Published:
An outgoing member of the European Parliament has used her last day in the job to praise Heriot-Watt students for their commitment to improving sustainability in the fashion industry.
Aileen McLeod MEP met with students from across Europe who are studying an MSc Ethics in Fashion at Heriot-Watt's School of Textiles and Design in Galashiels.
During the visit on Friday, 31 January, just a few hours before the UK left the European Union, Ms McLeod toured the campus and met a group of French students who are in Scotland thanks to the support available through the international Erasmus study programme.
Ms McLeod is a former Scottish Government Environment minister and said she’d been encouraged by the University’s commitment to sustainability and tackling climate change through its research programmes. She said: “It was great to visit the Heriot-Watt School of Textiles today and see first-hand how staff and students are working together to build Scotland as a centre of sustainable textile development.
“This is an exciting area and it's tremendously heartening to know that so many of our best and brightest are directly involved in its development.”
Dr Aude Le Guennec, Director of Fashion Studies said: “It’s been an honour to welcome MEP Aileen McLeod on her last day as a Scottish representative of the European Union. Her discussion on the importance of circular economy and the necessity to maintain the educational and research links with European countries to support a sustainable and connected future for Scotland, resonated in the minds of both HWU and Erasmus students.”
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