A popular way young people are taking action for the environment is by keeping old clothes and textiles out of landfills and finding new ways to reuse and repurpose them. Students from Kâpapâmachakwêw – Wandering Spirit School in Toronto, Ontario, spend a lot of time learning on the land, and need proper outdoor clothing to stay warm, cool, or dry throughout the year. As part of their EcoSchools efforts, and to ensure everyone has access to gear, the school community came up with a great idea: the KWSS clothing library.
The clothing library is a place where students can borrow gently-used outdoor clothes in a wide variety of sizes for the season. When they’re finished, the clothes are returned, washed, and stored for the next year, extending their life while decreasing the amount of new clothing that needs to be purchased by families.
In the process of building the clothing library, students made announcements, created school posters, promoted the initiative to families, and explored how much water and energy it takes to make clothing (up to 2,700 liters of water to make one polyester t-shirt — that’s more than 15 bathtubs full of water!). Connections with the wider school community were also formed, with the owner of a local laundromat offering the school a discount to wash all donated clothing.
The KWSS clothing library has been a terrific success, with over 100 students participating in its creation and promotion. So far over 20 students have been able to borrow clothing, ensuring that everyone can safely and comfortably participate in outdoor learning while reducing textile waste. Congratulations to Kâpapâmachakwêw – Wandering Spirit School for organizing an amazing clothing library for their school community!
Project 2050 is a collaboration between EcoSchools Canada and Earth Rangers, a multi-year project that supports students and their communities to accomplish environmental actions that contribute to Canada’s 2050 climate targets.