How to make unsustainable fashion trends more sustainable | Youth Climate LAB conclusions

We have now come to the end of the first season of the Youth Climate LAB! It was an interesting journey where we had the opportunity to engage with experts on sustainable fashion.

We are now happy to share our final recommendations with you, which use bahavioural science models and draw inspiration from the different perspective tackled throughout the episodes.

What we propose:

At the core of our recommendations lies the belief that we can all be an example for the community around us every time we notice an unsustainable behaviour concerning fashion, including via daily actions (even small actions).

• Recommendation 1

Organise and promote short activities to foster common community identity with the goal to raise awareness and promote sustainable trends.

e.g. organise a Christmas market (or a seasonal market) using donations of the community and linking it to informative workshops; and advertise it through social media. This is a small example that can help changing the perspective of second hand clothes.

• Recommendation 2

Prepare and post a set of Instagram reels to promote give-aways or flea markets among friends, family and local community. The ideal situation is to then organise these markets on sundays when everyone should have more free time. This activity will benefit participants who will become aware of their clothes. It also promotes circular economy and raises awareness on our behaviours as consumers.

• Recommendation 3

Organise a game, challenge or contest among friends and family to invite people to wear more often the clothes they already have.

e.g. a 20-times selfie challenge could invite participants to take a selfie while wearing an outfit 20 times and within a determined timeframe. In this case, influencers could play a fundamental role in spreading the word and to its success.

e.g. a game in schools where participants need to exchange clothes to receive points, which can be redeemed in the canteen. In this possibility, you foster circular economy giving the possibility to others to wear those clothes you don't like anymore with the additional advantage that teenager will not need to buy new clothes for a new look!

• Recommendation 4

Organise an event where everyone can bring old clothes and give them a second life.

e.g. in a Sew it to a new life workshop where you can bring your clothes with an open mind and ready to restyling them - a pair of trousers can become shorts, for instance! This will benefit our pockets and renvigorate our wardrobes fostering circular economy!

• Recommendation 5

Collaborate with local shops to add QR stickers and advanced reality showing how to repair and re-use clothes

e.g. Cooperating with specialised shops like second hand shops or tailors could be successful - but it is key to involve family, local communiy and teachers too. This should also inspire policy makers to consider it as a common solution to add to lables.

So what?

We believe that these are just few examples of what we can do as young citizens to influence unsustainable fashion trends towards more sustainable ones. The sky is the limit! We suggest to also use existing websites and channels forstering these activities, and to collaborate with teachers, local communities and companies in a creative way!

We want to raise just one suggestion more: do not limit yourself to awareness raising activities only (like workshops and conferences), organise activities - alone or with friends, family and the community. Change does not happen only talking but doing!