Date: 3/27 (Wednesday), 11am-12:20pm
Location: Union 333
As the world grapples with pressing environmental and social challenges, leaders in
the food and fashion industries are stepping forward to drive meaningful change. We
are thrilled to announce the inaugural Symposium on Transformational Leadership in
Sustainable Food and Fiber, a groundbreaking event set to inspire, educate, and catalyze
action towards a more sustainable future.
Hosted by the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism, this symposium invite
Lewis Perkins, President of Apparel Impact Institute and Dr. Priscilla Connors, Associate
Professor at UNT, to discuss the journey towards a more responsible and ethical food
and fashion industry.
Lewis Perkins
President of Apparel Impact Institute
A passionate advocate for “doing the right thing,” Lewis Perkins is the President
of the Apparel Impact Institute (AII), an organization launched by leading brands
and apparel sector industry associations to identify, fund, and scale programs to
drive positive impact in the fashion sector.
Previous to this Perkins was President of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation
Institute(C2CPII) where he launched the Institute’s Fashion Positive initiative, which
engages designers, manufacturers, brands and influencers in creating Cradle to Cradle
Certified TM materials and products with the circular economy in mind. Prior to joining
the C2CPII, Perkins led sustainability for The Mohawk Group and consulted with corporations
and organizations on their social and environmental programs. He has served as an
Ashoka and Laudes Foundation Strategy Thought Partner, a member of the H&M Global
Change Award Expert Panel, and a Design Mentor for both the CFDA (Council of Fashion
Designers of America), as well as the IDEO & Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics
Economy “Circular Design Competition.” Perkins has also been a participant of the
World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Consumption. Perkins holds a Master
of Business Administration with a focus on social responsibility from Goizueta Business
School at Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington & Lee University.
In 2018, he was recognized by his undergraduate alma mater, with the Distinguished
Alumni award.
Priscilla Connors, Ph.D.
Associate Professor,
Hospitality, Event and Tourism Management
Let’s design out food waste! Dr. Priscilla Connors, Associate Professor, Department
of Hospitality, Events and Tourism Management, is working on just that idea.
Her food packaging research on date labels revealed that most people interpret these
labels as a safety warning telling them to “throw it out!” while the intent of the
food industry is to optimize food quality in a retail setting.1 How do we prevent
this waste of safe, edible food? Study respondents recommended education on food practices
in the home and packaging that clearly described the purpose of the label. Interested
in what college students thought about food waste, Dr. Connors asked them to write
about it and what they would do to prevent it.2 Students who worked in grocery stores,
restaurants, movie theatres, catered events, and school dining halls were frustrated
about the waste that they witnessed. They also revealed inexperience in shopping,
storing, and preparing foods and how it resulted in waste in their apartments. Donating
food and composting waste was advised with limited insight into how to do it. Overall,
there was a sense of the value of food and concern about the unsustainability of this
level of waste. One student put it succinctly, “We need to gain respect for food,
as well as for the farmers who produce it, the natural resources that go into it,
and the people who go without it.”
- Connors, P. L. (2023). College Students Observe Waste of Edible Food & Make Recommendations.
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. DOI:10.1016/j.jfca.2023.105833
- Connors, P. L., Schuelke, W. C. (2022). Date Labels and College Student Perception
of Milk Drinkability. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 105, DOI:10.1016/j.jfca.2021.1042
Jiyoung
Kim
Professor & MDR Graduate Program Coordinator