Design-Driven Approaches to Enable Sustainable Entrepreneurship – Two Case Studies of Regional Textile Communities From the Philippines and the UK

Abstract

This paper reports on a research project aimed at exploring how designers can activate and sustain entrepreneurial ventures within regional textile communities in the Philippines and the UK. The mindset of consumers, who believe that textiles and fashion should be cheap, has made it difficult to successfully enable regional textile communities. With this in mind, two case studies were undertaken through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in creative enterprises within regional textile communities in the Philippines and the UK. Findings from the research demonstrate how design-driven approaches to entrepreneurship can lead to reaching an untapped market and securing consumer demand for products and services that are better for people and the planet. The original contribution of the paper lies in the development of a business model meta-canvas, informed by an original conceptual framework that, once successfully adopted, could activate and sustain enterprises in regional textile communities.