5.6 Assignment

Choose the track for your profile, then complete the version that matches it. This assignment is worth 5 points; submit your deliverable here (text and/or file upload).

Upstream Circularity Audit and Improvement Plan

Shared activity objective: learners audit the upstream decisions of one real product (materials, design, sourcing, production planning) and propose a prioritised, feasible improvement plan.

Version A — VET / EQF 4: Upstream Checklist Audit

Duration: 45–60 minutes | Format: individual or pair work | Output: completed checklist + 5-line reflection. Choose one garment (T-shirt, jeans, jacket or bag). Using the five strategy areas of this chapter, complete a checklist: material(s) and certification(s); number of fibre families; durability and repairability features; supplier traceability available; production planning (batch size, made-to-order). Propose one change per area and circle the single change with the biggest expected impact.

Assessment focus: correct identification of upstream decisions and one feasible improvement with a reason.

Version B — HEI / EQF 5: Material–Design–Sourcing Case Study

Duration: 90–120 minutes | Format: individual or studio work | Output: 2-page case study. Analyse one brand product (e.g., Patagonia, Houdini, Veja or a local SME) across the five upstream strategy areas. For each area, describe what the brand does, the evidence you can verify publicly, and one limitation or trade-off. End with a before/after design brief applying at least five circular design criteria from Chapter 1.

Assessment focus: ability to connect upstream strategy with verifiable evidence and translate it into a coherent design brief.

Version C — Professionals / SMEs: Upstream Strategy Roadmap

Duration: 2–3 hours | Format: company workshop | Output: one-page roadmap + 90-day action plan. For one real product line, start with your business and product strategy and your priority impact areas, then score the five upstream areas (1–5) for current performance and impact. Set your own targets: for each one, state the baseline, the impact category and lifecycle stage it addresses, the criterion used (lower impact according to which measure, comparison or lifecycle scope), its feasibility with your current supplier base and the evidence you would need to verify it. Illustrative examples only — not benchmarks to copy — include a certified recycled/organic content threshold or limiting the number of fibre families per product where that does not compromise performance. Finish by identifying the two actions with the best impact-to-effort ratio and assigning owners, budgets and a review date.

Assessment focus: realism of targets, quality of prioritisation and ownership of actions.