read the complete blog here .