Photo: Mikolaj Tym
New initiative by Interzero and Mom's Project - education centre A turning point in fashion and the fight against greenwashing
We live fast, produce fast, consume fast. Fast fashion (fast fashion) conquers hearts and achieves high profits without regard for social and environmental consequences. Every year, 92 million tonnes of textile waste ends up in landfills and only 1% is recycled. At the same time, for young people, appearance and fashion are a means of self-expression, of building identity. How do we find our way in a world where manufacturers often pull the wool over our eyes with ecological slogans and countless marketing techniques bombard us with their messages? The Turning Point EcoCentre comes to the rescue - the place where change begins.
About fast fashion at FSO
The theme of Turning Point is the environmental impact of fast fashion and packaging. The themes and delivery of the innovative educational activities were tailored to the interests of teenagers. Through an engaging narrative, teaching through discovery and solving puzzles, teenagers gain practical knowledge of ecology.
- The opening of an environmental education centre in the former FSO car factory is a symbol of the green transformation taking place around us. As the Interzero Group, we focus our pro-environmental activities primarily on reducing the waste of natural resources, closing raw material cycles and managing waste. Our ambition in relation to environmental education is to talk about the challenges of civilisation in an accessible, engaging and interest-inspiring way. Turning Point, of which we are a patron and partner, is an example of this. I am very pleased that we were able to get involved in this initiative," says Monika Grom, vice-president of the Interzero Group in Poland.
Riddle rooms
There are four thematic rooms at the Turning Point. One of them has been developed substantively by Interzero experts. Upon entering it, visitors receive a message from the future and a task related to waste sorting. The main purpose of this part of the story is to explain the impact of correct waste sorting on recycling and closing the cycle of packaging and raw materials.
- At Turning Point, we are creating a fashion for ecology. We do this through activating teaching methods that have proven successful in previous projects with the Mamy Projekt, such as the Eco-experimentarium exhibition and online games. This time, we are venturing into the not-so-distant future, showing today the reasons why textiles will be included in the selective waste collection system from 2025. We want to educate through experience and thus change behaviour, stimulating reflection and responsible attitudes, which is why the slogan of the Turning Point is 'You are the change'," says Katarzyna Kacz, manager of educational projects for children and young people at the Interzero Group.
In each of the four thematic rooms of the Turning Point, groups of students seek answers to questions related to the environmental consequences of the garment industry's actions. After completing all tasks, they meet with an animator in a special dialogue zone, where they discuss the conclusions of this fashion and packaging journey.
- Reports trumpet the fact that young people have heard about climate change but don't have enough knowledge or tools to understand its consequences, so they often take a passive attitude towards it. "If I'm going to die anyway, let it be in fashionable shoes," one teenager told us during interviews. This was the impetus for creating an alternative form of environmental education. Games, collaboration, good graphics, multimedia and expert knowledge conveyed in an interactive form are the ingredients of the recipe for Turning Point. We have been designing innovative tools for environmental education for 10 years, and creating an interactive EcoCentre was Mama Projekt's biggest dream. Come and see for yourself how it turned out," invites Małgosia Żmijska of the Mamy Projekt collective.
The EcoCentre Turning Point is located at 88 Jagiellońska Street, in the former FSO gate (now FSO Park). Registration for the free workshops is conducted via the website www.punktzwrotny.com. It will host less waste workshops, inspirational meetings and clothes swaps at weekends. It is also possible to rent the space of the EcoCentre.
It's time for the Turning Point! 🚀🌱 You're welcome!
