Dr Ruth JL Cheluget would not allow age to prevent her from realising her dream of obtaining a doctorate.
But little did the 60-year-old know she would become the first person to graduate with a PhD in fashion design from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
The Kenya-born woman graduated during the university’s spring ceremony at its Pretoria West campus.
Chelgut’s dissertation was on the environmental implications of textile consumption, maintenance and disposal in her native Kenya.
The Kenyatta University’s department of fashion design and marketing lecturer said the relevance of her study related to the current debate around the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) and the dumping of used apparel or mitumba by the developed economies in third-world countries.
“Countries such as Kenya are arm-twisted to accept mitumba from the US in exchange for Agoa contracts,” she said.
“I am emboldened to champion not only environmental issues that face my country but also to participate in the growth and the development of its textile and fashion industry.”
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Cheluget said she was surprised to find out that she was the first person to obtain a doctorate in fashion design from TUT.
“I am grateful for the support and encouragement of my supervisor, Prof Anne Mastamet-Mason, head of the department of fashion design.”
Mastamet-Mason, a Manchester Metropolitan University graduate, said Cheluget’s study revealed the discrepancies between knowledge, action and the development of a sustainable textile and apparel industry in Kenya.
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“It has contributed significantly to fashion adoption theory, consumer buying behaviour theory and theories of sustainable development,” Mastamet-Mason said.
The findings of the study have already been presented at two international conferences and two articles have been submitted for publication.
The department of fashion design at the institution has a rich history which goes back to the 1960s.
“Currently four other DTech students are progressing well with their studies,” said university spokesperson Willa de Ruyter.
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