Seneca College - RED 2017 - 13

PRO
FILES

85%

of discarded textiles end
up in a landfill.

If people love a
garment but don't
have use for it
anymore, they should
find it a new home
that isn't in a landfill.

Seneca students and
faculty from the textile
diversion initiative.

Textile diversion initiative

PHOTO: SENECA

School of Fashion
gives used clothing
a second chance
FAST FASHION forces consumers to buy
cheaper clothes and throw them away
more often. Over 80 per cent of discarded
textiles end up in a landfill site, instead of
being recycled or repurposed. This causes
smog and greenhouse gas emissions when
the textiles decompose.
The School of Fashion has partnered
with Textile Waste Diversion (TWD), an
Ontario-based textile reclamation company,
in an effort to reduce piles of unwanted
clothing from reaching landfills.

A student-led research group, part of
Seneca's Fashion Business program, is
working with TWD to understand shopping frequencies and the influence of
social marketing campaigns on consumer
attitudes towards textile recycling.
The project is supported by Seneca's
Applied Research Fund and aims to change
consumer behaviours and increase awareness of environmentally sustainable alternatives to clothing disposal. Data received
from the study will support the development of related guidelines, activities and
curricula at Seneca.
"We created this project because our
students love fashion," says Sabine Weber,
Seneca Professor and lead researcher on the
project. "If people love a garment but don't
have use for it anymore, they should find it
a new home that isn't in a landfill."

The project also included a series of
textile diversion events such as an exhibition
held by students, a clothing donation bin,
a vintage fashion sale in The Boutique at
Seneca and a styling event using secondhand garments.
"The School of Fashion is involved in
several sustainability-focused initiatives,"
says Chair Gitte Hansen. "This is part of
a larger effort to promote and embed
sustainability in the Seneca culture and
the values and learnings we impart on
our students."

Learn more about Seneca's sustainability initiatives:
senecacollege.ca/sustainability

RED

2017 13

http://www.senecacollege.ca/sustainability

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