The BRAND project aimed to raise the awareness of young people on the themes of fast fashion and its severe impacts on the environment as well as to provide youth workers with all the necessary material and tools in order to raise awareness, influence and empower young people towards more eco-friendly fashion choices to earn a greener and more sustainable (fashion) future through the use of digital innovative tools and deliverables. Further, the BRAND project aims to contribute to the improvement of the quality of youth work. - We created youth-oriented material on the most important challenge of today - climate change and environmental challenges. We relate that to a topic that almost every young person can connect to, namely clothing and fashion.
The BRAND project, aligned with the European Youth Strategy 2019-2027, recognizes the crucial need to fortify the responsibility of young people to engage for a sustainable and fair future. Its priority goal is to take action towards a sustainable green Europe and the achievement of a society in which all young people are environmentally and socially active, educated, and able to make a difference in their everyday lives. The clothing industry is directly related to those goals impacting the environment as people buy more and more clothes with the business model of fast fashion. Young people aged from 17 to 24 show a tendency to buy primarily from fast fashion stores; further most of their disposable income is spent on new clothes. The UN predicts the need for the equivalent of almost three planets to be provided with natural resources needed to sustain current fashion lifestyles. Experts are ringing the bell for a 63% increase in clothes consumption by 2030, thus it is of great importance to take action, by changing our perspective on how we use and consume fashion products. Also youth workers and educators need new methods to tackle these challenges in a way that relates to the young people.