Climate Canons

Clothes Swap Event

Our love of new clothes and our thirst for the latest fashions comes at a cost to the planet. As the need to address climate change becomes ever more urgent, we need to learn about the impact our clothes have on the environment and how we can cut the carbon from our closets.

It may surprise you to learn that the fashion industry produces about 10% of annual global carbon emissions, which is more than all shipping and flights combined.

The fashion sector, including cotton farming also uses about 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, representing 4 percent of all global freshwater withdrawal. In fact, just to manufacture a single pair of jeans requires a staggering 3,781 litres of water. And every second of the day, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of textiles is burned or added to landfill, while the textiles industry accounts for up to 20 percent of industrial wastewater globally – mostly due to dyeing processes.

And the main culprit is fast fashion. Fast fashion is a term used to describe the clothing industry’s model of mass-producing clothes at low cost with high-speed turnaround times to replicate the latest streetwear and fashion trends as they appear in real-time on catwalks or on our social media feeds. This has encouraged the over consumption of clothing over the past two decades and driven a perception that clothes are disposable items rather than durable products.

So, what can be done to turn this fast-moving and seemingly throwaway sector of the economy into the “sustainable fashion” industry we need for a net-zero future? The Climate Canons hosted the first Clothes Swap at the College on Wednesday 16th October in the Xanten Performing Arts Foyer. The event ran over recess, lunch and afterschool until 4pm. Students came by to have a look, refresh their wardrobes in a sustainable way, play games and take part in the Fast Fashion survey and supported Student Ministry’s Christmas Appeal. Staff also got involved, with a of pieces being rehomed and having a second wear round.

Thank you to all the staff and students who participated in dropping off clothes, helped in the organisation of the event and sustainably updated their wardrobes. We hope all involved found this a rewarding activity. 

Miss D Pisconeri

(Humanities and Social Sciences Teacher and Climate Canons Co-ordinator)