Zero waste- Responsible Production and Consumption
The assemblies at Seth Anandram Jaipuria School are unique in their content and intent to impact student behaviour and thought process. On 16th April 2019, one such assembly was conducted by Ms Lalita Kadian on ‘Zero Waste in the Apparel Industry – Responsible Production and Consumption’
The assembly was based on the idea of zero waste not only as a lifestyle choice but also as a business model. The role of clothes as an essential part of our lifestyle and how un self-consciously we buy clothes that we do not really need.
Students were shown videos of young entrepreneurs of India who have built up a business using waste from the clothing industry. The first being ‘Mishcat co’ – a carpet manufacturing unit that uses discarded silk sari yarn to make unique silk carpets. The second one being ‘Doodlage’ – a garment manufacturing unit that up cycles close to 600 kgs of garment waste everyday into fashionable clothing.
The second part of the assembly dealt with how we, as consumers, should become more conscious of the negative effects of the garment manufacturing industry on the environment. A video was shown to elaborate the use of water in making a single garment which could easily have been a source of drinking water for an individual for at least a few years.
Another video was shown to highlight the fact that clothes are not an indicator of a person’s character. Students were advised to become conscious and responsible buyers. They were advised to always ask themselves whether they really needed a garment before they bought it. A video of Kate Middleton was shown where she has been seen repeating her outfits many a times despite being a royalty and constantly being under the media gaze. It was done to inspire the students to not be too pressurised by their peers into constantly buying new clothes to maintain a certain social presence.
