LET'S ACT TO TURN THINGS AROUND
- Our second activity in Ceuta - Spain hosted by IES Puerta Del Campo

Our first approach, as presented in the application for this project, would have been dedicated to plastic pollution, making it visible and creating awareness about the need to reduce, reuse or recycle it. But once we started diving into the activities, our awareness about several environmental battle fields seemed to push us ever further into another direction: Fast Fashion. We realised that – apart from being a major topic among young people, that could very well act as a door opener to wider action and attention - the rise of worldwide fast fashion firms  that were flooding the market with extremely cheap fashion designed for a short-lived use and our students were extremely vulnerable to their global marketing strategies. We felt the urge to act on this issue rather than what was initially planned. Thus, we designed the activities for our meeting in Ceuta in order to Turn Things Around related to the fierce consumption of this type of fashion, like a second-hand market, in whose preparation, setting up and implementation, students, teachers and families would be involved, and a creative and hands-on upcycling workshop using several techniques, fired up by a contest and award for the best upcycled design. Creativity and self-made fashion was the clue. We also came up with a capsule wardrobe that implied an Instagram challenge and would really get to the core of our consumption habits and our questioning them. Another big anchor point was going to be a practical workshop where students would learn how to measure and calculate their carbon footprint through their lifestyle habits. This should contribute to also raise their awareness that apparently small steps can push your footprint in one direction or the other.