Central Saint Martins
Empowering MA Material Futures students at Central Saint Martins to develop sustainable solutions to transform industry practice
At Central Saint Martins, creativity is being regenerated by rethinking what an art and design college should focus on and how this might work. Today, across art, design and performance, the students and staff of Central Saint Martins create and practise ideas, materials and actions for a better future in a more-than-human world.
100 billion new garments are produced every year globally , and 87% of textile and garment waste ends up in the landfill, out of which less than 1% is recycled, resulting to 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of water pollution globally.
Sourced by WorldBank, 2019
Over the last ten years, the Swarovski Foundation has supported 50 fashion design and jewellery design students at Central Saint Martins (CSM), University of the Arts London. In 2025, the Swarovski Foundation and Central Saint Martins launched the Swarovski Foundation Sustainable Innovation Awards supporting students from the MA Material Futures course to empower students to drive sustainable change through their research and creative innovations. The Awards provide selected recipients with financial support, mentor sessions, and industry connection opportunities.
Images courtesy of CSM
At the Swarovski Foundation, we take pride in partnering with institutions like Central Saint Martins.
Over the academic 2024/25 academic year, all
4
scholars supported by the Swarovski Foundation were able to reduce or stop working part-time jobs and focus on their study and their project development. This enabled them to forge meaningful industry partnerships across sustainable businesses, design consultancies, and environmentally conscious suppliers and manufacturers.
Since inception, the Swarovski Foundation has provided
54
scholarships and awards to the students studying either Fashion Design, Jewellery Design, or Material Futures (material innovations) to ensure they have resources to complete their final year.
Of previous scholars who responded to a survey,
84
percent are till working in the creative industry, and 70% pursuing sustainable practices or creative innovation even after several years since they graduated.
With the Award from the Swarovski Foundation, Emily Gubbay was able to transition away from juggling multiple freelance roles to focus fully on developing her project. This support enabled her to deliver a successful exhibition at Milan Design Week, which in turn led to securing a key industry partner to scale manufacturing. Through the programme, Emily also established two additional industry partnerships to source denim offcuts and produce high-quality visual content. Alongside this, she strengthened her visual communications and aesthetic coherence through targeted mentorships. Emily is now preparing to scale production, pursue a patent for Infinity Blue’s dyes, and begin a residency at Blue Garage to continue advancing her sustainable design practice.
Each year, 2 million tonnes of denim are discarded globally - enough to dye 5 years' worth of the industry's denim production. By recovering pigment from this waste, Infinity Blue has the potential to replace the 50,000 tonnes of synthetic indigo currently produced annually, reducing the need for virgin dye production.
Emily Gubbay
