LAUNCHPAD
We are the group assigned for the Environment section of SPGS's Launchpad initiative! We all chose this subject because we are all really passionate about protecting our Earth and believed that we could finally make a larger impact in a way that brought together our entire school together. During our first few sessions we discussed our many ideas on how to help protect the environment, in a way that was unique to the many other projects already in place in this area. In the end we decided to focus on the everyday choices we all make which individually seem very small and simple, but can create a large difference when all our actions add together. After much discussion, the area we decided needed the most change is the:
fashion industry
Inspired by the Paris fashion Week at the end of March, we did some research about the affect of our shopping habits had on the Earth. What we discovered was really surprising.
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The fashion business is second only to oil in its levels of pollution; it contributes around 10% of global green house emissions (which is more than all the aviation and shipping industry combined!)
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It contributes 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 per year
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A truckload of clothing materials are dumped in a landfill every single second
The main reason for its large impact is the method of processing the textiles found in our clothes; in the large amount of water, use of dangerous pesticides, chemicals involved in dying and pollution from their transport. On top of that these clothes have a shorter timeframe which means theres an increase in consumption and thus an increased waste. The rise of fast fashion, where we can buy clothes for extremely low prices has led to the consumer being given a sense of wastefulness as the clothes we buy have less value so can be disposed of guilt free. We are buying 60% more than we were in 2000 with 20 more garments being produced per person each year.
We aim to make an information page/ website, for the school portal, which gives students, teachers and families tips on how to shop sustainably. Especially with recent environmental awareness due to EU climate change funding renegotiation, and protests etc. as a community and individuals we are becoming increasingly aware of the urgent action that needs to take place, however this is not nearly enough!
Seeing as we are teenagers ourselves, we are trying to effectively target people of our age and generation in a topic that interests most of us greatly and definitely affects us all and so we chose FASHION.
Therefore we are encouraging more sustainable clothing and accessories purchasing, as we appreciate and accept the unstoppable fact that people our age buy a substantial amount of clothes, yet we are trying to channel their interests into a more sustainable and ethical path, steering away from fast fashion. We are providing alternative sources of clothing for shoppers that use environmentally friendly materials or use their shop to raise money for charitable eco causes.