Trans Tex<\/a>, presented survey data collected from about 30 council members on the critical areas the council should focus its efforts on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe textile industry and the textile world, as you know, is a bellwether of society, of the economy, and of culture,\u201d said Aspelund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI’m hopeful that what we are starting here today is more than just an intellectual exercise going forward,\u201d said Woody. \u201cI\u2019m hoping this will be a forum for helping us as a textile community to solve some of the challenges that we face\u2013 not only today but 5, 10, 20 years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Woody said other states have already started taking steps to address the future of the textile industry. California passed a bill requiring its textile companies to establish an organization that will look at ways to emphasize upcycling and recycling of old textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Closer to home, two key challenges emerged as central themes during the meeting: the environmental impact of textile production and workforce development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A council member from Massachusetts said that the state is trying to get high school students interested in the field. However, they face challenges in recruiting due to a disconnect between students’ perceptions of the field and the actual job opportunities available. There are positions available in data entry, product design, and other supportive roles, but often students only see the jobs available on the production floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspelund referenced Nina Voccio, an East Providence high school teacher, who wants to collaborate with industry professionals to help bridge this gap and better inform students about career opportunities in textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have things like durability which can ensure the lifespan of products to help reduce waste,\u201d said Aspelund. \u201cNina Voccio would really like some collaboration on informing her high school students on what it actually means to work in the textile industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following a brief discussion, council members brainstormed solutions to some of the textile industry\u2019s most pressing issues. One group, a RITIN committee called the Young Professionals, led by 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni Rose Wood, M.S. \u201922, came up with an approach to attract a younger generation to the industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy goal is to say, \u2018Hey, high school students, college students, working in textiles isn’t the 1700s. There are career paths. There are tons of options,\u2019\u201d said Wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wood emphasized that many textile companies need to adapt to the values of the younger generation. As an example, she said, many young adults really value sustainability. She believes that aligning industry practices with these values could make some of these open jobs more attractive to young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inaugural meeting of the Future Textiles Council featured a wide range of perspectives and ideas. While this is just the first step, Aspelund and others are optimistic their efforts will have a lasting impact on the textile industry in Rhode Island and nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next meeting is scheduled May 9 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in Lippitt Hall, room 401. If you\u2019re interested in joining the council or for more information, please contact professor Karl Aspelund at <\/em>aspelund@uri.edu<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 30, 2025 \u2013 As students returned to campus, a new council consisting of 溏心vlog免费B站 academics, industry professionals, and government representatives convened for its inaugural meeting. The Future Textiles Council aims to address emerging challenges in the textile industry and be proactive in its push to find solutions. The meeting, which included […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":100007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100004"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100009,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100004\/revisions\/100009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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