Hood River Valley High School students pose in front of a massive wall of fabric bales during their tour of Goodwill Industries before looking through bins for just the right items for an upcycling project. More photos online at columbiagorgenews.com.
Hood River Valley High School students pose in front of a massive wall of fabric bales during their tour of Goodwill Industries before looking through bins for just the right items for an upcycling project. More photos online at columbiagorgenews.com.
HOOD RIVER — A group of 18 Hood River Valley High School (HRVHS) art students in grades 9-12 traveled to Portland for a behind-the-scenes tour of Goodwill Industries of the Columbia’s Willamette’s headquarters in Southeast and their outlet location in Northeast recently.
The trip was organized by HRVHS art teacher Matthew Gerlick, who reached out to Goodwill Industries PR Manager Hayley Platt inquiring about its production and recycling processes. He and his Craft Lab students were preparing for an upcycled clothing fashion project and were interested in Goodwill’s sustainability practices.
“I believe upcycling clothes is a great way to extend the use of garments, cut down the waste stream through upcycling, making new what was used into something new and different, promoting making things yourself and building your creative blueprint,” Gerlick told Columbia Gorge News. “Fast fashion is only growing, and becoming one of the largest polluters in the world, affecting marginalized and developing nations the most.”
“The project’s end goal is to turn something used into something new in an effort to reduce environmental waste, a timely and perfect way to celebrate Earth Month,” said Platt.
Gerlick said the tour was very detailed and comprehensive. Students learned about the entire lifespan of the objects Goodwill receives as donations and how they make their way through the system.
After the tours, the students shopped the outlet bins for items that sparked their creativity.
“Goodwill was delighted to host these earth-friendly students and happily picked up the tab for the 30 pounds of textiles, linens, and other fabrics to be used for their projects,” said Platt.
Students are currently working on their upcycled garments. The culmination of the project will be on May 30 during the annual HRVHS AP Art Show. More information about the art show will be included in upcoming editions.
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