Envirohub’s latest initiative is helping reshape the fashion landscape as designers and innovators came together on Sunday night after 48 hours completing a sustainable fashion challenge.

With a growing awareness of the fashion industry’s environmental impact, this unique competition turning second-hand garments into ready-to-wear outfits aims to harness creative brilliance in service of the planet.

Participants in the 48 Hour Second-hand Fashion Competition were tasked with curating, upcycling, and styling second-hand clothes and accessories into a fresh and fashionable, ready-to-wear outfit in 48 hours from Friday night to Sunday, creating an exciting new look out of recycled and repurposed textiles sourced from Turning Point Trust.

To add to the challenge, a decommissioned Wellington Zoo uniform shirt had to be incorporated into the new garment.

“They picked up the clothes on Friday and had until 5pm Sunday to complete the challenge,” says Envirohub Community Coordinator Cathy Donnelly. 

“We opened our offices at 8am Friday and had a room of clothes and spare materials donated to us - buttons, threads, zips - so the idea is when they make the outfit there is nothing new in it.

“All the clothes are from Turning Point Trust at Tauranga Historic Village. The participants could choose as many items as they wanted but encouraged to only take what they knew they would use.”

Emily Moodie, Jemima Thomas and Olivia Sanders won the high school category with a khaki outfit and white bag. Photo: Supplied.

Hundreds of uniforms and clothes go into landfill every day.

“They can't send those uniforms to charity shops because they are branded. The shirts are 100 per cent cotton so made of good stuff, but it highlights the waste we have.”

Cathy says we need to change our attitude to always buying brand new clothing and see if we can recycle things if possible.

“We can think of different ways of using them.”

Thinking of different ways, the participants in the competition took the Wellington Zoo uniform and clothing from Turning Point Trust to create a new ready-to-wear garment which was then showcased in a fashion show at Envirohub in Glasgow Street on Sunday evening.

The competition had two categories - an open category and a high school category, with 25 entrants in total.

“It was really lovely to see the age range of models. We had a nine-year-old girl from Oropi School, a mother and daughter, and someone’s boyfriend. And we had a diverse crowd.”

Emily Moodie, Jemima Thomas and Olivia Sanders won the high school category with a khaki outfit and white bag. Photo: Supplied.

Envirohub has been running a sustainable art challenge for many years, including a wearable art challenge and the 48 hours challenge.

“We decided to put the wearable arts on hold, while we rethink the programme. As good as the wearable arts are, they end up as waste.”

The 48 hour competition was the first time the organisation had run a stand-alone competition focusing on textile waste.

“It was amazing to be able to host an event like that in our own facility. There were some amazing outfits created.

“We take out landfill and turn them into outfits within 48 hours. Amazing.”

To help raise awareness and education regarding fashion waste, high school students participated in a range of additional activities leading up to the 48 Hour Challenge, including a movie screening of ‘The True Cost’ at the Village Community Cinema, and an upcycling workshop with The Good Tonic and Tarnished Frocks N Divas designer Donna Stobie.

“The film highlights the fashion industry, showing the human and financial cost of getting clothes into shops to buy cheaply.

“At the upcycling workshop we had all the flags, banners and tee shirts that Mercury - which was previously Trustpower - had donated to us.

“We got the students to turn them into accessories - jewellery, bags etc.”

Cathy says it was good for the high school students to see there is a clear career ahead of them in sustainable fashion, with Envirohub’s project coordinator and fashion designer Milly McHardie connecting with the students.

“Milly has her own clothing brand called 'Toad + Monster'. It’s cool for students to meet Milly and see she is working and living here.”

Milly received the Eileen Keir memorial award in 2020, for top graduating fashion design student at AUT.  Sustainability is a major driving force behind both her business and personal decisions and she is the owner of an online clothing boutique, selling a curated selection of pre-loved garments.

Milly is in the process of establishing her own sustainable fashion brand, using secondhand materials to create one of a kind garments.

“It’s cool to give them the vision to see there is a career path, when they meet Milly,” says Cathy.

“To celebrate the creativity and opportunity that these designers have for something destined for landfill made into clothes that are amazing – it becoming more important to incorporate sustainability in there. 

“And the challenge was a chance to have some fun. It’s important to stay positive and hopeful and not keep feeling burdened down by the issues of climate and environment.”

The Envirohub team with their newly rebranded hoodies and jackets. Photo: Supplied.

The Envirohub team themselves took their own jackets and hoodies down to the Phrease Factory at Historic Village where some rebranding was done.

By highlighting how consuming clothes is causing damage to our environment, the team at Envirohub have been able to demonstrate that by reimaging fashion’s future, pushing boundaries, and wearing together style and sustainability in different ways promises to redefine the fashion industry.