Fashion Takes Action (FTA) is Canada’s only non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of sustainability in fashion. We believe that young people  — as future consumers, fashion and climate leaders — must be educated, empowered and inspired to become Agents of Change. And you can help.

THE PROBLEM

• We buy 60% more clothing than we did 20 years ago and we keep them for half as long
• 3 out of every 5 garments purchased end up in the garbage within one year
• 60% of our clothing is now made from cheap, petroleum-based fabrics like polyester, acrylic, nylon and spandex
• Production of synthetic materials uses an estimated 342 million barrels of oil every year. That’s like driving a car around the world 1.5 million times
• Every time we wash our clothes millions of invisible microfibers are shed into our waterways
• It takes 10,000 litres of water - more than 33 bathtubs - to make a single pair of jeans
• Nearly 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment
• The fashion industry creates 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, or 4% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions
• Nearly $2.6 billion worth of pesticides are sprayed on cotton fields each year
• An estimated 170 million children are engaged in child labour and many of them make our clothes

HOW WE ARE CHANGING THE FASHION SYSTEM?

Since 2014, Fashion Takes Action has delivered in-class workshops to more than 20,000 students in grades 4-12 through our My Clothes My World (MCMW) education program which strives to foster socially and environmentally responsible citizens who will think critically and act consciously. 

MCMW has proven effective in educating students about the impacts of the fashion industry on both people and planet, and together we have diverted more than  100,000 lbs of clothing from landfills through our reuse, repurpose and repair activities. 

When COVID-19 shut down our schools, we quickly pivoted, using whatever resources we had at home to build digital resources that would allow us to continue to inspire and engage students. These resources were not intended to be a long-term solution but. .. with change comes opportunity!

Our goal is to develop aspects of our current workshop series into a multi-part e-learning program, with accompanying activities and resources, that will allow the MCMW program to reach an infinite number of students and community groups, including those in remote and under-resourced communities, across Canada and around the world, expanding our reach exponentially.

HELP US REACH 100,000 YOUTH

Our overall goal is to raise $100,000 to reach 100,000 students - that's $1 per student!

Funds raised will support the cost of redeveloping our existing My Clothes My World school program into a digital e-learning program that will educate, empower and inspire youth to influence system-wide change in their communities, accelerate sustainable and ethical fashion consumption, and decrease textile waste. This digital education series has the potential to empower and mobilize an infinite number of students - globally - thereby expanding education and awareness, and reducing consumption and related textile waste.

Your donation - whether $5 or $500 - will help us build a powerful e-learning program
that will educate, empower and inspire youth to help change the fashion system.