Port Douglas students turn trash into treasure with fashion fun

Port Douglas State School's Grade 5/6 students have been busy turning old clothes into something extraordinary. Armed with creativity and a passion for the planet, they collected used items from home and school and transformed them into unique, eye-catching clothing designs.

This semester, as part of their Design and Technology unit, the students took on a creative and eco-friendly challenge by focusing on sustainable fashion. 

Their hard work culminated in a lively assembly fashion parade, where they proudly showcased their designs and shared their commitment to protecting the environment.

The purpose of the project was not just to design clothing but to educate others about the dangers of throwing away old clothes and plastics. When such items end up in landfill, the damage to the Earth is significant and long-lasting. 

Through their projects, the students sent a powerful message: reusing and repurposing materials can help reduce this harm and protect the environment.

To extend their message of sustainability, the students organised a whole-school community clothes swap on November 28th. The event was a huge success, with an entire room filled with clothes at the start of the day dwindling to just two bags by the end.

Grade 5/6 teacher Kelda Wray shared the inspiration behind the project. 

“For our Design and Technology unit in grade 5/6 this year we decided to show the students a video about the amount of clothing being sent to places like Ghana, where unwearable and dirty items often end up in landfills,” she explained.

“It was eye-opening and sparked a lot of discussion about the environmental impact of different materials. From there, the students came up with the idea to create sustainable outfits and host a school-wide clothes swap to raise awareness.”

The students embraced every aspect of the project, from researching to designing and even creating educational posters to spread the word. 

Their passion was evident in their weekly eagerness to work on the project and their thoughtful discussions about sustainability.