John B. King Jr., chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), visited FIT to offer remarks at the 20th Sustainable Business and Design Conference on April 8.
In his speech, Chancellor King praised FIT’s “incredible commitment to lead on sustainability” and emphasized the importance of these efforts in SUNY’s systemwide agenda of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero.
“The fashion industry is responsible for a disproportionate share of greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “So the urgency is there to do this work. I am so grateful to FIT’s leadership in the facilities—from rooftop solar to the natural dye garden to rooftop beehives—in changing coursework to reflect best practices in sustainability, the extracurricular activities that happen through the Sustainability Council, the leadership of faculty members like Whitney Crutchfield [assistant professor of Textile Development and Marketing] who serves on our systemwide sustainability fellows effort, and the work you all do in partnership with industry to change industry practices.”