The Sustainability Club at Saugeen District Secondary School (SDSS) is running the GIVE A SH!RT campaign for Waste Reduction Week October 15 to 19. This is an opportunity to raise awareness about clothing consumption and the impact of discarding it, all while raising funds for environmental initiatives at SDSS.

There is a strong history of environmental initiatives at SDSS and we have exciting plans for the 2018/19 school year, so we hope to be a strong contestant in being awarded a financial prize by collecting the greatest weight in textiles, read an October 4 submission to Saugeen Shores Hub.

Organizers are looking for support from the community in bringing in donations of accessories such as hats, mittens, scarves, ties, socks, purses, wallets, backpacks and bags; men's, women's and children's clothing; and other textiles such as bedding, pillows, bath towels, curtains and tablecloths.

Items can be dropped off at the school during school hours. There will be four large boxes identified by House colours they can choose from.

Other opportunities are available through the school’s Swap Shop as well as the Grade 9 Family Studies class will be selecting t-shirts to create "t-shirt totes", strong and washable alternatives to plastic bags.

Fast facts:

Plastic bags are typically used for less than 30 minutes and only 1% are recycled.

The average North American has four times as many clothes as they did in the 1980s.

North Americans send over 10.5 million tonnes of clothes to the landfill every year, 95% of which could be re-worn or repurposed.

On average, we throw away 81 pounds of textiles every year.

It takes over 700 gallons of water to make one new t-shirt.

The majority of used clothing and other textile materials collected and not reused or repurposed in North America are sent offshore, oftentimes with limited information provided on management at their final disposition.

More information can be found at www.giveashirtcanada.com.