YK Pao School is an active participant in RE:FORM, a new programme designed to inform consumers about the impact of today’s clothing-consumption habits and boost reuse and recycling of textiles. Led by the non-profit organisation Green Initiatives and supported by the Community Center Shanghai and Crown Relocations, RE:FORM has set out to comprehensively tackle the problem of textile waste. The programme will include information sharing, creative campaigns, and engagement with companies and schools.
Green Initiatives notes that China produces over 26 million tons of textile waste annually. That’s 70,000 tons a day, reportedly up 400% over the past two decades. While most of that waste ends up in landfills, 99% of it could actually be recycled.
With a strong interest in boosting sustainable development, Pao School is taking an active role in support of the RE:FORM programme. ‘At YK Pao School, educating our students about the importance of sustainability is absolutely crucial to us’, says Andre Sleigh, Year 4 teacher and co-chair of the Green Student Council. ‘The Green Student Council was formed to not only develop students' leadership skills, but also to encourage them to be the driving force behind environmental awareness and education. This year, we will focus on three target areas: energy saving, waste reduction and the RE:FORM project’.
Andre adds: ‘We felt that this project was a natural fit for our school. Apart from preventing a lot of clothes from ending up in landfills, the most crucial goal is to educate people about the pitfalls of fast fashion. We want to encourage everyone to become more conscious about the type of products they are buying because change can start with what we wear’.
RE:FORM is not just about recycling clothes’, says Year 4 student Candy Deng. ‘It is about changing the way people think about buying new clothes. Our dream is to make our community cleaner and greener for future generations’.
Says Year 4 student Caleb Hsu: ‘I am really enjoying being able to help change the school and hopefully our whole community to become a greener place’.
‘I have learned that recycling clothes is one of the most practical things we can do here at school’, says Year 4 student Zoe Nuland.
‘I have been amazed by the enthusiasm shown by our students’, says Stephanie Jennings, co-chair of Pao School’s Green Student Council. ‘They have been so involved in this project. They have thought of fantastic ideas, contacted staff and communicated our messages to the whole school’.
One of the best ideas from Pao students to promote textile recycling is placing a dedicated ‘recycle box’ on the reception table in the school’s Primary Division. Putting the box in such a prominent location helps raise awareness of environmental issues in the entire Pao community, and provides a convenient repository for clothing that can be recycled.
Nitin Dani, Founder and Director of Green Initiatives, says that RE:FORM ultimately endeavours to transform the way people view the issue of textile waste and inspire them to take action. ‘Most people know that the use-and-throw culture is not sustainable but few people are taking the time to help solve it’, he says. ‘That’s the main mission for RE:FORM—to change attitudes through information and inspiration, and to promote action by providing a quick convenient way for organizations and individuals to contribute to the solution’.
