This paper will investigate the use of critical, collaborative and creative art and design-based pedagogies, to explore both the environmental and social impacts of the global fashion industry. The research primarily involved working with children aged between 7-9 years of age, in various settings. Furthermore, it examines the barriers faced by primary school teachers aiming to incorporate the complex issues of fast-fashion within their curriculums and explore practical tools to overcome these obstacles.

The paper will examine both the epistemological and ontological principles of social constructivism, critical consciousness and experiential learning with the aim to investigate how knowledge and identity are co-constructed through participation, the exchange of dialogue, active reflection, and creative practice. It will explore how these critical pedagogies are still relevant to contemporary educational settings, and how art and design-based practices can empower learners to challenge the colonial and capitalist structures of the fashion industry.

This research is grounded in Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism, where learning is not considered an isolated act of cognition, but rather a social and cultural experience. Thus, the research involved creative workshops in various group settings: family, community and classroom based. This approach allowed collaborative engagement with guided support to scaffold learning and understanding. Participants of all ages are therefore considered active meaning makers, with knowledge shaped by socio-cultural contexts and collective inquiry.

Reinforcing this approach, Freire’s concept of conscientização (critical consciousness) is a key pedagogical theory in this study, aiming to challenge traditional, hierarchal and banking models of education. The workshops involved problem-posing, practical activities to stimulate dialogue, praxis and practivism (practical activism), which were selected to raise awareness of the structural injustices of the global fashion industry. Freire’s concept of praxis is central to this study, reaffirming his sentiments that education can be a moral and political act, fostering critical thinking, agency, transformation and active participation in citizenship.

Meanwhile, Kolb’s experiential learning theory unifies this pedagogical framework, offering opportunities to construct knowledge and meaning through iterative cycles of experience, reflection, conceptualisation and experimentation. When embedded in art and design-based learning such as the creation of textile artefacts, or messy play, Kolb’s model can develop learners’ understanding of socio-environmental issues through sensory, emotional and cognitive methods.

The central aspect of the workshops involved imaginative and interactive journeys along a typical fashion supply chain. The transferal of knowledge occurred through animated cartoons, where participants were introduced to the issues of a particular location/process. However, solution-based activities such as natural dyeing, storytelling, reuse of waste textiles, and comic-strip reflections offered multi-modal tools to cultivate critical dialogue, empathy and values driven discussion.

This paper will argue that collaborative and critical pedagogies, when applied through creative arts and design methods, can empower learners to challenge oppressive structures by nurturing agency and action, toward a more equitable and sustainable future.

Keywords: Critical Pedagogy, Social Constructivism, Experiential Learning, Art and Design Education, Sustainable Fashion.