College students speak up after creating sustainable shop that will support three charities
Suffolk New College art and design students supported three charities by creating a social action project.
The learners brought the college together by running a thrift shop selling second hand clothes.
Staff, friends of staff, students and teachers donated garments and a sale took place.
A total of £169.00 was raised and all of the cash will be given to an organisation called Traid – a charity that raises money for projects supporting sustainable fashion.
All clothes that weren’t sold on the day will now be donated to Lighthouse Women’s Aid and The Bus Shelter in Ipswich.
Mimi Wasik, 19, from Ipswich is on an art and design level three course and played a leading role in the project. Mimi said: “Fast fashion is horrifically bad so we created this event to prove that there are other ways to shop. The cost of living is also having a huge impact on everyone so all items were one pound each. The response was really positive and we would definitely do something like this again.
“Teenagers get quite a bad press sometimes for being quite self-obsessed and entitled and this is unfair. People think that young people don’t care – but we do. Hopefully this event proves this. In my opinion, if we are not doing something to change things positively then we are just existing.”
Ashlee Moye, 18, from Ipswich is on the same course as Mimi. Ashlee said: “It’s frustrating seeing billionaires in a position where they have power and a voice but they don’t really use it for good – so I guess it’s down to us (young people) to try and make a difference in a positive way. We hope this will inspire more people to consider sustainable fashion and support charities like the ones we are helping out via this project.”
Rosie Rawlins-Waumsley, a progress tutor at Suffolk New College who guided the group through the project said: “I think it is an incredible opportunity for our learners to demonstrate their skills, work together as a team and raise awareness for some really important causes.”