Changkat Primary School turns 2,000 old uniforms into new creations for 60th anniversary

Straits Times

2 days ago

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Primary 4 pupil Kaelyn Ore (centre, in yellow top) joining parents and volunteers in upcycling old uniforms on July 2.
SINGAPORE – A couple of months ago, 10-year-old Kaelyn Ore was given a pair of uniform shorts by her teachers to bring home and cut up.
A short instructional video guided the Changkat Primary School pupil on how to properly take apart the garment, which had been donated by a schoolmate.
Kaelyn brought the cut-up pieces back to the school in Simei, when they eventually joined around 2,000 other used uniforms starting a new life as pouches for cutlery and tissue paper, stuffed owls and other items.
Since January, parents, pupils and volunteers have worked to upcycle old uniforms into about 1,400 gifts in celebration of the school's 60th birthday and in line with its emphasis on sustainability education.
Most of these items were given to visitors at an event held at the school on July 5 marking its anniversary, while some 'premium' ones such as paint brush holders will be auctioned, with the proceeds going back to the schools' parents' support group for educational programmes.
Every pupil – about 1,000 of them – was given a donated uniform to cut up as a project to do with their parents.
These were then upcycled into the items by volunteers from the parents' support group as well as parents of former pupils and the public, with help from other institutions like Temasek Polytechnic.
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Mrs Cheng Huey Teng, Changkat Primary's principal, said the school is serious about sustainability education, and 'relentless about propagating a culture of eco-stewardship in the school community and beyond'.
She said: 'When we were planning to give everyone who comes to our 60th anniversary celebration a memorable token, instead of contracting a vendor to produce it, we conceptualised the plan to mobilise all students, parents and staff to upcycle our 'pre-loved' school uniforms into useful memorabilia.'
This taught the pupils some art and craft skills as well as knowledge about upcycling textiles, she said.
Upcycling uniforms is not a new concept at the primary school.
Stuffed owls made from old uniforms during a workshop as part of the 60th anniversary of Changkat Primary School on July 2.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Three years ago, Ms Leonie Nagarajan and Ms Zinobia Tinwala's children graduated from the school, leaving them with a problem: what to do with their uniforms.
Ms Nagarajan, a permanent resident originally from Germany who works in research funding, and Ms Tinwala, an artist, worked with students from Singapore Management University on a study on what parents do with used uniforms. It found that about 86 per cent of school uniforms end up in waste or donated to charity.
In 2023, they set up a social enterprise, The Circular Classroom, to address this issue, among others, and that year worked with Changkat Primary's parents' support group to make Teachers' Day gifts from used uniforms.
Ms Nagarajan said: 'Kids wear their uniform the whole day. They need to understand it's a valuable resource. They need to understand the uniform lives hundreds of years longer than them, because most of it is polyester.
'But we can find a solution, and we can try to support a circular economy, at least by extending the lifespan of these uniforms.'
'Premium' items like paint brush holders will be auctioned, with the proceeds going back to the schools' parents' support group for educational programmes.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
While their children are now in secondary school and university, the pair were still involved in Changkat Primary's 60th anniversary project.
The school and its parents' support group have been extremely supportive, but challenges remain, such as the cost of upcycling and perceptions that such uniforms are unhygienic, Ms Nagarajan added.
Ms Nagarajan , who is married to a Singaporean, estimates that 400,000 to 500,000 uniforms are thrown away yearly by students across Singapore schools.
She said: 'There are thousands of uniforms available to be reused. The key challenge is what you do with them.
'We as a social enterprise want to set a nationwide system where we first think – how can we reuse uniforms or repurpose them meaningfully?'
Cutlery pouches made from old uniforms during a workshop as part of the 60th anniversary of Changkat Primary School on July 2.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
For Kaelyn, who is in Primary 4, transforming her old uniforms will not stop after this event. During a social studies lesson, a teacher showed her how to make a uniform into a bag, which has inspired her to try other things with them.
She said: 'I feel glad because the uniforms got a second life... they were just sitting in my cupboard doing nothing.'