San Diego youth discover how fashion can help the planet—and the homeless

The interior of the tent for the homeless at Father Joe s Villages Photo courtesy of Father Joe s On Wednesday May and Friday May th-grade students from High Tech Middle Mesa will take a field trip to Father Joe s Villages clothing donation center located outside downtown San Diego Their mission To learn how they can bring sustainable fashion practices into their closets Starting at a m each day the students will tour the Father Joe s Villages Auction and Donation Center at rd Street The visit offers an inside look at what happens after clothes are donated from sorting and salvaging to how items make their way onto thrift store racks that help fund services for people experiencing homelessness Throughout the tour students will be encouraged to think about the broader impact of fashion by exploring three essential questions How do our consumption habits affect the world around us How can we balance our wants and requirements in a society that promotes constant shopping What creative strategies can we repurpose old clothes into something new and useful The students will follow the journey of donated items from the moment they arrive at the facility to how they re processed and prepared for resale Along the way they ll learn how secondhand shopping supports the context and locality programs These lessons are especially timely as the throwaway beliefs has intensified with a great number of garments now being worn only seven to times before being discarded Over the past years clothing usage has dropped by more than In the United States roughly million tons of textiles approximately of all clothing end up in landfills each year That s the equivalent of pounds of clothing per person By getting a firsthand look at sustainable solutions these students are learning that even small changes such as buying secondhand or reimagining old outfits can have a essential impact on the planet