Students Hear from Environmental Fashion NGO Redress

Students from schools across Hong Kong joined the first-ever student-led virtual Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) summit on 27 March, 2021.  The goal of the summit was to bring students together to collaborate locally to solve global problems.

Students heard from Lauren Boucher from Redress, an environmental NGO that works to reduce waste in the fashion industry. She talked about how we make, buy, use and dispose of our clothes, and the impacts that it has on people and our planet.

Students Sean Lee (11N) and Samrin Monami (11D) represented Island School at the summit, which they said empowered them to make changes through positive contributions to minimise their personal footprint.

Mr Ross Burrough, Senior Head of Da Vinci House and WANBO leader said, “When we talk about sustainability the clothing we wear is not always the first thing that springs to mind. However, the ‘fast fashion’ industry, where trendy clothes are produced at a low cost and hit the high street stores at breakneck speed are some of the most polluting industries in the world, where human rights often come second place to profits. So next time you go to the store, ask yourself, do you really need that clothing item?”

As we move forward, we are looking to recruit new student volunteers to help out in WANBO. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Ross Burrough (ross.burrough@online.island.edu.hk). Space on the teams are limited, so early sign up is advised. For more regular updates and announcements on the project, as well as opportunities for students to get involved in our initiatives, please go to WANBO’s Instagram page @iswanbo.