Apparel, Technology and Management (TATM) department. “It truly defines service learning with its opportunities for students to develop and refine their skills while providing positive and life-changing real-world impact.”

 

Project focus broadened to include home goods

 

With financial support from Nextt, a diversified manufacturer of world-class home textiles, garments, apparel fabrics and polyester yarns, the focus of the project has broadened. Hunar is now focusing on home goods such as pillows and quilts in addition to apparel. The addition provides more market reach and aims to foster the growth of the program and the success of the women involved.

 

“Providing support and sponsoring projects that provide women empowerment has a been a key initiative for our company from the beginning. Being able to also assist in the skills and development of the students at N.C. State is very exciting for us,” said Charmaine Ratcliff, executive manager at Nextt. “We have continuously been involved in the training of local tribal women in India, so we are very familiar with the opportunity and can assist greatly in moving the initiative forward. Our state-of-the-art design studio and design team in New York City are very hands on and will be key drivers in facilitating the project as we move along. We are very honored to be able to partner with the premier university of our industry.”

 

Together, Nextt and College of Textiles students are working with the women of Hunar to design products using local textile traditions and Indian resources while introducing modern, sustainable and appropriate concepts of textile design and manufacturing. Teams of undergraduate and graduate students guided by both fashion design and textile technology faculty are developing initial product designs with input from Nextt, Hunar and AID. For inspiration, students were provided fabrics and products currently used and produced by the Hunar women. While much of the collaboration will occur over Skype, N.C. State students and faculty also traveled to India in early March to get a first‐hand look at the impact of their work.

 

“This service learning project perfectly illustrates the College’s mission to provide our students with enriching and impactful global experiences in addition to world class on-campus instruction. In this way we set our students up for success as the future leaders of the global textile enterprise who make a difference in society locally and globally. We are grateful for Nextt’s tremendous support of this impactful initiative and our students,” said Dr. David Hinks, dean of the College of Textiles.

 

Source: N.C. State’s College of Textiles

Posted March 14, 2016

                                                                                      

RALEIGH, N.C. – The College of Textiles at N.C. State has received support for a unique program that provides students in Raleigh with service learning opportunities and women in India with a chance at economic independence.

 

Nextt, one of North America’s largest home bedding companies, has gifted North Carolina Textile Foundation with support for the College’s collaboration with the Association for India’s Development (AID), an international nonprofit.

 

The College of Textiles has been collaborating with AID for two years to support Hunar, a grassroots women’s collective in Jaipur, India. The project’s goal at the outset was for students and faculty in the College to work with underprivileged women of Hunar in tailoring simple student-designed garments to be sold in the United States as well as in Indian urban markets. A demonstration project to pilot this new line of all‐cotton clothing was branded as Hunar Revolution and debuted at a College of Textiles fashion show one year ago.

 

“The success of the demonstration project and the extraordinary synergy resulting from our collaborative efforts to date has driven development of this two‐year long project to train and support the women of Hunar toward financial self‐reliance,” said Dr. Nancy L. Cassill, professor and interim department head for the Textile and

Service learning for College of Textiles students

Nextt supports N.C. State program that empowers women