Members of École Salish Secondary's Wolf TV Student Newschannel show off the Environmental Club's clothing swap, gathering donations until the end of January for students to exchange in February.
Students at École Salish Secondary are cleaning out their closets for a great cause: to find new homes for unwanted clothing and keep them out of the landfill.
The school's Environmental Club is hosting a clothing swap through the end of January, encouraging students to trade in clean clothes that are too small or not their style and exchange them for something else they might prefer. The idea came from the club's founder, Grade 12 student Megan Raitt, who has a history of hosting similar initiatives.
"The clothing swap was inspired by something I did in elementary school with books where we would all bring in books and exchange them," she said. "In Grade 10, I kind of noticed a trend among a lot of my peers that thrifting was getting really popular, and since our school is so new, I wanted a way to increase school spirit and connectivity among everyone.
"I thought it incorporated a lot of both worlds and it was something trendy that a lot of people seem to be interested in."
Raitt said school response has been entirely positive, with students donating dozens of articles of clothing, including shirts, pants, skirts, shoes, hats and other accessories. For each article of clothing, students receive a ticket to redeem in February for another item they might want.
"So far, we've gotten a bit of everything," she said. "I've heard a lot of people are really excited about it - we've already gotten quite a few donations and we're hoping to make it sort of an annual thing."
Teacher Nicole Jarvis said she's impressed by how many students are willing to take initiative and follow through.
"I like that they're not waiting for anyone else to do things, they're getting it going themselves," said Jarvis, noting the club has close to 20 members. "Clubs are often how students develop their core competencies, and I think the clothing swap is an example of creative thinking and social responsibility.
"Some classes may not really speak to a student's passion, so if we can have clubs that cater to what they want to see in the world, then they're going to be more engaged in the school overall."
École Salish Secondary students still have time to bring in their clean, unwanted clothing items. Students who don't have anything to donate will be able to purchase clothing at a low price. Any leftover donations will be given to local charities.
Thank you, École Salish Environmental Club, for your efforts to take care of our planet!
