Students at Perth District Collegiate Institute have fun in their new Me to We: [Responsible Style] gear.
The clothes we put on our backs are often the product of child labour, manufactured in sweatshops and made with materials destructive to our environment. Yet how often do we think about T-shirts in this way?
Once a year, Perth District Collegiate Institute orders school clothing, an effort organized by the student council. The clothing has traditionally been chosen based on how to display school pride through the garments selected. The way the clothing was manufactured didn’t ever cross anyone’s mind.
But in August of 2006, Lexi Wight, the school’s secretary and clothing organizer, and Tyler Valiquette, Grade 11 president, learned about a clothing company that was doing things differently: Me to We: [Responsible Style]. The aim of Me to We: [Responsible Style] is to supply clothing that is 100 per cent ethically-made and environmentally-sound—plus 50 per cent of its profits go to Free The Children! Me to We: [Responsible Style] even makes special apparel for schools, including graduation clothing, spirit wear and student council gear. Students can choose or design the logos and images they want on their clothing, letting them reflect their school pride while supporting ethical apparel. This sounded perfect!
“We worked hard to convince our teachers that this was a priority for us, so we wrote letters to the teachers,” says Lexi. “I felt lucky to have had the opportunity to be involved with such an amazing company.”
Students see their choice of Me to We: [Responsible Style] clothing as a way to reduce child labour and minimize their school’s environmental impact.
Tyler is hopeful for the future implications of the clothing. “I hope by supporting Me to We: [Responsible Style] we not only help reduce child labour, but we also make our school’s ecological footprint as small as possible,” he says. “I hope this will help to make students more aware that certain types of clothing they wear are made by child labourers and that Me to We will help lower child labour rates.”
Lexi plans on taking this idea to the school board to encourage neighbouring schools to follow their lead toward ethical clothing purchases. She knows things can change, one T-shirt at a time.
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