Your closet isn’t just personal style, it’s a supply chain, a set of climate impacts, and a story about how we learn to consume. We sit down with Dara Gellman, Youth Education Program Leader at Fashion Takes Action, to talk about sustainable fashion in schools and why fashion literacy belongs in family studies, home economics, and beyond. If you’ve ever wanted to teach fast fashion, textile waste, and climate change without making students feel judged for what they wear, this conversation gives you a clear, student-centred path forward. 

We dig into how Fashion Takes Action supports educators with ready-to-use lesson plans, unit plans, and workshops through their My Clothes, My World program, designed so teachers don’t need to be sustainability experts to get started. Dara shares how she frames the topic around empowerment instead of blame, including the reality that many young people have limited control over what they buy or wear. We also unpack what hopeful action looks like in the classroom, from caring for clothes longer and swapping to building a culture of collective change. 

If you are interested in learning  more consider signing up for OFSHEEA' and FTA's workshop - Fashion, Sustainability & Your Classroom on May 12, 2026 at 7pm.    Registration information can be found here https://forms.gle/Hey6UpkD2LfZkZwG6 

For more information about Fashion Takes Action and the work they do in classroom check out their website at  https://www.fashiontakesaction.com/

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