RCGD Global, the sustainable fashion platform helmed by actor, author, and activist Suzy Amis Cameron, has launched a school-focused program in partnership with Fashion Takes Action.
The new Red Carpet Green Dress (RCGD Global) educational video series is aimed at introducing sustainable fashion to primary education platforms. Fashion Takes Action (FTA) has been working across grades 4 to 12 since launching its My Clothes My World program in 2014.
“Since the beginning, our goal at RCGD Global has been to raise awareness and educate society about the impact of the fashion industry and promote more sustainable practices and consumption habits,” Samata Pattinson, CEO of RCGD Global and a past winner of the Global Design Contest, said in a statement.
“Partnering with Fashion Takes Action and taking the knowledge we have been gathering and transmitting to other sectors of the population to schools is key as it means educating future leaders. We are very excited about this project and to see how willing our industry colleagues have been to participate in it and help shape a better future,” Pattinson said.
The new program features six short videos running five to seven minutes in length. The videos provide a birds-eye view of some of the fashion industry’s key environmental issues. Topics include Introduction to Sustainable Fashion, Fashion’s Waste Problem, How Much Pollution are you Wearing? The Secret Lives of Clothes, How to Design Sustainably, and Who is Responsible for Changing the Fashion System?
Pattinson leads the videos alongside Kelly Drennan, founding executive director of Fashion Takes Action. The two are joined by industry leaders, influencers, and celebrities throughout the series, including RCGD Global founder, Suzy Amis Cameron, as well as actress and activist Tati Gabrielle, Eva Kruse, Group SVP of Pangaia, Remake founder Ayesha Barenblatt, Maeve Galvin the Global Policy Director at Fashion Revolution, Designer and Entrepreneur Sanah Sharma, Sustainability activist Maya Penn, designer and activist Nikki Reed, and Anishinaabe Indigenous rights advocate Autumn Peltier.
Drennan says the collaborative videos are an accessible entry point for students. “FTA has been educating youth about the impacts of fashion in Canada since 2014. The need for teachers to talk to students about the topic of sustainable fashion feels more and more necessary as social media is influencing kids to consume younger and younger,” says Drennan.
Amis Cameron co-founded the progressive Muse School in Los Angeles alongside her sister Rebecca Amis. The school website describes its curriculum as infusing Passion-Based Learning with Core Academics to create learning opportunities that are meaningful and unique. “Students connect their passions with academics while teachers ensure that grade-level milestones are woven into classroom studies and projects as well as individual passion projects.”
“Education on sustainability is the key to reforming this longstanding system of corruption, environmental degradation and social exploitation that has amounted to gross imbalance of the very way life on our planet is designed to fundamentally function,” Sharma said. The designer appears in the third video on the industry’s pollution problem. “Building a conscious mindset as makers and consumers is critical to restore this balance.”
Nikki Reed, the Twilight star and founder of Bayou With Love sustainable jewelry says the work that RCGD Global is doing is “so incredibly important” for global change. “I feel honored to be a part of this series as it serves as not only an educational tool but an inspirational tool, showing everyone that the power really is in their hands. Historically we have seen rapid change with rapid awareness, and one of the most impactful things we can do is prioritize innovation and conversation as we seek solutions.” Reed appears in episode 5, How to Design Sustainably.
The announcement comes on the heels of RCGD Global’s recent partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Ahead of the Oscars ceremony in March, the Academy will distribute a sustainable style guide from RCGD Global to all attendees.
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