Wednesday, November 13, 5:30-7:00, room 825

Global fast fashion brands are churning out more clothes than the planet can handle. Today’s trends are tomorrow’s trash, with our clothes made cheaply and disposed of quickly. It’s time to redress the balance, challenge the throwaway mentality and invest in quality over quantity. – from the Greenpeace Detox My Fashion campaignThis panel addresses how the toxic nature of disposable fashion is a major contributor to water, air, and soil pollution. Beyond eliminating chemicals and developing more eco-friendly practices, individuals are making important decisions regarding how to recycle and up-cycle existing discarded objects such as plastic bottles and garments. They are “taking a stand on the environmental and human impact of fashion.” (Greenpeace’s Detox My Fashion campaign)Jayne Goh, Heather Kaye, and Xenia Sidorenko are transforming the fashion and clothing industry by leading the way to more eco-responsible business practices by making textiles out of recycled plastic bottles and upcycling discarded clothing.In addition, Panelists will be introducing initiatives and internship opportunities for students.

About the panelists:

• Jayne Goh is the co-founder of  P.E.T. – Plastic Ecological Transformation which supplies eco-friendly polyester textiles (made from plastic bottles) to manufacturers of items such as T-shirts and uniforms.
• Heather Kaye is the co-founder of Finch and Loop Swim. With partner Itee Soni, they are dedicated to making eco-friendly designed clothing and swimwear from recycled plastic bottles.
• Xenia Sidorenko, founder of UseDem, upcycles discarded jeans to make bags. Her overall eco-friendly project has a socially engaged component in that she gives hands-on workshops to share her knowledge –  teaching participants how to transform their own recycled textiles