De Montfort University

Undergraduate

BA/BSc (Hons) Retail Buying (Fashion and Textiles pathways)

Within the Retail Studies Level 2 module students undertake research for two mini presentations:

Presentation 1 examines retail price points and countries of origin considering the prices paid to manufacturers based on typical retail margins and investigates brands that were criticized for their trading polices, discussing how companies are now taking steps to ensure that workers are not being exploited to produce their products. 

Presentation 2 is based on researching clothing brands that promote themselves as being either environmentally sensitive or based on ethical trading. Students choose a brand and consider their policies and how successful they believe the company is in their approach.  Are the retailers genuinely providing a more ethical/environmentally sound approach to business?  Or does it just provide good pr & a point of differentiation? Students also consider how brands criticized for their policies can learn from these brands and what might be the benefits and the problems associated with adopting such an approach.  Finally as consumers can be said to be driving the trend towards low prices and fast fashion which can encourage a less ethical approach to trading, students consider how consumers can be influenced to encourage them to consider the ethics behind the label.

Within the lectures of the Level 3 module Sourcing & Supply we discuss globalization, considering the arguments for and against plus corporate social responsibility & ethics in retailing amongst other topics.



Students have also considered ethical issues in their final year dissertation, for example, "Ethical Consumerism" (Gemma Barnard, Textile Retail Buying) and in collections, for example Second Nature Eco garment range developed by Louise McBrien (Fashion Retail Buying).

Contact: Dr Claire Orwin at <cno@dmu.ac.uk>

Visit the course website.