CHALLENGE 5A
OBJECTIVES
On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapsed. It was a factory complex in Savar, Bangladesh, where more than 5,000 people worked making clothes for some of the biggest global fashion brands and retailers. The victims were mostly young women.More than 1,100 people died and another 2,500 were injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history.
ACTIVITY
People are still regularly dying in factory fires and accidents. Although wages have increased in some countries where clothing is made, many people in the supply chain are still paid too little and struggle to afford life’s most basic necessities. Women textile and garment workers frequently face sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. The fashion industry carries on polluting our atmosphere and water sources. As consumers, it’s still very difficult to find credible information about the working conditions and environmental impacts behind what we buy. Today you are going to write a letter to your favourite fashion brand and demand transparency.
CHALLENGE 5B
OBJECTIVES
Do you want to stop buying clothes or reduce clutter in your wardrobe? Perhaps you have a closet full of clothes, but feel paralyzed with indecision when getting dressed because you feel like you have nothing to wear.
ACTIVITY
The purpose of this 30-Day Shop Your Wardrobe challenge is to help you buy less clothes, reduce waste, save you time and money, and help you find any hidden magic in your wardrobe. Challenge yourself to work with what you have by creating new outfit combinations. This can help you determine which items you truly love wearing and which items can be donated or resold. Take photos of your new outfit combinations and reflect on this 30-day long challenge.
CHALLENGE 5C
OBJECTIVES
Do you know what a capsule wardobe is? The capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few versatile items of clothing. This means you look stylish as it is easy to mix and match tops and bottoms. With a capsule wardrobe, you have outfits for any season and every occasion and help the environment. The concept of a capsule wardrobe is credited to Susie Faux, who started the London boutique, Wardrobe, in the 1970s to help women develop their style and confidence. The idea was popularised by Donna Karan in 1985 when she released her influential collection, Seven Easy Pieces.
ACTIVITY
Today your task is to build an ethical and sustainable capsule wardrobe. Sustainable fashion refers to clothing that is designed, manufactured, distributed, and used in ways that are environmentally friendly.
Step 1
Select your favourite clothing items. Your capsule wardrobe should consist of items you love wearing and items that are useful in each of the outfit categories you’ve selected ( school, leisure time). How many clothes should be in a capsule wardrobe is up to you, but we recommend 30-35 items for beginners.
Step 2
Go online and find shops specializing in sustainable and ethical fashion. Take screenshots of items you like and would like to purchase.
Step 3
Create 3-4 outfit formulas using your selected pieces.
Step 4
Create a photo collage and publish it on your Sway.
CHALLENGE 5D
OBJECTIVES
Do you have old shirts, undersized jeans, or clothing that doesn’t quite fit your unique style anymore? What do you usually do with these pieces? Consider the resources used to create those garments and the importance of extending its life. It is time to get creative!
ACTIVITY
Collect clothing that you have outgrown or plan to throw away. Take a closer look and brainstorm ideas to repurpose them.
- Does your old shirt have a pattern that would make a great napkin, bowtie or headband?
- Are your worn socks the perfect color for a scrunchie or hair tie?
- Can your jeans be made into a pencil pouch?
Plan a date with your family members and together, give new life to your old clothing, and most importantly, have fun!
Once your item is created, reflect upon the new things you’ve learned about fast fashion.
- How will repurposing fight the cycle of fast fashion?
- What other techniques will you use in your lifestyle to make sure your fashion is sustainable?
Include your reflections and be sure to take pictures of your creations and you proudly wearing them.
CHALLENGE 5E
OBJECTIVES
Does your favorite shirt have a label that says, “made with 100% pesticide-sprayed cotton, toxic chemical dyes, and/or sweatshop labor?” Highly unlikely! How can consumers ever really know what goes into making any article of clothing? Think about the full lifecycle of your favorite cotton t-shirt. Knowledge is power, so get curious!
ACTIVITY
Now that you are beginning to understand the impact of fashion, let’s look more closely at your favorite shirt. Check the tag inside. What kind of information does it provide?
- Record the brand name, materials used and where it was produced.
- Research the impact this item may have had on the people who produced it and the environment.
- Make a 5-minute presentation to your household including about fast fashion and its impacts including five things that you learned. Make something simple, creative, and visual for your presentation.
- Your last task is to find an alternative brand for your t-shirt that values the environment and workers.
- Share something that you learned from this challenge with a visual on your Sway.
CHALLENGE 5F
OBJECTIVES
On average, we only regularly wear a third of the clothes that we own. Most of us have T-shirts we have never worn, jumpers that we have forgotten about and jeans that we stopped wearing five years ago.
However, we don’t often think about getting rid of our clothes and, if we do, we often don’t know the best way to do this. Throw them away or recycle them? Sell them online? Donate them to a charity shop?
