At this event, The University of Manchester's Dr Claudia Henninger and Professor Holly Shiels joined the Sustainable Futures Seminar Series to discuss going circular in the fashion industry and how fish health following oil spills provides sentinel information for tackling human health with air pollution. The event brought in over 70 internal and external attendees.
Professor Mike Shaver, Director of Sustainable Futures was the chair of the event.
Dr Claudia Henninger, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Marketing Management, Faculty of Science and Engineering spoke first on "Going in Circles – opportunities and drawbacks of going circular in the fashion industry".
Dr Henninger said that, “When we talk about fashion, we may think of trendy garments, flashing lights, celebrities, and catwalk shows. Yet, this is not all the fashion is – rather it entails a lot of complexities. For example, garments that we wear on a daily basis may have rounded the earth multiple times, prior to ending up in our wardrobes. It may therefore not be surprising that the fashion industry has a dirty secret: it is unsustainable.
Within the EU textiles, including fashion items, have been identified as the “fourth largest cause of environmental pressure after food, housing, and transport” (EEA, 2019). In the UK we are leading the league in terms of garments purchased per person. One solution of overcoming challenges, such as overconsumption and unsustainability, within the fashion industry is ‘going circular’”.
Dr Henninger ended her segment by participating in a live Q&A session with the attendees.
Professor Holly Shiels, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Environmental Research Institute spoke next on "Polyaromatic hydrocarbon based cardiotoxicity and how fish health following oil spills provide sentinel information for tackling human health with air pollution" .
Professor Sheils argued that "Fundamental biological pathways tend to be conserved amongst vertebrates. Thus, fish exposed to petroleum-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) mixtures in the aquatic environment have served as sentinels for the potential human health impacts of PAHs in air pollution".
At the end of her presentation, Professor Sheils answered some questions from the attendees.
Our chair, Professor Mike Shaver, thanked the attendees and our guest speakers and closed the event.
Watch the recording of the seminar here!
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