With a Fulbright to Finland, Susanna Monseau will investigate the connections between trademark law and a cleaner, greener fashion industry | News
Fast fashion has a sustainability problem, and a TCNJ professor is heading to Finland to find out if intellectual property laws, of all things, have anything to do with it. This spring, Susanna Monseau, a professor of interdisciplinary business, was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study the effects of trademark laws on sustainable fashion with researchers at Turku University of Applied Sciences in Finland. By speaking with fledgling companies about their experiences developing new sustainable technologies, she will investigate whether trademarks and intellectual property laws stifle innovation. “The whole purpose of intellectual property is to promote creativity,” says Monseau, who will travel to Finland in August. “But it doesn’t necessarily work like that.” The global apparel industry is a huge polluter, accounting for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a problem that is expected to worsen in the coming year as demand for cheap garments and accessories grows by 60% by 2030.
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