The students explore the water footprint of fashion items.
The intention is to highlight the link between clothing choices, water use, and nature preservation.
Explain that clothing has a hidden “water footprint.” Give examples: a cotton T-shirt uses ~2,700 litres, jeans ~7,500 litres. This footprint is a result of the vast amounts of freshwater consumed and polluted in textile production, from cotton cultivation and textile dyeing to the washing of synthetic fibers leading to microplastics in the water. This water use contributes significantly to water scarcity, water pollution, and environmental degradation globally.
Cut out the Water usage for different garments, so that there are 6 individual cards with the name of the garments, and 6 individual cards with liter estimations. Make groups using the Random Groups, and hand out these 12 cards per group. Ask groups to rank the garments from lowest to highest water usage using the Put in Order. Let them connect the garment to the correct amount of liters.
Reveal the correct answers to the students. Ask them what surprised them most.
Students will now be motivated to reflect on the impacts of clothing production and the respective water usage. Hand out one Reflection worksheet on fashion and water per group. Let groups reflect on these questions using the Talking Chips.
Students present their reflections using the 3-Point Presentation.
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