The Circle of Fashion Erasmus Project

Project Title

The Circle of Fashion

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Capacity Building for youth in ACP countries, Latin America and Asia

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics:

Project Summary

Fashion industry is among the biggest contributors to waste on the planet. And, the society and youth are little equipped to deal with the impact of overconsumption of clothes, textiles and the like. Let us portray an everyday situation:We buy it, wear it a few times, get sick of it – or we realize it’s out of fashion and we throw it away, only to begin this cycle all over again.Unfortunately, the affordability and accessibility of fast fashion comes at a high price for the planet and especially for the people who make it. There are roughly 40 million garment workers in the world today, 85% of them women, who are some of the lowest paid workers in the world. Not to mention it’s also a major contributor to greenhouse gases, water, and air pollution, and creates problematic levels of waste. However, the problem lies not in garment. We need to change people’s habits, attitude and behaviour towards clothing consumption. Sure, the world reacts to the problem, but still is not even nearly enough. That is why we want to implement “The Circle of Fashion” (CoF).CoF aims to take small steps towards better habits, cleaner environment & to stand up for human rights, with more specific objectives being:- to launch, test & develop a training programme about conscious behaviour towards clothing/fashion targeting youth workers & young leaders from EU & partner countries;- to equip youth workers & young leaders with knowledge, key competences & employable tools aimed at reducing the impact of fast fashion;- to foster capacity building and new social initiatives in youth work (related to the topics of conscious consumption / human rights / environment);- to increase transnational cooperation & exchange of good practices in the field between youth workers, NGOs & other stakeholders;- to disseminate the project’s ideas further to the wider public.Why these needs were selected over others:The consortium believes that it’s necessary to get serious about the “fashion problem”. It’s not as small or superficial as it might seem. In fact, it’s impact is on par with plastic overuse.The Circle of Fashion objectives and planned outputs & outcomes completely fit those of the participating organisations and of the European policies in multiple fields. Moreover, it will create synergies and long-term impact by:- improving youth work;- contributing to the well-being of youth & society in general;- raising social awareness about garments overconsumption & solutions for it;- adding to capacities of NGOs & mobility of youth in the developing countries.What is more, since the project is developed in tight cooperation with international partners, it will allow all the involved parties to learn from diverse experiences.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 149631,96 Eur

Project Coordinator

KOMPETENTA UNGA & Country: SE

Project Partners

• ASOCIACIJA “AKTYVUS JAUNIMAS”
• PERKUMPULAN GERAKAN KERELAWANAN INTERNASIONAL
• CAMBODIAN YOUTH ACTION