A Sydney high school is leading the fight against clothing wastage nationwide by introducing a sustainable school uniform for students.
With few institutions addressing the huge rate of uniform wastage Hunters Hill High School has developed a jacket made from 100 per cent recycled material.
Student representative council coordinator Jess Austin is pleased with the schools progressive move to save the planet.
Anne Thompson, founder of Worn Up. Photo: India Jamieson
“There was a necessity for it, in terms of becoming more contemporary and up to speed on what we need as a planet,” she said.
Over 600 students attend the school, with the project initiated by the representative council in response to student concerns about the environment.
Student council member Whitney Mueller said: “Looking at what’s going on in the world and how we are trying to approach sustainability… our school’s done such a good thing.”
The school worked collaboratively with Anne Thompson founder of Worn Up, to make a dent in the estimated 954 tonnes of textile wastage generated each year in Australia.
Worn Up attacks the problem head on, with an innovative renewal program repurposing material.
“Worn Up’s actually really concerned about the chronic overproduction of garments,” Ms Thompson said.
“We would love to see some action to help producers realise that they don’t have to do so many outfits because most of it ends up in landfill.”
Main picture of Hunter’s Hill High School students wearing their sustainable school jackets. Photo by India Jamieson.
