Let’s talk about... climate and fashion

 

Together we’ll explore how fashion and clothing can affect the climate. Watch the video and then answer the questions below.

This will take approximately 15 minutes.

 
 

Now take it in turns to answer the questions below.

If you’re stuck, click the arrows for useful facts and prompts.

  • Question 1

    Have you ever bought an item of clothing and then never worn it?

    What did you do with it? Where is it now?

  • Did you know...?

    300,000 tons of clothing ends up in landfill each year.

    Buying quality clothing from more sustainable sources means your clothes will look and feel better for longer. This means less demand and, in turn, less waste.

  • Question 2

    How do you think the clothes we wear impact the planet?

  • Did you know...?

    Not only does the manufacturing of clothing use a great deal of water and energy, when clothes go into landfill, they break down without oxygen - a process that releases methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

  • Question 3

    What are your views on fast fashion and how do you think that affects the planet?

  • Did you know...?

    Fast fashion – the mass production of cheap, poor-quality clothing – contributes to 10% of CO2 emissions and 20% of water waste.

  • Question 4

    What would you like the world to look like in five years’ time? What change would you like to see?

  • Did you know...?

    Many countries have set goals to reduce their carbon emissions by 2030, but climate scientists say that action needs to happen even sooner than that for us to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

What can we do?

Small changes now will lead to the big changes we need.

Choose which of these actions you will commit to doing more of as a family or friendship group.

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Participate in the ‘30 wear challenge’

Good quality clothing with plenty of life left in it still ends up in landfill.

By buying clothes that we know we’ll wear at least 30 times, we become less likely to make impulse purchases that end up going to waste.

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Recycle, shwop or pass on your unwanted clothing

By recycling or passing clothes on – through schemes such as shwopping at M&S, donating to charity shops or using second-hand-clothing apps – you can keep them out of landfill for longer. This also decreases the demand for new clothes, helping save resources and energy that would be used to create them.

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Wash your clothes less frequently and at 30 degrees

By only washing our clothes when they’re dirty, and waiting until you have a full load, you’ll save large amounts of water and energy.

Plus, you’ll be reducing the amount of microplastics that end up in our waterways – washing clothes can release man-made fibres into the water.

 

You’ve completed the full conversation.

How do you feel?

 
 

What next?

  • Continue the conversation

    Let more of your friends and family know about the conversations you’ve been having by sharing this site with them.

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  • Download our climate guide

    Use our PDF guide to recap all of our facts and prompts about climate change.

    Download guide

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