Sustainable Development Spotlight: the student group challenging fast fashion
Posted on Wednesday 19 November 2025
Funded by the University’s Latte Levy, the York SU Sustainable Development Grant offers funding to projects that aim to address at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals within the York Community. With 17 Goals to choose from, this means the Grant funds a broad range of innovative, inspiring and impactful initiatives.
Sustainable Development Spotlight stories celebrate the work delivered with the help of the Grant and interview successful applicants to find out more about how they used the Grant funding to realise their ambitions and have a real impact in the York community.
In this article, York SU chats to the volunteering project Swap Don’t Shop about how they used the Grant to support their fight against fast fashion with a make and mend workshop.
Can you tell us about the workshop and why you decided to host it?
Swap Don’t Shop is a student-led movement dedicated to reshaping how we think about fashion. Our core mission is simple yet powerful: to challenge the damaging cycle of fast fashion.
We achieve this through:
- Promoting Sustainable Choices: Hosting regular clothing swaps that offer ethical, budget-friendly, and creative alternatives to buying new.
- Celebrating Second-Hand: Breaking down the stigma associated with pre-loved items, proving that fashion can be affordable, stylish, and fun - all while helping the planet.
- Empowering Conscious Consumers: Equipping students with the awareness and skills needed to make choices that support both people and the planet.
While clothes swaps are essential to what we do, they only address half the problem.
We live in a society where a minor, visible flaw can instantly render a perfectly good garment "unwearable," prematurely ending its life. This is fueled by consumerism and, crucially, a widespread lack of basic repair and upcycling skills like sewing.
If we want clothes to have a longer life, we must tackle this skills gap. That’s why we decided to go beyond hosting clothes swaps and wanted to host an upcycling and repairing workshop.
And we found the perfect team for it.
Our Project Coordinator, Susie, happened to meet with Amina of ajeeb studios, a multidisciplinary artist, writer, director, poet, and activist focusing on storytelling, social justice, and grassroots action, particularly challenging social and political discourse around representation. She invited fellow University of York alumni Chloe along to help facilitate and host a fab event. What made our guest speakers Amina and Chloe the perfect fit for this workshop was their unique blend of artistic skill, social activism. Having previously hosted upcycling crash courses, ajeeb studios brought expertise and an inspiring perspective to sustainable fashion. We immediately knew collaborating with such vibrant, like-minded people would be an incredibly impactful experience for students.
This ambitious plan to empower students with essential, lifelong skills was made possible with the support of the Sustainable Development Grant. The grant allowed us to secure Amina and Chloe's expertise and host a high-quality workshop, ensuring that this crucial knowledge could be passed on to students, directly contributing to our collective environmental and ethical goals.
This workshop was a perfect step in our aims as a volunteering project, shifting the focus from just sharing clothes to sustaining them. By teaching upcycling, we are actively equipping students to fight fast fashion by investing in the longevity of their wardrobes.
How did the workshop go on the day?
The atmosphere at our upcycling workshop was warm, creative, and highly focused. Although we had a small, close-knit group of seven enthusiastic participants, this allowed for excellent one-on-one guidance and a truly collaborative environment.
The session flowed smoothly, and we were introduced to the ethos of ajeeb studios, a platform dedicated to upskilling and challenging unethical commercial practices. Amina and Chloe powerfully redefined sustainability in a practical, clothing-focused context, inspiring attendees to become more self-sufficient in their fashion choices.
The hands-on work focused on fundamental, empowering skills:
- Design and Planning: Participants started by sketching their desired designs, moving them from idea to tangible plan.
- Skills Demonstration: ajeeb studios demonstrated crucial techniques, focusing on hand-sewing and the art of patch-making and hand embroidery.
- Creative Session: Attendees applied their skills, focusing on mending and upcycling their chosen garments.
All attendees highly rated the event and left feeling significantly more confident in their sewing and upcycling abilities.
If people are feeling inspired to be a part of Swap Don’t Shop’s mission, how can they get involved?
As we are a volunteering project, we are nothing without the support of students, staff and the community. Please show up to our events, consider getting involved as a volunteer and get our free membership Swap Don't Shop | University of York Students' Union.
- Follow our Instagram for more information @uoyswapdontshop
- When you become a member, you’ll also get emails from our lovely secretary about our upcoming events
- Join our WhatsApp community and even consider being an active volunteer
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If you’ve been inspired by Swap Don't Shop's story, you can find out more about applying for your own funding.