Patrícia Oliveira-Silva, lecturer at the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (FEP-UCP) and director of the Human Neurobehavioural Laboratory (HNL), was a speaker at the prestigious Planetiers World Gathering, which brought together global leaders and experts in the field of sustainability.
Speaking on the panel “Fashion Forward: Pioneering Sustainability in Style”, moderated by Thorsten Harstall, Professor at Campus M University in Munich and Global Brand Director at Adidas, the FEP-UCP lecturer discussed the sustainable future of the fashion sector with Carla Joana Silva of CITEVE.
During the panel, which explored how brands, designers and producers are adopting more ethical and sustainable practices, Patrícia Oliveira-Silva shared some transformative reflections: " My greatest takeaway from working with companies in the private sector has been developing respect and trust for the commitment and efforts some sectors truly have toward sustainability…. A perspective I didn’t initially have.”
The researcher, on closely observing the challenges faced by industry in adopting green practices, recognised the complexity of the transformation processes, revealing that ordinary people are often unaware of the difficulties involved.
How the brain processes sustainable choices
Patrícia Oliveira-Silva also presented the main findings of the Beat - Bioeconomy at Textiles consortium, in which FEP-UCP participates with CITEVE and other institutions, with the aim of promoting sustainability in the textile industry. As part of this project, the research team led by the professor has studied how sustainability choices are processed by the human brain and how they influence purchasing decisions.
The director of HNL reaffirmed her commitment to the fight for greater sustainability literacy in fashion and stressed the need to involve everyone in this effort.
The Planetiers World Gathering took place from 27 to 29 October 2024 in the city of Aveiro. The FEP-UCP lecturer's participation in the event reinforces the Faculty of Education and Psychology's commitment to research for sustainability.
