The urge for sustainable development and policy in the fashion and textile industry has become my main focus throughout my education. My projects showed me the many aspects of sustainability and they directed me towards focusing on a university master in that field. The Master Sustainable Business & Innovation at the University of Utrecht offers exactly what I am looking for and focuses on the development of sustainable strategies and policy that can be applied in companies. Right now, I completed the first year of my Master's programme and will start with my graduation thesis in November 2022. 

​

Fashion & Textile Technologies

During my first two years of education at Saxion I learned a lot about the fashion and textile industry. The Bachelor's programme guides you to become an all-round textile professional while learning through projects and lectures from teachers with first-hand experience in the textile industry. These projects were the start of my personal development within the fashion and textile industry. They taught me how to develop myself, my interests and how to work together in a team reflecting different disciplines.

 

Besides that, I gained knowledge regarding materials, knitting and weaving techniques, designing range plans and sewing collections, creating concepts, chemical and mechanical testing and implementing sustainability in the supply chain. It taught me the basic set of skills that I need to become a fashion and textile professional.  During my personal development, I discovered that I am an open-minded and ambitious leader with the goal to create a more sustainable fashion industry. 

​

FLEECE AFTERLIFE - From September 2018 to February 2019, I was the project leader of a multidisciplinary team of students.  In collaboration with designer Conny Groenewegen, researcher Maurizio Montalti and Texperium we created a new material from mechanically recycled post-consumer polyester fleece and lab-grown fungi (Fleece Afterlife). This introduced me to the possibilities of changing a pattern and creating a sustainable future through innovation and storytelling.

​

MINOR TEXTILE MANAGEMENT- After this project, I pursued a minor in Textile Management at the Textilhögskolan in Borås, Sweden. The minor focuses on international management and communication and the sustainable improvement of the textile supply chain. I am the former vice-president of Enactus Saxion, an international community that supports social innovators and sustainable entrepreneurs, and I used to be a member of Hållbar Student, a study association that organizes events to raise awareness regarding environmental impact and a sustainable lifestyle.

 

SUSTAINABILITY INTERNSHIP WE FASHION - From August 2019 until January 2020, I was a fulltime intern at the Sustainability Department at WE Fashion, guided by Marijke Willemsen. During this internship I got a better understanding of the development of sustainability within businesses. Because of project meetings, workshops and events, I learned a lot about the complexity of all different social and environmental aspects in the company. The past three months of my internship, my interest regarding due diligence and social compliance increased, but also my interest in the importance of sustainability within different departments (like buying, design, management) aroused. I had the privilege to travel to Ahmedabad in India in November 2019 to visit cotton farms and ginning and spinning facilities with Better Cotton Initiative.

​

GRADUATION THESIS G-STAR RAW - During my bachelor's graduation thesis I determined how to conduct and report on due diligence. I worked together with the Sustainability Department of G-Star RAW to create a new framework for their Sustainability Report of 2019 and 2020. This framework includes the reporting requirements of multiple stakeholders, among which the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garment & Textile, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Fashion Transparency Index. The most important part of this due diligence framework is based on an excessive risk assessment. With the help of my G-Star RAW colleagues and external experts, I conducted a supply chain risk assessment on both an environmental and social level. 

​

Sustainable Business & Innovation 

In September 2020, I started my Pre-Master's programme for the Master Sustainable Business & Innovation in Utrecht. This programme lasts for one year and forms the bridge between my previous education at Saxion University of Applied Sciences and Utrecht University. It focuses mainly on mathematics, system analysis, global climate change, economics and research skills. 

​

SUSTAINABILITY INTERNSHIP G-STAR RAW - In addition to my Pre-Master I extended my learning experience at G-Star RAW. Within this internship I am translating my graduation research into an actual product: G-Star RAW's Sustainability Report of 2020. This report is based upon the risk assessment that I worked on during my graduation and which I extended and completed during my internship. 

​

My internship at G-Star RAW comes to an end at the end of February. I am looking forward to experience new opportunities in the field of sustainability!