By Philippos Spyridakis, Year 11
In an effort to promote eco-consciousness and community engagement, Year 11 students recently organised a Fashion Swap event aligning with World Earth Day 2024. This initiative emerged from the idea of reducing textile waste to reverse global warming.
Did you know that 87% of the 100 billion garments produced by the fast fashion industry end up being incinerated in landfills, that only 1% of discarded clothing is actually recycled and that 35% of all the microplastics in the oceans are due to washing our synthetic clothing?
“The fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. According to the European Environment Agency, textile purchases in the EU in 2020 generated about 270 kg of CO2 emissions per person.”(europarl.europa.eu)
The Fashion Swap took place on Monday, April 22nd, bringing together people excited to join a sustainable fashion movement. Several people brought their gently used clothes and accessories to swap for new items. The idea was simple, but essential: give old clothes new life, reduce waste, and promote a more eco-friendly way of dressing. The Fashion Swap encouraged students to recycle the clothes that they no longer wear and give them a second life rather than leaving them in the back of their closets or throwing them away.
This event went beyond updating wardrobes; it highlighted the problems with fast fashion. Shocking numbers showed how most fast-fashion clothes end up in landfills, and very few get recycled. Also, washing synthetic clothes contributes a lot to ocean plastic pollution.
The students behind the Fashion Swap wanted to change how their community thinks about fashion. They encouraged people to avoid trendy clothes that get thrown away quickly and instead focus on making thoughtful choices about what they wear. Each item that was swapped represented a commitment to being more mindful of the environment and living a greener lifestyle.
Overall, the event was successfully organised and orchestrated. Every article of clothing that wasn’t picked up by students was donated to charities instead of being wasted and thrown away. This event aimed to spread the idea of sustainable fashion and the hopeful mindset that people will follow in their footsteps.
We interviewed two Year 11 students who helped organise this event and we asked two of the following questions:
Overall, was the event successful?
The first student said, “The event went well, but it could have been advertised better. I don’t think enough people knew about it.”
The second student said, “I think it was very successful because this is the first time LGB has hosted a fashion swap event, and hopefully, there will be more to come.”
How big of a problem do you think fast fashion poses for the environment?
The first student said, “fast fashion is a huge problem for the environment because people constantly throw away clothes that aren’t in style and don’t fit.”
The second student said, “I think that it has a huge impact on the environment, so doing fashion swaps will help reduce textile waste and lead to a healthier future.”
If you would like to know more about fashion swaps:
