Donna Cleveland

This paper examines how heritage, innovation, and sustainability are negotiated between academic researchers and textile artisans in Hoa Tien, a Vietnamese craft village participating in the Vietnam Design Research Studio. The pilot study initially sought to co-create a digital platform to document local weaving practices. However, fieldwork revealed significant gaps between academic vocabularies of preservation, digital futures, and sustainable design, and the artisans’ tacit, embodied, and livelihood-oriented knowledge systems. Using participatory action research and ethnographic methods, the study shows how textile craft operates within fashion as a cultural, economic, and discursive system. Artisans framed their practice through ancestral motifs, intergenerational transmission, and economic pragmatism, while researchers emphasised documentation, innovation, and future-oriented sustainability. These divergent discourses exposed the limits of conventional co-design models that assume shared language, symmetrical knowledge, or common goals. The paper reframes co-creation as an adaptive, semiotic, and discursive process shaped by language, epistemology, and situated practice. By foregrounding these negotiations, it contributes to debates on how alternative fashion languages emerge from the margins and how they might inform more inclusive and context-sensitive approaches to sustainable fashion futures.

Plastic pollution is a growing environmental and social concern, particularly in Southeast Asia, where urban rivers serve as key pathways for transporting waste to marine environments. This scoping review examines 110 peer-reviewed studies to understand how plastic pollution in waterways is being researched, addressed, and reconceptualized. Drawing from the literature across environmental science, technology, and social studies, we identify four interconnected areas of focus: urban pollution pathways, innovations in monitoring and methods, community-based interventions, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Our analysis combines qualitative synthesis with visual mapping techniques, including keyword co-occurrence networks, to explore how real-time tools, such as IoT sensors, multi-sensor systems, and geospatial technologies, are transforming the ways plastic waste is tracked and analyzed. The review also considers the growing use of novel theoretical frameworks, such as post-phenomenology and ecological materialism, to better understand the role of plastics as both pollutants and ecological agents. Despite progress, the literature reveals persistent gaps in longitudinal studies, regional representation, and policy translation, particularly across the Global South. We emphasize the value of participatory models and community-led research in bridging these gaps and advancing more inclusive and responsive solutions. These insights inform the development of plastic tracker technologies currently being piloted in Vietnam and contribute to broader sustainability goals, including SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).

Accurate and transparent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) datasets are essential for reliable sustainability evaluations, particularly in the complex and varied textile industry. Historically, the ecoinvent database has been a foundational source for LCA studies in the textile sector. This paper critically examines the limitations of the ecoinvent v3.7 dataset, which is widely used in academic research, industry tools, and policymaking. While newer versions, such as v3.11, released in 2024, have addressed many issues, including enhanced geographical representation and updated emission profiles for chemicals, this study emphasises the historical implications of earlier data versions. By comparing the cradle-to-gate Global Warming Potential (GWP) of wool and polyester jumpers, this research reveals how aggregated and outdated data underestimated the polyester’s environmental impact while overestimating that of wool. These discrepancies have shaped fibre certification, eco-labelling, and consumer perceptions for years. Understanding the legacy of these datasets is vital for re-evaluating past LCA-based decisions and guiding future assessments toward greater regional relevance and transparency.

This study examines the opportunities and challenges that local fashion Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) face as they contribute to Vietnam’s creative economy. A key strength of these enterprises is their commitment to sustainability, reflected in their localised production processes and strong community engagement. This approach sets them apart from international competitors and provides a model for how fashion can foster a broader, more holistic notion of prosperity, one that goes beyond economic growth to encompass social and environmental well-being. The research is grounded in semi-structured interviews with local designers and an observational analysis of these MSEs’ digital presence. Through this exploration, the paper contributes to the discourse on “Prosperity Fashion”, demonstrating how localised, sustainable fashion practices can support a more inclusive and culturally rich economy.

This paper highlights the transformation of pre-owned fashion into sustainable consumption in Vietnam. It contrasts generational perceptions: older consumers often view pre-owned fashion negatively as reminiscent of overseas charity donations, while younger consumers value these items for their uniqueness, affordability, and as symbols of ‘eco-awareness’, based on observations of local media, two prominent pre-owned fashion platforms, and an online survey of young Vietnamese consumers. The study reveals that online media endorsements by celebrities and the role of social commerce, serving both as a selling platform and e-community, are key factors in transforming pre-owned fashion into sustainable consumption among young Vietnamese consumers. This research enhances the limited English-language literature on Vietnam’s pre-owned fashion industry, illustrating how e-communities can transform responsible consumption among young Vietnamese consumers.