It’s 2022. Sustainability and Climate Action are on your radar, right!?
Sustainability in our industry isn’t simple; that’s true. Complex supply chains, technical products, fast moving retail, and more...
Where do we start?
Start by ensuring your team understands the language of this new economy.
Learn about what we really mean by the term, where it came from, what it entails, what it doesn’t, the history of the movement, the terms, the phrases, the philosophy, the solutions, and more.
Derek’s School of Understanding Cohort Experience is the sustainability course your team has been looking for and we’re making access easy and affordable, thanks to the power of our member community.
The Surf Industry Is Coming Together to Tackle Sustainability
Will your brand be a part of this exciting opportunity!?
Spots Are Limited: Ask questions &/or sign up now
What’s a Course Cohort?
A 3-month, personal transformation program focused on sustainability confidence and competence.
Join nominees from other SIMA brands in a classroom style setting with an expert guide who will facilitate conversation, guide learning, inspire conversation, encourage discussion, and motivate action in your brand. Ultimately giving sustainability confidence and competence to your team so they are empowered to accelerate your commitments immediately.
In a SIMA Class Cohort, we'll bring 10 of our industry's most passionate and ready-to-learn brand representatives together to go through intense online, self-guided, instruction, and then meet weekly with the cohort and Derek to get a similar experience to what Derek was teaching in college; except your team gets the info at a rapid-fire pace, spread across 12 weeks, rather than 48.
Space is Limited to 2 People Per Brand.
Here's the Offer:
The offer is for the participation of up to 2 members of your team in the made-for-brands Sustainability Course Cohort; a learning experience featuring The Underswell School of Understanding; a 2-Part “Sustainability in the Apparel Industry” Course that includes Group Coaching.
This is a 12-week deep dive that includes sustainability 101 and a focus on our industry. It features a hybrid mix of pre-recorded online learning AND in-person, guided meetups.
Each of the 12 sessions will be led by Derek Sabori, a sustainability for brands expert, a sustainable fashion course/certificate developer & instructor, a Climate Reality Project trained climate lecturer, and the former VP of Sustainability at Volcom.
Group meetups will be held on Zoom and will include enrollees from multiple SIMA brands and will take place on Thursdays at 11:30 am PT and kicks off on June 15th (first full session on June 22nd).
SIMA is offering 10 spots (2 per company max) for a members only discounted price of $1500 per enrollee (a price normally reserved when your brand enrolls 10 or more spots on your own).
This is a savings opportunity of up to $2,000 per person.
Regular prices for the School of Understanding can be found here.
Who is this good for and what do they get?
Any Level
This accelerator program is good for anyone – at nearly any level of sustainability knowledge – who is involved in the making, producing, buying, selling, and/or managing of goods in the apparel & footwear industry.
Ready to Learn
This program will take learners on a journey through foundational learning, the history of the movement, and the essentials of sustainability and triple bottom line thinking. It then progresses to the most modern perspectives on supply chain traceability and the topics of justice, biodiversity impacts, and reversing climate change while managing the health of our brands.
Transformation
The goal is to transform your team into life-long learners and deep understanders when it comes to the complexities of sustainability (environmental and social) in rapidly evolving economies AND to give them the tools, confidence, and wherewithal to help make your brand or organization more sustainable. They'll finish ready to best understand and support the initiatives you already have in place, or help you launch new ones.
After taking this course, and working with Derek for 3 months, your team will be able to:
💯 Understand the sustainability language that’s used in professional, academic, and social articles
💯 Authentically contribute to your company’s sustainability program (or help build one)
💯 Make more conscious purchasing decisions (personally & professionally)
💯 Credibly explain your sustainability initiatives to customers and critique the sustainability claims of brands that are in your space
💯 Confidently critique "eco" alternatives that are being sold to you
💯 Confidently and boldly enter, and participate in, the modern, conscious economy
Sustainability Needs to Be a Part of Your Brand's Culture
Enroll your most passionate and ready-to-learn individuals to empower them with the tools they need to help.
More Questions? Schedule a time to chat w/ DerekWhat’s included in the Sustainability Course Cohort Package?
In addition to the 12-weekly coaching sessions with other SIMA members, each "student" you enroll at a price of $1500 will receive full access to the popular online course: Sustainable Fashion School for Brands. Developed by Derek Sabori, this course – modeled after Derek’s 48-week/3-semester college certificate program at Orange Coast College, Fashion Dept. – contains 24 lectures (each approximately +/- 50 minutes in length) broken up into 12 modules.
