Celebrate the BF+DA June 3.

“Make the Future Here.”

That’s the slogan of the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator. In the five years since Debera Johnson and her team made the BF+DA a reality, that is exactly what the venture fellows and research fellows working in the Pfizer Building have done. Pratt is an amazing place to practice sustainability education because our colleagues and students are so creative. That creativity shaped BF+DA’s work, and will no doubt continue to shape the community’s work after the BF+DA shuts its doors on June 30.

Before that happens, however, the space will host one more event: “Mainstreaming Sustainability: A Conversation with Changemakers at a Time of Change, June 3 at 6pm.

The BF+DA is bringing together our community to celebrate on June 3^rd. Come toast the BF+DA team and share one last evening with amazing people.

Lewis Perkins, President, Apparel Impact Institute
Deb Johnson, Executive Director, BF+DA
More panelists to be announced

As we approach 2020, the benchmark year for achieving sustainability targets for many companies and institutions, it’s time to assess our success. How are we faring, what gains have been made, what do we need to accomplish by 2030? From supply chains to policy change, investment to education, labor justice to bio-generated materials, sustainable solutions are gaining traction globally. Leveraging this traction and scaling change is key. Maintaining our passion amidst the complex set of interrelated levers that drive change is critical, especially when the goal requires a massive change to how we think and act.

Join us for an inspiring conversation to examine the future and current state of sustainability with leaders who are implementing real-world solutions from the perspectives of circularity, policy, business and education.

This will be our farewell event at our old home and the inauguration of a new series in thought-leadership events to come.

There is limited seating so please RSVP (see the registration details at the bottom of this page).

One of the highlights of teaching Pratt’s Sustainable Core course has been bringing undergraduates to the BF+DA to introduce them to the amazing work done there. Whether BF+DA Executive Director Debera Johnson or Center for Sustainable Design Strategies Director Carolyn Shafer showed the students the production facilities, venture fellows’ workspaces, s.Lab, and meeting places, the students were thrilled to see BF+DA’s approach to creative business practices. Visiting from semester to semester and year to year, I got to see businesses like Kirrin Finch and Make It Black grow and thrive. As an author, I was fortunate to participate in the BF+DA’s book fair and discuss sustainability with likeminded scholars and writers. At the end of every year, the Positive Impact Awards ceremony was a great way to toast the work of the year (and buy holiday gifts from the various venture fellows).

The mission of Pratt Institute is “to educate artists and creative professionals to be responsible contributors to society. Pratt seeks to instill in all graduates aesthetic judgment, professional knowledge, collaborative skills, and technical expertise.” The BF+DA has been an inspiring force advancing that mission.

“Make the Future Here.” Even after June passes, I expect the lessons the BF+DA gave the venture fellows, Pratt’s students, and the world will continue to inspire people to make a more sustainable future.

RSVP to “Mainstreaming Sustainability.”

On Saturday, March 23, Pratt’s Brooklyn campus (200 Willoughby Avenue) will host the ninth annual Sustainability Crash Course. The Crash Course runs from 9am to 5pm with talks, workshops and a keynote discussion. Whether you are interested in policy, activism, art, history, or design, the Crash Course will have events of interest.

On Saturday, March 23, 2019, Pratt’s CSDS will host the 9th annual Sustainability Crash Course, a day-long series of presentations, panel discussions and workshops with a host of experts from Pratt’s faculty and elsewhere.  In years past we have had over 20 different speakers present topics including Ecology, Biomimicry, Packaging Design, Life-Cycle Assessment, Fashion, Architecture, Policy and Environmental Activism. This year we have an entirely new line up of exciting and inspiring presenters. As in the past, the event is free and open to the Pratt Community as well as the general public, but registration is required. View the eventbrite page.

The Crash Course is a production of the Center for Sustainable Design Strategies, and this year will feature speakers from the Pratt community, New York City, upstate New York, and around the world. It begins Pratt’s annual Green Week activities, a detailed list of which are available from the Pratt Sustainability Coalition. For free registration and more information, please visit the Eventbrite page.