Recycling & re-use of materials

Duration: 1 hour

Learning outcomes: At the end of the teaching unit, you will know the difference between reuse and recycle, fast-fashion and slow-fashion and the impact that the fashion sector has on the environment.

Personal story

Anita was born in Albania, in 1974. She moved with her family to Greece in 1991, when she was 17 years old. Her family immigrated to Greece because of economic challenges in Albania.

In the beginning, they moved to Crete, where Anita’s father worked as a farmer. But, as she remembers, the working conditions were not good. So, they moved to Athens, where he started working in construction.

Anita was facing enough problems with the language, so her parents chose to send her to a vocational rather than a general school. She started taking lessons in dressmaking and received a scholarship for a college of fashion design.

When she got her diploma, she decided to create her own fashion workshop for clothes alterations and repairs.

Anita considers her business as a social enterprise, as it is eco-friendly. She recycles old textiles in order to design new clothes.

Introduction to the Learning Unit

At the end of the teaching unit, you will have been able to learn the following concepts in an introductory way:

• Learn the difference between reusing and recycling, concepts that are often used as synonyms.
• Observe and learn about the impact that the fashion sector has on the environment.
• Introduce us to the concepts of fast-fashion and slow-fashion.
• To differentiate between textile reuse and textile recycling.

To investigate and learn about alternatives such as ethical and sustainable fashion and brands that promote these concepts.