Topics Include:
- Sustainability concepts
- The history of the modern environmental movement
- Top environmental & top social concerns
- Life cycle thinking and life cycle impacts
- Reporting & assessing sustainability
- Rankings & consumer sentiment
- The SDGs (overview + deep dive)
- Nonprofits & Certifications
- History of Sustainable Fashion (2-part series)
- Review and explanations of important industry reports:
- Global Fashion Agenda (Pulse Reports + CEO Agendas)
- Fashion Revolution Transparency Index
- Greenpeace Fashion at a Crossroads
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation – New Textiles Economy
- Stand.Earth’s Filthy Fashion Report
- KPMG & Textile Exchange – Fashion & the SDGs
- How to live a sustainable lifestyle in modern times
- Course wrap up – final advice
The course also includes 10-question quizzes throughout to assess learning, a midterm and 2 finals (each at different stages) so we can gauge understanding.
All Together: The following is offered to all Sustainability Course Cohort members:
✓ The Full School of Understanding Course (Parts 1 & 2) - 12 Modules, 24 hrs of recorded lecture material with links & resources.
✓ Twelve weekly teacher-led discussions – Over the course of the program learners will meet 1x per week (Zoom) for 60 minutes in a group setting with Derek at a regular scheduled time (see flyer). This is an open-forum discussion session where topics and learnings can be clarified, or where the learnings can be directly applied to the brand. Derek will lead discussions, add additional insights, offer additional learning materials, and offer sustainability-related advice.
✓ BONUS: Complimentary Supplemental Digital Reading Material - Each learner will receive a complimentary audio version of The Responsible Company: Patagonia’s First 40 years, by Yvon Chouinard and Vincent Stanley and an e-book version of The Ecology of Commerce, by Paul Hawken.
✓ BONUS: Additional Resources - 3 Months free ($400+ value) of The Sustainable Apparel Academy access for each enrollee after cohort ends (free/included during experience). Includes: Insights, Knowledge, Resources, and News.
✓Access to PDFs - Included in the course, are viewable PDFs of the lectures, with links to many recommended 3rd party resources, videos, books, movies, etc.
✓ And:
→The Underswell All-In-One Resource Guide – Best sites, Best Books, and Best Movies
→The Underswell Three Top 10 Sustainability Checklists for Sustainable Living: Fashion, Food and Travel.
✓ Upon completion learners will receive a Certificate of Accomplishment, so long as they’ve gone through the entire course, taken all the assessments, and participated in at least 8 of the in-person meetings.
✓ And finally, the Cohort Experience includes:
→ Group Kick Off meeting
→ Individually Graded Assessments
→ Progress Updates
→ Goals driven meetings (as required by, and specific to, each brand)
For those that complete 100% of the requirements:
- Certificate of Completion
- Underswell Movement Coffee Mug or Hat (US residents only))
This is a fantastic TEAM BUILDING experience!
Join other great brands that have gone though or are going through the program like Billabong, Quiksilver, Roxy,
RVCA, DC Shoes Element, New Balance, Blue Tomato, RicherPoorer and Zumiez. References available upon request.
What are brands saying?
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“So thankful to have had this opportunity and will continue to use this additional education going forward in both my professional and personal future. Derek Sabori is such an amazing professor! I highly recommend the course to anyone seeking to learn more about sustainability and how to utilize eco-friendly practices in the apparel, footwear and accessories industries.” – Jessica S., Roxy
About Derek.
An apparel industry veteran with more than 24 years in the action sports/lifestyle industry and two degrees (BA, MBA) from UC Irvine, Derek balances multiple roles, all revolving around sustainability & mindfulness, and the apparel industry. He’s a co-founder at Kozm, a consultant to lifestyle brands, a former college instructor, and an entrepreneur, helping brands, individuals, and students start, strengthen, and scale meaningful sustainability programs through foundational education, solid understanding, compelling storytelling, and best-in-class solutions.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DEREKNeed Sustainability Help Beyond This Offer
Let’s spend 25 minutes getting to know each other and talking about where you or your team is at today in regards to sustainability and where you’d like to be in the future.
Schedule a Free Call to Get Started