Teachers Notes

Resource created by M&S Archive.

Understanding of the impact of textile waste in the UK
Knowledge of how the various initiatives that make up the M&S Plan A campaign work
Skills of researching and questioning the corporate information provided in order to find its relevance to everyday life

Where do our clothes come from?
- Discuss how clothes are made and what happens to them when we don’t wear them anymore.
Why should we recycle or rehome clothes? Explore how landfill affects animals, soil, and oceans.
Create a simple flow chart showing the journey of a T-shirt — from factory to shop, wardrobe to donation to reuse or recycle.
Bring in old clothes or fabric scraps and repurpose them into something new (e.g. tote bags, bookmarks, or cushion covers).
Design short role-play adverts encouraging people to use the Another Life schemes.

Examine what happens to clothing in landfill and how it contributes to pollution.
Why is it important for companies to think about sustainability?
Explore what circularity means and identify examples from the text (repair, resale, recycling).
- How could we apply circular thinking to other areas of life?
Teach basic repair skills (sewing on a button, patching a hole).
- Discuss how repairing is part of sustainability.
“All clothing retailers should be responsible for what happens to their clothes after they’re sold?” Research and argue for or against.
Design a social media post or short video encouraging people to donate or repair clothes instead of throwing them away.

Debate whether sustainability initiatives like Another Life are primarily ethical or marketing-driven.
- How does this fit into the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Explore how changing consumer attitudes (e.g. fast fashion awareness) influence corporate decisions.
- Would you pay more for clothes that are sustainable? Why or why not?
Track your family’s clothing consumption over a month, calculate potential waste, and propose personal or community-level improvements.
Design a new business idea or campaign that could help reduce textile waste — a repair app, community swap event, or eco-brand concept.