a girl smiles while adjusting a scarf on a mannequin, with photos of clothes all around her
Courtesy of Maya Penn
Short Read,

Her Designs Are Helping the Planet

Pollution is a big problem in the clothing industry. Here’s how Maya Penn is helping to change that—and how you can too.

By Mackenzie Carro and Andrew Klein
From the April 2021 Issue
Complexity Factors
  • Purpose
    This article explores the idea of eco-friendly clothing through the story of Maya Penn, an eco-fashion designer who started a sustainable clothing line when she was 10 years old.
  • Structure
    The text is informational.
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity
    Vocabulary: higher academic and domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., emissions, vintage, mend, sustainability) Conventionality: The language is mostly conventional.
  • Knowledge Demands
    Some familiarity with the concept of sustainability will aid in comprehension but is not essential. The article also refers to greenhouse gases, climate change, and landfills.
Featured Skill: Argument Writing,
Common Core Standards
  • Anchor Standards
    R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.5, R.9, W.2, SL.1, SL.2, L.4, L.5, L.6

  • Grade 6
    RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.4, RI.6.6, RI.6.8, W.6.1, W.6.4, W.6.5, L.6.4, L.6.6
  • Grade 7
    RI.7.1, RI.7.2, RI.7.4, RI.7.6, RI.7.8, W.7.1, W.7.4, W.7.5, L.7.4, L.7.6
  • Grade 8
    RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.4, RI.8.6, RI.8.8, W.8.1, W.8.4, W.8.5, L.8.4, L.8.6
TEKS Standards
  • Grades 6, 7, 8
    1d, 2a, 2b, 3a, 4a, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 6i, 8d, 8f, 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 11b, 11c

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Maya Penn is hard at work in her sunny studio in Atlanta, Georgia. She hunches over a desk strewn with pieces of fabric, jars of wooden beads, and spools of thread. Surrounding her are metal racks filled with all kinds of colorful clothing. Some clothes are Penn’s own creations. Others are old items that haven’t been worn in years. They’re waiting for Penn to transform them into dazzling new fashions.

Penn, 21, is an eco-fashion designer, which means she designs and creates clothing in a way that minimizes impact on the environment. She launched her business, Maya’s Ideas, in 2008, when she was just 8 years old. And today, having gained national recognition, Penn is helping others in the fashion industry follow her lead.

Pollution Problem

Courtesy of Maya Penn

The fashion industry is ranked as the world’s second-largest polluter, after the oil industry.* It’s responsible for up to 10 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere and contributes to climate change. This gas is produced by the factories that make clothing as well as by the ships, planes, trains, and trucks that carry fabric and garments around the world.

Making clothes also requires large amounts of natural resources. For example, it takes about 713 gallons of water to produce the cotton needed to make just one new T-shirt. That’s enough drinking water for one person for two-and-a-half years. One pair of jeans requires, on average, 1,850 gallons of water for dyeing, bleaching, and washing. And if the wastewater created by these processes isn’t treated to remove harmful chemicals, it can pollute the environment.

A Simple Strategy

Much of the pollution and waste generated by the fashion industry come from “fast fashion.” The goal of fast fashion is to sell large quantities of trendy clothing as cheaply as possible. Fast fashion items are typically worn for only a short time before being tossed away—either because the clothes are no longer fashionable or because they are cheaply made and have begun to fall apart. Many of these garments end up in landfills.

As an eco-fashion designer, Penn provides an alternative to fast fashion. Her strategy is simple: Reduce the need to make new clothes by giving old ones a second life. She scours thrift stores and vintage shops for items she can repurpose. She transforms vintage scarves into silky blouses and old pants into colorful purses. She uses forgotten-about dresses to make sparkly headbands.

In other words, instead of imagining a design and then choosing new materials to bring that design to life, like most designers do, Penn considers what materials she already has and then figures out what she can make with them.

“I might have a cool vintage beaded fabric, and then I go through ideas,” Penn explains. “Could I make this fabric into some scarves? Maybe use it to add a little sparkle to some hats? Or could I use it to bedazzle a purse?”

The Right Direction

Today, in addition to running Maya’s Ideas, Penn advises other fashion companies on how to reduce their environmental impact. And though she believes the fashion industry has a long way to go, she is hopeful that it is heading in the right direction. Penn says there has been a shift in the importance of eco-friendliness in the fashion world. This, she says, is because more consumers are concerned about the environment.

The fact is, we can all make a difference when it comes to clothing and the environment. Instead of throwing away a shirt because it has a tiny tear, look up how to mend it on YouTube. Instead of tossing out clothes that no longer fit, donate them to charity or to a take-back program. (A take-back program collects old items and has them recycled into new ones.) Research how your clothes are made and identify companies committed to sustainability. If you find a business that’s not, write a letter explaining why it should be.

“You’re never too young or too old to make an impact,” says Penn. “Believe in yourself and what you’re passionate about. There are so many people who will be excited to support your unique voice if you take that leap to start.”

* The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

By Mackenzie Carro

Phil Skinner/Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Mackenzie Carro: What does it mean to be an eco-fashion designer?

