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Global fashion statement – Student work on sustainable fashion

What the rich world wears, the poor world makes: fashion is a business that affects resources and people across the globe. One student from Bedales School, Hampshire, thinks we should be more aware of the impact fashion has.

Instead of writing a conventional essay for her Geography studies, she has presented her findings as a couture creation: a bodice and long train, with appliquéd panels of text and fashion illustrations: a ‘fashion statement’ in every sense of the word.

The 14 year old said, “It was trainers that started me thinking. We buy them, and when they go out of fashion we just throw them away. We don’t care – and the manufacturers don’t care, as long as they can get them made cheaply enough. We should think more about the waste of resources, and about the people who make the things we wear.”

Two national organisations have expressed interest in using the work in their educational resources, bringing it to the attention of a wider audience, even an international audience: Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC), which promote international issues and sustainable development, and Labour Behind the Label, a campaign that supports garment workers' efforts worldwide to improve their working conditions. The couture creation will be exhibited at the RISC centre in Reading, where it will be seen by visiting school groups.

Dave Richards of RISC judged the investigative projects of Bedales students who had completed their first year of Geography in the senior school. He said, “The piece stood out for several reasons. It not only summarised the issue of sweated labour in the clothing industry in a clear and balanced way, but also presented the arguments in an attention-grabbing style. It is very advanced work for her age – I thought at first it was a project for AS-level. The dress was the perfect medium to communicate serious issues accessibly and effectively. There’s a future for her campaigning for trade justice!”

“A lot of American factories have already closed because it’s cheaper to make trainers and clothes overseas. A sewing-machine operator in Bangladesh only earns £10 a month – that’s the minimum wage – but as soon as the manufacturers find somewhere cheaper, those jobs will go as well” commented the Bedales’ student.

“I’m hoping my ‘fashion statement’ will make people think more about what they buy.”

Bedales School, Hampshire. www.bedales.org.uk

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