Sustainable Development Goal #4

Last year, I started a series on the Sustainable Development Goals. Many businesses and institutions are using this list as guidance for their sustainability policies. As costume artists, learning about these will help us in conversations with leadership about budgets, and ensure that our actions are a part of a larger push for a more equitable world.

I’ll focus today on Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable, quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Many of the costume professionals I know interface with students in some capacity, and this gives us an opportunity to engage DIRECTLY with this goal (unlike some of the others which are more abstract). Each of the major goals is broken into smaller Targets and Indicators. If you’ve ever had a goal before, you know how important it is to break the larger goal into smaller, specific, mini goals. For Goal 4, there are two I’d like to focus on for how they apply to the costume profession:

Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

Here, I’d like to emphasize the “decent jobs” part of the Target, costume jobs use advanced technical skills and have the opportunity to be thriving careers. However, the pay gaps we’ve seen from Hollywood all the way down to storefronts, continues to impact costume professionals who are paid less than our counterparts in other departments. Fighting for pay equity is a part of this Target. Additionally, showing students how their skills can be applied beyond the arts and performance industries is key to ensuring that they will have “decent jobs” for life. Thinking beyond costume students, how can we share our knowledge and skills with people who need it? Conscious Costume, as a program of the Apparel Industry Foundation, Inc. is positioned at the intersection of costumes and sewn products. They provide a wealth of training opportunities for anyone looking to expand their skills in design, business, or production. What other projects could we undertake towards this goal?

Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

This Target is one of my FAVORITES (is it weird to have a favorite SDG Target?) because it’s exactly what Conscious Costume is all about. Our goal is to make sure YOU have the skills to promote sustainable development while having sustainable lifestyle and arts practice.

Don’t forget to get your tickets to the Fabric Sale, March 1st and 2nd!