WASHINGTON (April 19, 2024) – Earth Day will be celebrated on April 22 and this year’s theme is called Planet vs. Plastics. Among this year’s key goals of the annual awareness day, Earthday.org is demanding an end to fast fashion. According to the Sourcing Journal, fast fashion companies are responsible for producing more than 100 billion garments every year and most of their products are made with petroleum-based fabrics like polyester, nylon and acrylic.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected].
John J. Forrer is the director of the Institute for Corporate Responsibility at the George Washington University School of Business and a professor of strategic management and public policy. Current research project topics of Forrer’s include impact investing, ESG standards in emerging markets, carbon credits and offsets, ESG as a form of global governance, and circular economy and fast fashion. He teaches courses on impact investing, business government relations, and public private partnerships.
"We all know the catastrophic damage caused by fast fashion,” Forrer says. “What we need now is to develop better business models targeting sustainable fashion products and their supply chains that will attract impact investors who want to make a reasonable return and promote greater sustainability."
Bibiana Obler is an associate professor of art history for Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at GW. Obler’s research and teaching interests include modern and contemporary art and craft from the late nineteenth century to the present, with emphases on twentieth-century avant-gardes, theories of gender and cross-cultural representation, photography, applied arts, and intellectual history. Obler previously curated an exhibition exploring issues concerning the production and distribution of textiles and clothing. It aimed to catalyze conversations on topics ranging from how consumers can affect labor conditions in garment industries to how designers can offer more environmentally sustainable garments.
Law
Randall S. Abate is the Assistant Dean for Environmental Law at the GW Law School. Abate is an expert in domestic and international environmental law, climate change law and justice. Abate has a special research focus on youth climate change and sustainability initiatives.
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