By Kate Bosman, Noah Varghese and Haadi Khan, members of the Development & Peace Social Justice Club at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School
One of the ways Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada’s D&P Schools program helps youngsters “engage social and global justice issues through the lens of their faith” is by having them reflect on the costs and consequences of lifestyle choices. Usually, this is done by awarding badges for completing recommended activities. Sometimes, though, the students really own the program and run with it to conceive and execute their own activities with great initiative and creativity. Read this story of one such instance and be inspired!
On Black Friday, November 28, the Development & Peace Social Justice Club at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School in London, Ont., hosted a Swap Party. On a consumerist feast when shopping is the order of the day, this event encouraged the notion that “new is not always better.”
Leading up to this event, the club had invited students and staff to donate “previously loved” items that could be loved by someone else in our community. During all three breaks on Black Friday, we set up in the forum where students and staff could to “thrift.” Donated items available for swapping included clothes, books, toys, a piano keyboard and even a hammock, to name a few!
The Swap Party was an inclusive event. Those who had not previously donated could do so by exchanging an item they brought from home. People could also simply take an item they found. This allowed even students who could not bring in items or had forgotten to do so to participate in and learn from the event.
Rethinking Black Friday
We ran this event on Black Friday as a means of fighting over-consumerism; promoting the notion that “old is still good;” and fostering a culture of life within the school community. Our club recognized the need for a change in attitude towards “previously loved” items and wanted to do something to do something about it. The Swap Party made students more inclined to donate, to “thrift” and to accept hand-me-downs from community members.
We understood that although new things are sometimes needed, they are not always made ethically. The event got people excited about gaining something new without necessarily going out to buy it. It gave students who may not have had funds a chance to get something for themselves or others in their lives.
Our mission with this event was to spread awareness about inequalities around the globe in relation to poor working conditions, slave labour, unfair wages, the unfair distribution of wealth, and the environmental damage that the fast fashion industry contributes too. We also sought to spread a message about starting within our community to make small changes that benefit everyone and that such little changes made today add up to a significant difference we make tomorrow.
Why Black Friday should go out of fashion
We spread awareness on how the fashion industry is detrimental to the environment and why finding alternative ways to shop is the best way to help protect our planet, support all life, and live in solidarity with others.
Although estimates vary, each item of clothing can take an average of 2,500 to 10,000 litres of water to manufacture. With some 100 items having been swapped, our simple event may well have saved 250,000 to an incredible 1,000,000 litres of water! That’s 1 to 4 million cups of water that some the most vulnerable people on the planet could be thirsting to drink.
Furthermore, the fast fashion industry is also a significant contributor to atmospheric pollution and creates an abundance of waste that stays on Earth for years. By preventing purchases, our event therefore helped reduce everything from factory and transportation emissions and pesticides used in cotton fields, to chemicals used in manufacturing processes that get dumped into essential water systems and clothes that end up in landfills. The reusing and repurposing that our event facilitated contribute to a happier and healthier planet, tackle consumerism and support life at all levels.
A success to sustain and repeat
The Swap Party was an overwhelming success. An abundance of items was donated, swapped, and saved from the landfills. Students and staff alike were proud of their swaps and messaging spread around the school about changing the culture around Black Friday and consumerism in real time. Even students who do not typically participate in events were intrigued and joined in.
One student enthusiastically declared, “I love seeing a bunch of different things. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this at school before…. I love it and I love thrifting!”
One of the things that made this event so special was the generosity that it brought out in people. Students thrifted gifts for their parents, siblings and friends. They were thinking not just about themselves, but of the people they love.
Most donations found a new loving home. The remaining items will be donated to those in need in the community, unhoused people, churches, shelters and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The Swap Party was not just about getting “new” stuff, but about the culture and education that goes along with it. It responds to Pope Francis’s Jubilee call to “Turn Debt Into Hope” and aligns with many Catholic virtues and the teachings in encyclicals like Laudato Si’, and Rerum Novarum. That is what made it impactful and important to our school community.
Staff and students shared many positive comments and requests for an encore. So, we are already planning another Swap Party during Lent, perhaps as a spiritual gesture to give things away and make more room for Jesus in our lives!