Combining Creativity and Sustainability

Our Quaker values truly came to life during tour annual House Sustainable Fashion competition! The competition shines light on where our clothing wastage really goes and its impact on our environment. Sustainability Co-ordinator and Geography teacher, Oliver Staines, opened the competition with our School slogan of ‘Imagine Better’, encouraging students to imagine a better world where wastage is combated by reusing and upcycling our clothing after the average wear of an item was revealed to be only seven times.

The competition featured three unique categories, each designed to inspire innovative thinking and tackle various environmental themes. These included: Climate Chaos, Biodiversity Breakdown, and Solar Punk. The categories were open to interpretation as to not stifle creativity. This freedom allowed an incredible range of designs and perspectives, all centered around the important Quaker issue of sustainability.

Each House incorporated a core item of clothing into the designs, choosing between a T-Shirt, Jacket and Pair of trousers, for each of the three designs, all gathered from a second-hand emporium in Reading. Each House received a £50 budget which they used to purchase further secondhand items and materials, pushing their creative boundaries while sticking to a sustainable ethos.

Combining design and textile skills to bring their creative visions to life, our judges evaluated each look based on the brief, performance, durability, and aesthetics, while Oliver Staines will be diving deeper into how sustainable each piece really is before adding up the points and announcing the winner.

The competition challenges our students approach to waste and inspiring a more sustainable future. The event was an incredible showcase of our students’ creativity, teamwork, and commitment to making a positive change for the planet. At Leighton Park School, our commitment to sustainability continues to thrive, and with events like the House Sustainable Fashion competition, we are helping to shape a generation that imagines, and works towards, a better world.