FA6032 - Responsible Fashion Commerce

You will attend weekly sessions, including a lecture series, that will introduce and explore the core elements of fashion commerce in terms of how the demands of responsible business practices and industry impact These tutor-led and peer-learning activities will be supported by tutor-student tutorials that will support your learning and your assessment preparations and progress. You will also engage with key issues and examples (labour practices, legal processes, production systems, supply-chains) in peer-group workshops that help you to engage in research-rich evaluations of core elements of contemporary fashion commerce. The module, therefore, combines a taught and experiential learning strategy that give you critical understandings of what are critical issues in modern (and future) fashion commerce. The module reading list and tutor-set learning activities mean that you also need to engage in self-directed learning that will enhance your knowledge and skillset in relation to multi-perspective approaches to responsibility in the fashion business and fashion commerce, which will enhance your knowledge of crucial issues and form the foundation for your assessment preparation and completion. While you will receive summative feedback post assessment submission that will provide you with evaluative commentary and important feedforward that will support you in improving future work, you will also receive formative support in tutorial and assessment-focused class sessions.

You will initially receive lectures outlining the goals and content of the module and the assessment activities you are asked to complete, and these will provide ongoing guidance, support and assessment Q&A opportunities throughout the module. Additionally, you will have one-to-one tutorial support from the module tutor(s). In terms of academic and learning support, you will build on the guidance you receive in the Academic, Research and Career Development module and further academic skills support can be accessed via the University Library.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the ethical, social, and environmental challenges in practices of fashion commerce (K&U1).

2. Evaluate the influence of global policies, regulations, and governance on responsible business operations (K&U2).

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

3. Apply analytical and problem-solving skills to develop responsible fashion business strategies that balance ethical considerations with commercial success (IPSA 1).

4. Communicate complex sustainability issues effectively to diverse stakeholders such as consumers, businesses, and policymakers (IPSA 3).

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

5. The ability to produce an ethical and solution-focused approach to addressing responsibility challenges in fashion commerce through team-based work (PVA 1).

This module will be summatively assessed at the end of the module through the following submissions:

1. Responsible Fashion Commerce Evaluation (60%): This assessment is based on students selecting a fashion company and producing an evaluative audit and critical appraisal of its responsible commerce practices (LO1, LO2). 2500 words.

2. Ethical Pitch Project (40%): In small groups, students will develop a pitch for a new sustainable and inclusive fashion product or initiative and present this to investors. Students must address production, marketing, and inclusivity goals in a persuasive and research-informed format (LO3, LO4, LO5). 1500 words .

The assessments address Summative feedback will be provided to students through the appropriate teaching and learning platform (Blackboard/Turnitin).

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Responsible Fashion Commerce addresses the urgent and complex challenges the fashion industry must confront to operate responsibly and ethically in a globalised marketplace. Through a critical exploration of external business operations, communication strategies, and internal organisational structures, you will examine how fashion intersects with environmental impact, labour practices, regulatory compliance, and commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion. You will interrogate how fashion brands navigate global standards and pressures—from sustainability standards to ethical supply chains—and how they communicate these efforts to increasingly socially conscious consumers. The module also investigates the transformative role of technologies such as artificial intelligence in improving supply chain transparency, trend forecasting, and waste-reducing inventory systems. By the end of the module, you will not only understand the key drivers and debates shaping responsible fashion commerce, but you’ll also develop practical skills to design and articulate innovative strategies that promote ethical, inclusive, and sustainable practices to a range of industry stakeholders.