textile design
Textile design in the current context

"Textile Design in the Current Context" is dedicated to changing topics in each case that are socially and technically relevant in the context of textiles and clothing and addresses Bachelor students from all faculties of the faculty equally. The goal of the course is to develop an understanding of sustainable textile design and to incorporate this into the design of sustainable textile products. Students will learn approaches, background information and design strategies on the topics of sustainable textile design, such as on the topic of "Design4Recycling Jeans", "The Pants of the Future".

od
Open Design Spaces

"Open Design Spaces" is offered as an interdisciplinary course with internal and external cooperation partners in a research-oriented manner. Students are guided to current design research on a project basis. Design projects from real practical fields and on current research topics in fashion/textile design on the subject of sustainable textile fashion/textiles are offered and supervised by the responsible professors in an advisory capacity, e.g. Zero Waste Fashion, Zero Emission Denim.

logisitk
Green and sustainable logistics

Every summer semester, the optional course "Green and Sustainable Logistics" takes place. The compulsory optional course is aimed at students of the German-language Bachelor's degree programmes. In this optional course, aspects and strategies of the logistics industry for dealing with the challenges in the field of green and sustainable logistics are addressed. At the same time, it shows how students today, as consumers but also as future decision makers, have an influence on many of these business processes.

sustainability
Sustainability

The learner is able to identify responsibilities of natural resources and name relevant laws and regulations. The students know the triple bottom line, a model for sustainability and CSR. Furthermore they know the most important social as well as environmental standards and their impact for the textile value chain and the most important CSR standards. The students know the basic theory of ecology and the origin of hazardous chemicals in textile and clothing industry. They are able to explain the green house effect and how to avoid relevant emissions within the textile chain. Furthermore they know about business specific eco labels within the textile production chain as well the basic principle of REACH. The communication will be improved by a team presentation about ecologically relevant topics.

SCM and sustainability

Students learn about sustainability concepts and CSR standards based on the three-pillar model.

They will also learn about the most important social and environmental standards and know about the problems of their implementation in the textile chain. Furthermore, after completing the module Supply Chain Management, the students should be able to evaluate and assess concepts according to classical economic as well as ecological aspects.

Business Ethics & Environmental Managem.

In these subjects, the comprehensive management of sustainability issues in organizations is dealt with, which means, among other things, identifying the relevant issues, developing a sustainability strategy or CSR management suitable for the organization, involving relevant stakeholders and sustainability reporting. Life cycle assessment for environmental sustainability is covered as well as social issues of labor and human rights. Other important topics are compliance and prevention of corruption, ethical behavior and an outlook on sustainable consumption.

industrial science
Occupational Science / Ergonomics

These subjects provide a good theoretical and practical basis for anyone who wants to work for working conditions that are designed with people in mind, both at home and abroad. Accident prevention and the prevention of work-related illnesses, as well as the design of efficient, safe and healthy work processes are the content of the lectures.

inno product design
Innovative product design

In the master's subject "Innovative Product Design", we face the challenge of thinking and implementing textile products in a new and future-oriented way every year. The design/concept for a textile or an object lays the foundation for its sustainability. Whether clothing, furniture or shoes - textiles are constantly conquering new product areas. Starting with the selection of the material, through the production process and the use phase to the end of the product life cycle, a product must be holistically planned and thought through. Experts from industry regularly support the lecture with professional know-how and advice.

Experimental knitting

From yarn to surface, from surface to product. Knitting technology with the whole range of its technical possibilities is the creative platform for students in the Master's optional course "Experimental Knitting" to explore a wide variety of materials. Typically, we face - in the sense of sustainability - one material per semester and explore holistically its material limits in surface and form up to the finishing. The use of "mono-materials" serves the purpose of recyclability, experiments with products that are true to form aim at production possibilities without material loss (zero waste). The spectrum of materials ranges from natural fibers, such as wool and linen, to plant-based bioplastics (PLA).

Virtual 3D Knitting Design

Sustainability in the textile industry also means using virtual product development to facilitate, shorten and replace costly patterning and development processes. Especially in the flat knitting sector, the virtual design of patterns, surfaces and products is becoming increasingly important, since starting with the yarn, surface and shape have to be developed. The optional course "Virtual 3D Knit Design" is open to master students of different orientations. In the context of the requirements of Industry 4.0, the virtual models replace costly patterning processes and prototype production and at the same time form the preliminary stage for implementation in knitting programming. Their use ranges from in-house sampling to a sales tool in the virtual showroom. In terms of sustainability, they thus reduce costs, time, logistics and material expenses worldwide, enable individualized products and batch size 1.
(start of lectures planned for spring 2020)

Finishing and ecology

The course provides an introduction to textile finishing processes and machinery and establishes the connections to the sustainable use of resources such as energy, water and raw materials for chemical auxiliaries in the textile finishing industry. For example, methods of wastewater treatment using biological clarification stages and membrane filtration to recycle process water are covered. Furthermore, the topics of consumer protection through eco-labels and here exemplarily the eco-label Ökotex Standard 100 are considered. Lists compiled by the Apparel Coalition and Greenpeace and chemicals to be avoided and substituted in textile production are discussed, taking into account the function of the respective products. For example, azo dyes, non-ionic surfactants, and perfluorinated surfactants are addressed: where are, or were, they used and how can they be substituted? Finally, aspects of clothing physiology are worked out using the example of various functional textiles (membrane textiles, fleece) and different finishing methods (coating, laminating, napping and shearing).

Degree, studies and project assignments

In bachelor's and master's theses, independent topics can be worked on in the context of corporate sustainability strategies or also in current research projects. Colleagues from teaching education, the research institutes FTB and A.U.G.E. as well as the EthNa Competence Centre CSR supervise work in these areas. Topics can be explored in more depth in studies and project assignments, and sustainability projects take place regularly as part of the 5th semester projects.

The student group fairquer reports on sustainability in the clothing industry, wants to educate and show alternatives: https: //www.fairquer.org/.

In addition, the association FEMNET e.V. regularly organizes workshops on feminist perspectives on the textile industry, politics and society: https://femnet.de/.

The faculty is involved in the steering committee Fair Trade Town Mönchengladbach and participates annually in the nationwide Fair Week: https: //www.moenchengladbach.de/de/wirtschaft/fairtrade-town-mg/

In addition, the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology regularly organizes a Sustainability Day in November in cooperation with other faculties.

Research

The research institute for textiles and clothing at the Hochschule Niederrhein carries out complex projects to improve sustainability in the textile processing chain. Each year, around 65 students from the Bachelor 's

and Master's degree programmes take part in these projects as assistants, or as part of their theses. www.

hs-niederrhein.de/ftb/

The A.U.G.E. affiliated institute and the EthNa Competence Centre CSR carry out research and development tasks in the field of CSR, ethics and sustainability by means of publicly funded programs, but can also be commissioned directly by companies. In addition, the EthNa Competence Centre CSR finances a website that provides knowledge and assistance to employees in textile and clothing companies and their customers: www.csr-textil-bekleidung.de.

Student videos from the course "Projects

The course "Projects" is an important building block in the studies and an event for a joint, interdisciplinary and practical team work of the students of all German and English Bachelor's Degree programmes: "Textile and Clothing Technology", "Design Engineer"and"Textile and Clothing Management" at the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology.
The students should independently carry out project assignments under conditions that are as close to practical orientation as possible and thus consciously experience and learn them, especially project management.
Again and again, "sustainability" is a central component of the project assignment in a variety of topics, which is documented, among other things, in the following videos created for the final presentation.