Tis the season of returning gifts, particularly clothes that are not your style or size.
For Homestead High School students Advay Ranade and Muhan Yang, the holiday season prompted them to think more deeply about what responsible giving truly entails.
Yang says the holiday season is one of the biggest times of year for overconsumption, especially when it comes to fast fashion. “The holidays really made it clear how important it is to think about the clothes we are giving and receiving, and what happens to these clothes after we’re done with them.”
As Ranade and Yang learned more about fast fashion, they were surprised at just how large its impact on our planet is. What they dug up was striking: The fashion industry produces roughly 10% of global carbon emissions—more than international flights and maritime shipping combined—and, on average, Americans throw away about 81 pounds of clothing per person each year.
As closets fill with new purchases, millions of usable garments are discarded, often after being worn only a handful of times. Today’s fast-fashion industry is producing twice as much clothing as it did in 2000, and if these trends continue, the industry’s global emissions are projected to increase 50% by 2030.
The students led a listening session that connected them with community members, city staff and local elected officials, including Cupertino Councilwoman Sheila Mohan, to better understand how clothing waste shows up at the local level and where student-led efforts could make a difference. Those conversations helped shape the direction of their work and pushed them to think big.
“We wanted to make an impact in our school, but also beyond our school,” Ranade says.
So, they teamed up as part of their school’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter and have been leading a yearlong community service initiative focused on sustainable fashion. This project has already reached thousands of local students and their families.
The work began with education. Ranade and Yang launched a public awareness campaign called “Thread the Truth,” which explains to their peers what fast fashion is, why it matters and how their everyday choices add up. In addition, Ranade and Yang partnered with the Fremont Union High School District’s student-led Climate Collective to launch an educational video campaign covering fast fashion. Through these presentations, workshops and short educational videos, this campaign is projected to reach nearly 10,000 students across the district.
Ranade and Yang didn’t want their project to stop at spreading awareness. They organized clothing donation drives across the high school district and conducted outreach to peers and local retailers like Savers Thrift Store, American Cancer Society Discovery Shop and Nearly New Shop to collect gently used and unsold clothing that would otherwise be thrown away.
When the donation drives began, the large volume of clothes they received surprised both Ranade and Yang. Students showed up with hundreds of bags of clothing they said had barely been worn, often admitting they had forgotten the items were even in their closets. For Ranade and Yang, it was a clear reminder of just how easily clothing becomes disposable.
With these resources in hand, they launched From Closet to Community, a hands-on service initiative created in partnership with the San Jose nonprofit Sacred Heart Community Service. They called upon their peers and have organized student volunteer opportunities at Sacred Heart’s clothing warehouse that are set to begin in January, and will help redirect this gently used clothing away from landfills and into the hands of families who need it most.
So far, their efforts have kept nearly 375 pounds of clothing out of landfills and have earned them commendations from U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein, the Santa Clara County Board of Education and Sacred Heart Community Service. Items that could have been overlooked or discarded without a second thought have instead become warm layers, work clothes and everyday essentials during these colder months.
In a commendation to the students, Daniel Maldonado, community partnership associate at Sacred Heart Community Service, said From Closet to Community has “reached thousands of community members and continues to spark awareness, action and hope.”
Ranade and Yang say they hope this initiative reminds the community that some of the most meaningful gifts we give one another this season aren’t always material things or items that end up forgotten in the back of a closet, but actions that reflect care, for our neighbors and for our planet.
Tara Sreekrishnan serves as a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education.
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