After a tour of a Tokyo kimono factory where she was mesmerized by the traditional shibori practice of tying, bunching, stitching, wrapping, and dyeing fabric, Keke Dawson couldn’t wait to call her mother back in the United States to share her amazement.
“It was truly beautiful to watch and to appreciate the value of the labor and artisanship that allowed for so much creativity. It was a slow, intricate project that was so collaborative—there were five people working together,” Dawson said. “I rambled for over an hour with my mom, telling her how incredible it was.”
Dawson, a rising sophomore studying ecosystem science and policy and anthropology, was one of 13 students who participated in the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School Sustainable Fashion in Japan summer study abroad program. Sustainability is one of the excellence areas of the school’s strategic plan.
Trinidad Callava, a business school lecturer and double alumna of the University, coordinated the study abroad experience and taught the marketing class.
“Being able to directly observe, engage, and reflect how the Japanese integrate their unique mindsets and culture into the design, development, and marketing of sustainable products was a memorable experience for the students,” Callava said. “It was rewarding to witness their full presence in each moment—the concept of ‘ichigo ichie’ in Japanese culture.”
The three-week program included visits, workshops, and fieldwork in Kyoto and Tokyo to examine leading sustainable fashion brands. Students gained the tools and confidence to innovate and disrupt unsustainable marketing practices.
The study abroad program was the first for Jack Labenz, a junior who recently transferred his major to business law. He had visited Japan as a young boy with his parents and had been longing to return.
“Before this program I thought about sustainability as just an environmental issue, but my mindset has shifted. Here in Japan, they avoid wasting any material; it cuts down on spending and is maximum utilization of resources—a cultural thing where they’re trying to use every part of the cow,” he said.
“I’m a lot more cognizant of what goes into different products and the process behind it,” he added. “Our meetings with business owners have given me a much greater understanding of how they move different products through the supply chain and how that can be either beneficial or detrimental.”
For Samantha Buckhout, a rising senior majoring in marketing who plans to graduate in the spring, Japan was her third University study abroad experience. She did a semester at sea last fall and attended the Paris program this spring.
“I love to study abroad; you really get to experience the culture by immersing yourself,” she said. “As a group, it’s been super fun for us to all learn together. The tours have been amazing, and all the people in the businesses have been so sweet. It’s been a wonderful experience getting to know the Japanese people and the people in the program.
“Coming here and learning about sustainability—something we don’t talk much about in the U.S.—has been very beneficial for my education,” Buckhout added. “In Japan, sustainability is noticeable in everyday life. Companies are going to need to become more sustainable because if a brand is going to last, they’re going to need to embrace sustainable initiatives. I’m interested in a career in fashion and marketing, and seeing all this has really opened up my mind.”
The program offered Tara Edwards, a rising junior in business marketing and health policy management, a first chance to travel outside the United States.
“I’ve always wanted to see Tokyo and Kyoto, and I love marketing. Through this class, I’ve learned a lot and gained a lot of insights—it’s just the new perspective that I was searching for,” Edwards said. “I’m educating and widening my perspectives on sustainability, and I’ve become much more mindful of the materials, the location, the working conditions—all the factors that now influence my shopping choices.”
Ella Counts, a sophomore studying marketing and global business, has career goals to work in fashion and luxury and sees sustainability as a rising trend.
“So, coming to this program, that’s what I wanted to focus on. But outside of Japanese fashion, we saw sustainability initiatives in so many aspects of the culture. There was lots of very intentional planning and thinking that we just don’t think about in America,” Counts noted. “It’s obvious that these small acts are adding up because Japan is so clean. It’s impressive how all these small efforts are making such a big difference in the country and makes you wonder why we’re not implementing the same thing back in the States.”
Counts referenced the minimal use of plastics, that there are no paper towels in any bathroom—each person has their own reusable cloth they carry with them—that there are no public trash cans, so when someone buys a snack at a convenience store, they buy only what they can carry.
“It’s the small stuff like that, that you grow up with, and so you become a lot more mindful of consuming and what’s happening with the product and the waste after that,” she said.
The experience and the learning have given Counts hope for the future.
“Seeing how businesses do it here proves it is possible. And it’s even possible to have fun with it and to create new stuff that we can be extremely proud of,” she said. “As business students, we have an opportunity to get ahead of the curve—to start thinking about that now, to create new practices at home, and to push this trend forward and do our part to help America transition to a more sustainable mindset.”
Dawson, who studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, noticed an announcement about the program as she was walking on campus.
“As an environmental science major, the way I think about things has a lot to do with sustainability, and I love fashion, but then I noticed the program was offered through the business school,” she said. “But the truth is, we live in a global economy, and businesses have to produce items. So, I wanted to open my mind and perspective to understand how sustainability is being done in business because if you want to pass policy, then you have to learn to work around the constraints—you can’t just say, ‘We want no waste.’
“Now I have more understanding, so if I go into policy or want to implement some sustainability changes, I have ideas on how businesses can do that from what I’ve seen here in Japan,” Dawson said. “I can go to businesses in the U.S. and say, ‘I have these ideas; let’s start here.’”
Seniors Naomi Pisfil-Capunay and Damien de la Guardia accompanied the group as a teaching assistant and student coach, respectively.