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Science student shows flair for fashion
A former fashion buyer and Melbourne design graduate now studying Environmental Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast aims to make alterations to the clothing industry’s pattern of waste.
Katie Roberts, 25, said an eye-opening year working on a fabric design team at a garment export factory in India helped spark her desire to improve the industry’s economic, environmental and social sustainability.
She had also become concerned about the high levels of waste, such as plastic bags and other wrapping, during retail work in Victoria.
The Maroochydore resident and USC third-year student said she was delighted to recently receive one of five $1,000 bursaries from the Sunshine Coast branch of Graduate Women Queensland.
“I’ll use it for textbooks, bus tickets and hopefully a solar-powered laptop charger,” she said. "I was lucky enough to get a bursary from Zonta last year and used that to buy a laptop to cut down on my paper usage.”
Katie, who enjoyed art at school, discovered a talent and passion for science subjects after moving to the Sunshine Coast to study at USC.
“I love this University, the lecturers and this course and decided I didn’t want to be part of the problem in the fashion industry. I wanted solutions,” she said.
“I’m doing a Sustainability course as part of my major and I’m hoping to do Honours on the fledgling sustainable fashion movement.”
Katie is starting her mission on campus at Sippy Downs. She plans to form a sustainable fashion group to encourage student clothing exchanges and sessions on how to mend clothes.
“I want to research and write a book about the real costs of cheap fashion, the social pros and cons and the environmental issues,” she said.
This semester, as part of her USC degree, Katie is researching aspects of the fashion business with Coast designer Katie Gannon of the label Mother Maria.
– Julie Gatehouse