ACTIVITY
Today you will organize a clothes swap event. The clothes sway event is a party that involves having everyone bring items of clothing they no longer need or want. The clothing is sorted into various categories, then other guests are allowed to pick and choose which items they want to take home. To help you host your own clothes swap party, here’s a list of things to do and watch out for:
-choose a place
-invite your friends
-include friends of all sizes and shapes
-note a minimum and maximum number of items each person should bring ( no stained, ripped or outdated clothing)
-donate unwanted clothes to charity
Describe the event you have arranged or attended and post some photos on your Sway.
CHALLENGE 5G
OBJECTIVES
Soft and light silk, warm and cosy wool, or flexible and durable synthetic fibres- the fashion world has developed many different fibres that can be used to produce beautiful fashion fabrics. Every fibre has different properties, and they all offer various advantages.
ACTIVITY
Look through your closet for garments made of different types of fibres. Find one garment made of natural fibres, one made of synthetic fibres, and one made of a blend of fibres. To find these garments, you have to look at the labels. When you have located your three garments, copy the information from the care labels into the spaces provided. (Do not cut the labels off the garments).
CHALLENGE 5H
OBJECTIVES
The fashion industry produces more harmful carbon emissions than the aviation and shipping industries combined. Does your closet contribute to climate change?
ACTIVITY
Find out with thredUP’s fashion footprint calculator. Take a screenshot of your results and create a poster showing how you can reduce your fashion footprint.
CHALLENGE 5I
OBJECTIVES
Jeans are the second most bought item of clothing and around half of Brits will have bought a pair of jeans in the last 3 months. In the US, the average consumer buys four pairs of jeans a year. They were originally designed to be strong, durable and long-lasting. However, they have become the fashion industry’s worst offenders of environmental damage. Manufacturing those beloved blues uses massive amounts of water.
ACTIVITY
Find out information about chemicals and synthetics used in the process of making denim fabric and present at least five initiatives aiming to make the jeans manufacturing process more ethical and sustainable.
CHALLENGE 5J
OBJECTIVES
The fashion industry has some truly major sustainability problems in its midst. By 2030, it is predicted that the industry’s water consumption will grow by 50 percent to 118 billion cubic meters (or 31.17 trillion gallons), its carbon footprint will increase to 2,791 million tons and the amount of waste it creates will hit 148 million tons. However, more and more fashion companies aim to challenge the traditional fashion business models of production, consumption and ownership with a more transparent, efficient and equitable approach.
ACTIVITY
a.Write an essay explaining how digital fashion could replace fast fashion. Before you start writing your text, visit online shops specializing in digital fashion.
https://thedematerialised.com/
WRITING YOUR PAPER
(a) Introduction: Provide background information and basic details about your topic. Give direction for your essay and include your thesis statement at the end of your introduction.
(b) Body of the paper and paragraphing: Consider the order and sequencing of your arguments, topic statements for individual paragraphs, and the number of words within the paper that you can use per argument or sub-topic.
(c) Conclusion: Reaffirm your thesis statement, draw final conclusions, and offer a memorable quotation or final statement.
(d) Sources: Keep track of your sources of information (page numbers in texts, academic websites visited) for use in your bibliography or works cited page.
(e) Conventions/Grammar: Avoid first person pronouns (“I”, “we”, “you” etc.), vague references and generalities, clichés, slang and colloquialisms. Avoid passive tense and use active verbs when possible.
CHALLENGE 5K
OBJECTIVES
Do you want to make sure you retain what you learn? One of the most effective strategies is to create your own study materials. This is true when studying for exams and as you go through your readings for class.
ACTIVITY
Your task will be to create flashcards using Quizlet. It is a free website providing learning tools for students, including flashcards, study and game modes. Before you start creating your own sets, look below at some of the terms referring to sustainable and ethical fashion.
CHALLENGE 5L
OBJECTIVES
Uyghur forced labor remains one of today’s largest humanitarian crises, and the fashion industry is intricately tied to its horrors. In December 2020, the Center for Global Policy issued a report on the extent of paramilitary control of the Xinjiang cotton-picking industry. Cotton picking in China primarily takes place in the country’s Xinjiang region. For decades prior, cotton picking has been a migrant-dominated industry with the Han populations comprising most of the workforce. But in recent years, it has come to public attention that the Chinese government has implemented a coercive labor transfer scheme to substitute the Han cotton pickers with the country’s Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic minority of China who have been forced into “reeducation camps” — de facto ethnic cleansing efforts on the part of the Chinese state. (Source:Re/MakeWorld)
Do you want to learn more about this issue? Check my additional resources.
