Since 2023 the University of Greenwich has created opportunities for students to develop and practice key skills and learn about sustainability, supported by the University\u2019s Sustainable Development Unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students are invited to join one of five \u2018Green Ambassador\u2019 opportunities, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Job Descriptions for each of these roles is includes on this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students working in teams are supported by a member of the Sustainable Development Unit who provide training, guidance and support to help the students develop ideas that support sustainability at Greenwich. This is really impactful for students as this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The programme has created a number of outcomes including the development of a creative writing \u2018zine focused on sustainability, a successful, regular programme of \u2018clothes -swaps\u2019, a fashion show, weekly volunteer gardening sessions, biodiversity monitoring at our Avery Hill campus and supporting our Bargain Corner, where useful items such as clothing and kitchen items are resold at prices students can afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One Green Ambassador programme example is included in further detail below<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Clothes Swap<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept behind this is to encourage students and staff to consider how they consume more ethically, particularly related to clothing and fashion. The student volunteers work together to project manage the running of a clothes swap event. This is held at the Atrium in Greenwich Students Union in the Dreadnought Building at Greenwich Campus. The university provides a budget for things like tokens, clothes rails, hangers, mirrors, irons etc. The students then develop the marketing, plan and deliver the clothes swaps and collate data including the numbers of swaps, the environmental benefits etc. Students are given training to talk about the impacts of fast fashion and about how people should look behind the label when buying and to look for brands that are signed up to ethical clothing standards such as fairtrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People bring their clothes in that are assessed by the volunteers and tokens are given to the value that represents the quality and value of the items given. These tokens can then be used by the person to \u2018buy\u2019 other clothing that has been included in the clothes swap programme. This provides an incentive for students and staff to bring in their clothes and swap out to the value of what they bought with other preloved clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the 2024\/25 academic year we had 49 items of clothing swapped with 27 people engaging with the swap which is a 146% increase in engagement compared to the 2023 Clothes Swap.As the clothes swap established we have a building interest so that in 2025\/26 our clothes swaps received 114 items rand distributed 102 items. We estimated 70 people participated across both clothes swaps; a 159% increase in participation comparing to the 2024\/2025 swaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Student volunteers created content and undertook promotion and other project management to deliver these programmes. Some of the social media is included below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Student volunteers have provided feedback below relating to their experiences working on this project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m Zanele Mlambo one of the volunteers. It was a pleasure doing the social media posts and attending the Clothes Swap as well as the Fast Fashion workshop. I\u2019ve truly enjoyed my experience working with Michelle and David.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve learned so much about sustainability and this has helped me strengthen my passion for it. I\u2019ve learned just how much clothing waste there is in the UK each year and some helpful tips in reducing fast fashion consumption which contributes to clothing waste which is harmful to the environment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the Clothes Swap events I strengthens my communication skills and got to step out of my comfort zone and improve my confidence as well. I\u2019ve also learned so much from Michelle and David and they have been incredibly helpful along the way.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Very grateful for this opportunity!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kind Regards<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Zanele Mlambo<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI participated in the Clothes Swap event, and I cannot emphasise more how well organised it was as well as how friendly and approachable both Michelle and the volunteers were. All members involved were incredibly nice, knowledgeable on the process, and informative. I think they all did a fantastic job ‘selling’ the event essentially and making me feel comfortable whilst I was there.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The event itself was a fantastic idea; as someone who has quite a few clothes sitting in storage with no place to sell or donate them, the clothes swap was perfect to donate some of those clothes to. I especially love how this idea is not only sustainable because it helps to stop the support of cheap fast fashion, but it also helps those who may be financially struggling in such uncertain times. To this end, I think the event perfectly achieves its goals by stopping waste through overconsumption and through dismantling support for cheaper yet environmentally harmful alternatives.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I also learned a lot about Fairtrade specifically; I wasn’t previously aware that Fairtrade also had a role in the textiles industry, I only thought they campaigned for sustainability and better rights for farmers in relation to food, so it was nice to know how Fairtrade supports the environment, farmers, and a more ‘green’ supply chain.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kind regards.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Leah Cooper<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy name is David Blazek, and I was the Head of Operations. I also handled the carbon accounting for both Clothes Swap events this year.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Working alongside Zanele and Michelle was effortless and really rewarding. They are both thorough and communicate clearly, and they were always willing to help when needed. We got along very well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As a new Green Ambassador, I explored many new areas of sustainability, including fast fashion and its impact, recycling, Fairtrade, and the UK\u2019s commitment to a more sustainable future. These events also helped me improve my communication and organisation skills, work under pressure, and connect with other volunteers through our shared passion for sustainability.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kind Regards<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n David Blazek<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since 2023 the University of Greenwich has created opportunities for students to develop and practice key skills and learn about sustainability, supported by the University\u2019s Sustainable Development Unit. Students are invited to join one of five \u2018Green Ambassador\u2019 opportunities, including: The Job Descriptions for each of these roles is includes… Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7855","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7855"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7859,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7855\/revisions\/7859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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