A tote bag made out of a T-shirt? It’s more likely than you think. On January 14, Embark Sustainability hosted its first climate workshop of the year, “Rework, Reuse, Revolutionize.” The workshop was designed to present an alternative to fast fashion, focusing on bridging “sustainability and creativity by learning about the power of upcycling.” Upcycling is the process of giving items a second life by reusing or repurposing them.
Embark is an SFU non-profit, student-led organization whose focus is two-fold — their first area of work is climate equity, which bridges “climate science and social justice through knowledge mobilization and institutional advocacy.” The second is food justice, which involves engaging students in “equitable and sustainable food production, distribution, and access.”
Fast fashion faces ongoing criticism for its contribution to climate change, with Business Insider reporting that “the fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined.” The industry accounts for around 10% of total emissions. For one, textiles that make their way to the landfill are sometimes discarded by being burned, which contributes to emissions.
“There are a lot of problems with the way fashion sustainability is happening right now, and I don’t want to be a part of that.” — kAt, Embark event facilitator
At the event, attendees were greeted with a variety of once-worn shirts ready to be transformed into bags. kAt, the event facilitator, explained how to cut, pin, and sew the shirts so they could be upcycled. For those unfamiliar with sewing machines, there was plenty of expertise to go around.
“My grandma used to sew and do a lot of revamping,” said kAt, citing their inspiration for getting into circular fashion. “There are a lot of problems with the way fashion sustainability is happening right now, and I don’t want to be a part of that,” he added.
“You could tell [the event organizers] were all really passionate about sustainability in general, and about upcycling and reusing clothes for multiple purposes,” said Trevor Jones, an SFU graduate student who attended the workshop. “I thought it was nice to follow along with people that are so passionate about that because I’m also passionate about that.”
To learn more about Embark, visit their website embarksustainability.org/ or their Instagram @embarksustainability