ACTIVITY
For this assignment, you will work in groups of three to create a short video telling a story about Uyghur farmers in Xinjiang. Your goal is to create a compelling narrative that inspires viewers to think about Uyghur and fast fashion. In this project you can try your hand at creating informative and engaging video content. Imagine that your audience is the Nannestad High School community. Keep in mind that this is a collaborative effort. Be open to the suggestions of your group members. Listen carefully to their ideas and be curious rather than judgmental.
CHALLENGE 5M
OBJECTIVES
Board games are a specific type of tabletop games including pieces or counters that are moved on a board according to a certain set of rules. Board games vary significantly in complexity with most including an element of chance, and some being based purely on chance. For example, many board games require players to roll a dice, which depends on chance, whereas others are more skill-based or focused on turn-taking.
ACTIVITY
You and your friends will be designing your own board game. Remember all those great games you have played? Well, now you can make your own one, with your own rules, your own design, your own questions! The only thing is you must relate it to fast fashion. First, before you start thinking about your “new” design, think about board games that you like to play, or ones that you have played before. REMEMBER board games should be fun, interactive, and structured.
Your board game should include the following items:
Actual playing board: including game pieces and any necessary devices to complete your designed game
Game theme, questions, statements, layout, design
Rules and Directions: The rules must be written out, understandable, and applicable to the game you created
Neat and organized
Creative
CHALLENGE 5N
OBJECTIVES
Leather is one of the oldest known materials, used by humans for at least 5000 years, with the oldest leather shoe dating back to around 3,500 B.C. Although most people consider leather a co-product or by-product of the meat industry, when we talk about the environmental impact of leather, we cannot ignore the effects that excessive rearing of livestock has on our planet.
ACTIVITY
With growing demand for more environmentally friendly products and services, more businesses turn to sustainable leather made by responsible manufacturers. Cork leather, pineapple leather apple leather, cactus leather, mushroom leather are examples of sustainable and ethical leather alternatives. Choose two of them and explain how they are made. Do you think these alternatives are the fabrics of the future?
CHALLENGE 5O
OBJECTIVES
Sooner or later, everyone will have to deliver a speech. For some people, the setting may be formal, such as a wedding, fundraising event, or political rally. For others, the occasion will be smaller and more casual, like a family reunion, a sports banquet, or a club meeting. Whether the presentation is short and amusing or long and inspiring, the speaker should know how to engage the audience.
ACTIVITY
Imagine you are chosen to prepare a presentation/ slideshow/ narrated presentation about sustainable fabrics to your schoolmates.
CHALLENGE 5P
OBJECTIVES
Venn diagrams use overlapping circles to visually depict the relationship between and among sets to identify similarities and differences.
ACTIVITY
You will use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast information and recognize relationships between two different fashion brands. Use “Good on you” app/ website as your starting point.
CHALLENGE 5R
OBJECTIVES
Creating and using plant-based-dyes is a fantastic way to gain a better understanding of the biology and the chemistry at work in the plants around us. Sources of natural dyes are everywhere. Dyes can be extracted from roots, foliage, nuts, berries, and flowers. Until the mid-19th century plants were the primary source of dye.
ACTIVITY
Today you will become an artisan dyer and create colorful dyes using natural, plant-based materials. Remember that natural dyes only work on natural fibers, like linen, wool, silk, or cotton.
CHALLENGE 5S
OBJECTIVES
In June 2022, H&M suspended its use of product labelling tool, The Higg Materials Sustainability Index, after critics described it as greenwashing.
ACTIVITY
If you were to design an innovative tool that would allow people your age to measure and evaluate social and environmental performance of apparel and footwear products you purchase, how would it look like? Create a collaborative sketchnote- a visual representation of content involving words, pictures, shapes, and colors to capture essential points of your content.
CHALLENGE 5T
OBJECTIVES
Create a sustainable fashion line using AI image generation tools and present your collection in a virtual runway show.
ACTIVITY
You can follow these steps:
- Research: Study the latest trends in sustainable fashion, materials and techniques. Gather inspiration from fashion events and exhibitions.
- Concept development: Define the theme and style of your collection and create a mood board. Determine the target market, size range and color palette.
- Sketching: Use AI tools to generate rough sketches of your designs, experiment with different silhouettes and styles.
- Refining: Refine the sketches and use AI to generate realistic images of the designs. Select the best designs for the collection.
- Sampling: Create samples of the selected designs using sustainable materials. Test the fit and functionality.
- Virtual Runway Show: Use virtual reality tools to create a virtual runway show. This can be done by creating a 3D model of each design and having it displayed on a virtual runway.
- Marketing: Share the virtual runway show on social media and other digital platforms. Use AI tools to generate marketing materials such as lookbooks, posters, and advertisements.
Tools: Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E.
SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE CHALLENGE 