On February 20th, the Senior School Environmental Club and Junior School Green Team had the opportunity to attend the ISABC Youth Sustainability Conference at UBC,  where students from across the province gathered to discuss environmental issues and share ideas for creating a more sustainable future. The conference hosted various hour-long workshops, each on a unique environmental issue. Among the students attending, the three of us had the chance to lead an interactive workshop on the environmental impacts of fast fashion. 

During our session, we explored how the fast fashion industry contributes to significant environmental harm, from excessive water consumption and pollution to the staggering amount of waste generated by cheaply made clothing. Working with the attendees, we created a timeline of the process of clothing making, highlighting both the human and environmental costs. Using photos, news headlines, real historical events, and information on clothing making, the timeline was more akin to an interwoven web of environmental, economic, and ethical impacts. 

We offered attendees tips on how to reduce their environmental footprint in the fashion world. Some key takeaways include:

• Shopping second-hand: Using thrift stores and online resale platforms can give clothes a second life, and vintage clothing is often more durable and unique than the mass-produced fast fashion pieces. 
• Investing in quality: Opting for high-quality, long-lasting clothing rather than cheap, disposable fashion items can reduce your impact and give you a more high-quality closet!
• Mindful consumption: Prioritizing brands with ethical and sustainable practices, such as brands using eco-friendly materials and fair labor practices, stops support towards unethical and wasteful companies. You can use the website Good On You to look for ethical and eco-friendly brands.

We encourage everyone to reconsider your fashion choices and take small steps towards a more sustainable wardrobe. Being aware of the impact of what you buy is a good first step, but you can always do more and change a few small habits to make a huge difference. Growing materials, dyeing fabrics, sewing clothes, shipping packages, consumer action, and more complex stages all contribute to the 10% of global carbon emissions and the 20% of global wastewater created by the fast fashion industry. While buying a singular piece of clothing can seem like a tiny action, it contributes to a huge process that has huge reverberating impacts for plant, animal, and human life. 

Contributed by Anaya Randhawa, Grace Phillips, and Miko Piaseczny, Grade 10 Students & ISABC Conference Workshop Leaders