Northampton secondary school to host ‘back on the rack’ fashion event to promote sustainability

A Northampton secondary school is preparing to host a ‘back on the rack’ fashion event to promote sustainability to its students.

Northampton School Girls in Spinney Hill is working towards gaining an Eco-Schools Green Flag status and the school's eco-council this year decided to focus on fast fashion.

To showcase what charity shops and buying second hand has to offer, students have donated clothes that will then be sold at the ‘back on the rack’ event for affordable prices.

Geography teacher and eco-lead for the school, Emma Oldham, said: “With our eco-council, we always sit down to discuss what they want to focus on this year.

“A lot of students are into fashion and the fast fashion industry is a big problem, but many younger people don’t know much about it, so the council decided it wanted to educate the school.

“Students have been donating clothes and we have loads of great items to put back up for sale.

“We’re trying to change students’ perspectives on clothing. We want to show them that there will be really nice clothing on sale for a reasonable price, between 50p and £5.”

The event, which will take place at the school on November 2, will officially be opened by Mayor of Northampton Councillor Rufia Ashraf and has also been recognised by Greenpeace UK.

Emma added: “We believe we are one of the first school's to host an event such as this and we are hoping that the actions of our eco-council members and eco-officers will change the way both staff and students choose to shop.

“Whilst the event is mainly aimed at 11 to18 year olds, we hope that colleagues will also learn about fast fashion and make more informed decisions when shopping in future, whether this be upcycling clothes, swapping clothes with peers or developing a greater appreciation of charity shops.

“We believe that educating the public is vital in changing people's attitudes and there couldn’t be a more pressing time to host an event such as this with COP26 on our doorstep.”

The school also plans to continue its eco-work with plans for conservation work, litter picking and more.