Maya Penn: Eco-fashion designers create clothing in unique and innovative ways that have less of a harmful impact on our planet. We look at what kinds of materials and resources are needed to make clothing, and what impact those materials will have on the environment when that clothing is thrown away. Being a sustainable-fashion designer requires a lot of creative problem-solving and a passion for putting the planet first.

MC: When did you decide that you wanted to make eco-friendly clothing?

MP: I was a really nerdy and artsy kid. I’ve always had a passion for art and design, including fashion design. I’ve also always had a passion for the natural world: plants, animals, and ecosystems. So when I had an idea to start a fashion line, I was naturally inclined to start doing my own research on the fashion industry and its environmental impacts. What I discovered was mind-blowing, and I was shocked that sustainable fashion wasn’t talked about by more people. Based on what I learned, I knew I wanted to make my designs eco-friendly. I started by creating headbands from old fabric and vintage clothes that I had around the house. Soon, my friends and family started complimenting my designs, and that’s when I decided to start my own business. I soon started creating more eco-friendly items, such as scarves, blouses, hats, bags, jewelry, and more.

MC: Why is it important to make sure that our clothes are eco-friendly?

MP: A big contributor to climate change is carbon dioxide emissions, and the fashion industry emits an estimated 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually!** Also, did you know that an estimated 87 percent of the clothing people buy ends up in landfills or incinerators?*** These are just two examples of why it’s so important for the fashion industry to become more eco-friendly.

MC: What can we all do to be more environmentally friendly when it comes to our clothes?

MP: There are lots of things you can do to make your wardrobe eco-friendly. First, remember to really take care of your clothes to try and make them last as long as possible. The longer they stay out of a landfill, the better! For example, if something of mine gets a hole in it, I sew it instead of throwing it away. Or I love to turn my old clothes into totally new designs! There are so many awesome possibilities—have fun and get creative! Second, when you buy clothes, shop sustainably. The clothes that I wear are all either secondhand, meaning they were owned by someone else before me, or made with environmentally friendly materials.

MC: Has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your business at all?

MP: Covid-19 has affected my ability to work with some of the artisans I collaborate with to produce my designs, but I’ve also started making masks using some of the leftover fabric that I have in my studio. I’ve been distributing the masks to women and children’s shelters, health-care workers, and health-care facilities here in Atlanta where I live, as well as in countries like Senegal in West Africa.

MC: In addition to running your business, you also work as a consultant for other businesses in the fashion industry. Can you tell us a little bit about what that entails?

MP: Being a consultant means that other companies come to you for advice. In my case, other companies come to me for advice on how they can make their business more eco-friendly. Sustainability can be very tricky for many businesses that haven’t yet taken the time to make it a priority. I consult several different types of businesses, but when I work with fashion companies, I’m usually helping them figure out how they can use fewer materials or how they can switch to recycled and natural materials to make their products. I also show them how they can use less water and electricity, reduce their carbon footprint, and more!

MC: You started your business in 2008. How has the fashion industry changed since then in regard to sustainability? Has it gotten better?

MP: This is definitely a really interesting time to be in sustainable fashion. There has been a shift in the importance of eco-friendliness in the fashion world since I started my business. At that time, most people I met had never even heard about sustainable fashion, and I’m really glad I was able to help not only raise awareness about this issue, but also create an eco-friendly alternative for customers through my own fashion line. As of now, there is still a long way to go, but every day more and more steps are being taken to create a greener future. The important thing is that the fashion industry makes the necessary changes quickly.

Short Write

How can clothes made from reused materials help the environment?

1. Write your answer to the question above:

2. One piece of text evidence that supports your answer is:

3. This evidence supports your answer because:

**Nature Climate Change: “The Price of Fast Fashion” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-017-0058-9
***Environmental Protect Agency, Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling—Textiles: Material-Specific Data https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data (VIA https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200710-why-clothes-are-so-hard-to-recycle#:~:text=85%25%20of%20all%20textiles%20thrown,37kg%20of%20clothes%20every%20year.

Correction: The print version of the article says Penn launched her business in 2010. Penn started her business in 2008.

This article was originally published in the April 20221 issue.

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Activities (4)
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Skill-Building Activities
Skills Activities
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Answer Key (1)
video (1)
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Activities (4)
Reference
Skill-Building Activities
Skills Activities
Quizzes (1)
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

Download the Lesson Plan

1. PREPARING TO READ

Project the Words and Definitions handout and preview the vocabulary.

2. READING AND DISCUSSING 

Read the article as a class. Alternatively, you can play the audio version while students follow along in their printed issues.

3. DOING THE ACTIVITY 

Have students work in small groups to complete the activity at the end of the article. They will write a claim, find a piece of text evidence, and explain why that evidence supports their claim.

4. WRITING 

  • To go deeper, use the Short Write Kit. First, project the How to Answer a Constructed-Response Question handout and review it as a class. Then have students work on their own or in groups to complete the self-guided writing activity Constructing a Response.
  • Have students use their completed activities to craft their own constructed responses.
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