Together

TOGETHER

SUSTAINABLE STYLISTS

Waste not, want not, say Mrs Naomi Haynes and Anju Kusamoto (Clairmont, Year 11).

Words Helena Pozniak Photography Joe McGorty

Recycle, upcycle Anju and Mrs Haynes have set up Aiglon’s first ever secondhand clothes shop.

IF YOU SAW WHAT CLOTHES get left here at the end of the year, it would make your eyes pop out,” says biology teacher Mrs Naomi Haynes. And it was that mountain of abandoned garments that led Anju Kusamoto (Clairmont, Year 11) to go to Mrs Haynes with a simple yet transformative idea – why not set up a second-hand clothing shop for students?

“It’s not cheap rubbish,” says Mrs Haynes. “Designer jackets, expensive trainers, clothes with the price tags still on them... And of course, odd socks too.” This is a far cry from the grotty lost property of the British boarding school where her family was previously based. “There, pretty much everything was fit only for shredding.”

Both Anju and Mrs Haynes hate waste. They also want to spare the environmental cost of ditching textiles in landfill. “Anju’s idea was a complete breath of fresh air,” says Mrs Haynes. “Finding such a kindred spirit was heart-warming. She’s trying to change a wider materialistic buy-and-thenthrowaway culture.”

For Anju, it’s about finding an accessible way to do something positive to mitigate the environmental toll of fast fashion. “I’d read about microplastics and the problems of clothes piling up, rather than being recycled. I’ve tried doing presentations about it, but I think this approach is more effective.”

She’s also happy to be tapping into a taste for upcycling and vintage clothing among her friends. “I’ve always loved thrift stores. But I didn’t know how much other people cared before we started. I think [the TV series] Stranger Things started a trend – we were all in to ‘mum jeans’ at first, and now we’ve gone more 90s.”

Inspired by the prospect of finding a more sustainable solution, Anju and friends left empty boxes for donations inside each house, and were overwhelmed by the response. But then they had a job on their hands – and it was down to Anju and her team to persuade the laundry to spruce them up in time for the Christmas fair.

Happily, she succeeded, and the fair was a great success. “We raised 400 francs from sales – and that’s just the beginning,” says Anju. With plans to set up an online shop, she aims to overcome the logistical challenge of finding and staffing a physical space. She’s already adept at digital marketing and sales – she and a couple of creative friends have created cuddlyslug.com, a website selling posters, pots, original art and more. And they’ve discovered a canny means of marketing the many designer dresses and more desirable pieces among the Aiglon community – by getting senior students to model the clothes for a marketing photoshoot first. “We hope that will help give them kudos and drum up more support,” says Mrs Haynes.

In the past, Aiglon staff have done their best to prevent lost property going to waste – by delivering to local clothing banks and helping organise the legendary Aiglon sale in the village at the end of terms. But Mrs Haynes feels students themselves are changing – thanks in part to Anju’s initiative.

And now the school is considering the viability of a second-hand uniform shop after the summer break – after discovering there’s appetite among parents for such a move. “We’re a few steps away,” says Mrs Haynes, “but everybody is now very keen. It’s never existed before.”

If Anju’s venture takes off, she plans to donate all proceeds to charities combatting climate change. “Her ideas have broken down barriers,” says Mrs Haynes. “Second hand is acceptable as well as sustainable.”