Chisco García
Manager of Sourcing & Sustainability at INDITEX – OYSHO

Why did you choose to educate and train your colleagues? How does this fit into your sustainability strategy?

I believe training and education are the very first steps to achieving any goal of our Environmental Strategy. There’s no possible way to start working on something if you are not aware of the reality of the textile industry in terms of sustainability, and you must have the necessary knowledge to start working towards your company objectives. Awareness and training have been considered key steps since the very beginning in Oysho’s Environmental Strategy, therefore this training fit in perfectly.

How many colleagues from your company participated, and how did they respond to the education and training?

I completed the course together with a colleague, and we both feel helped by the course and enthusiastic about the results. Our only challenge was occasionally finding the time necessary to follow the lessons and complete the exercises.

What have the benefits of the training been?

I think the main benefit has been acquiring a structured compilation of knowledge. By this I mean I have learnt a lot of things that are included in the course over the past few years, but it was very helpful to go through them again in a context, as well as through organised modules with deeper content and a lot of practical examples and complementary information that we could discuss and explore.

What advice do you have for other companies planning to engage, educate or train their staff on sustainability topics?

My advice would be to start off by training your design and purchasing departments, and to consider the need and benefits of creating extra time for coursework follow-up.

What advice do you have for other companies now planning to get the most of the SFA Sustainability Fundamentals course and SFA’s services overall?

Without any doubt, I highly recommend this course for anyone looking for a complete course that will enable them to develop a thorough understanding of sustainability and sustainable apparel. It is also an excellent tool if your goal is to implement sustainable practices into your textile company.

Is there anything else that stands out about your SFA training experience that was helpful and you would like to share?

I found it very helpful to receive training from expert professionals from each sector of the industry through concrete examples. The videos and additional course information were also great support tools for developing knowledge more about so many different subjects.