With the award "Fair School Class – Class of Fair Trade," students and teachers of primary school classes as well as all classes and courses at secondary schools are honored for their commitment to fair trade within their classroom environment.
For their activities, classes from grades 10 and 11 of the Vocational School for Health and Social Affairs at Paul-Weber-Schule and the "Intercontinental Fashion Ethics Project" working group of Christian von Mannlich-Gymnasium were honored by Peter Weichardt, One World Specialist Promoter for Fair Trade, and District Administrator Dr. Theophil Gallo. "The award stands for good educational work at the schools and the commitment of the students and supervising teachers. It also pleases me as the school sponsor. At the same time, it is also a mandate to continue and to stay engaged with the topics," emphasized District Administrator Dr. Theophil Gallo during the presentation of the certificates.
The classes of the Vocational School for Health and Social Affairs participated, among other things, in educational units on Fair Trade and nutrition with Wynnie Mbindyo (FIS), an online workshop on Fair Trade with Ingrid von Osterhausen (FIS), and the virtual Fairtrade Student Academy co-organized by FIS. Last September, they explored Homburg during the Fair Weeks at the fair-regional city rally. They supported the sale of products made from fair trade goods at the school kiosk and developed a poster exhibition on Fair Trade and sustainability. In lessons, the students learned a lot about topics such as sustainability, fair trade, climate change, and waste separation. The students won a cooking competition with the Environment Minister, focusing on regional and vegetarian dishes. Additionally, a drinking water dispenser was installed for the students, allowing them to refill their bottles with free fresh drinking water. All activities were supported by Tina Kleist and Yvonne Kühn. "Further actions are planned. Our goal is to become a Fairtrade School soon and to meet the criteria set by Fairtrade Germany. There are 17 Fairtrade Schools across the Saarland. The Fairtrade Initiative Saarland has ambitiously planned to motivate three more schools to earn the title this year," outlined the two subject teachers regarding future plans. "The previous activities have raised the students' awareness of fair trade, which will surely persist beyond the school grounds. Through the school kiosk offerings and the exhibition, the topic has become more visible in everyday school life. We are happy to be involved and are embarking on the certification path to becoming a Fairtrade School," said Principal Hans Jörg Opp.
The impetus for the FairFashion project at the Christian von Mannlich Gymnasium was given by two events during Fashion Revolution Week, which FIS organized together with the Fairtrade city of Homburg and the Fairtrade Saarpfalz district. English teacher Catrin Stöck, who co-supervises the exchange with the American partner school Mills Godwin High School, organized a year-long digital exchange between the two schools together with Peter Weichardt and Shilpa Valia-Wendland (FIS). Together with Kristen Macklin and Joseph Ungerleider, the German teachers at the high school, they met for a year in a virtual classroom with students Charlotte Mohr, Sarah-Marie Brenner, Yasmine Groener, and Riya Chawla. Katharina Schreiber was also initially involved. The working language for the exchange on Fairtrade topics, Indian culture, working conditions in textile production, and the introductory film "The true cost" was English. A survey on fair fashion, recycling, and clothing origins was directed at same-age classmates, evaluated, and documented. Shilpa Valia-Wendland and the students conducted an interview with Sapa Doshi, a textile entrepreneur in Mumbai, India, and his daughter Saatchi Doshi, a program analyst at Fashion for Good, a company for sustainable innovation in the fashion industry in the Netherlands. A project logo was developed. The project was documented on film, made available on YouTube for sharing with other classes, and included in the Actionbound for the current Fair Weeks. "I personally wanted to learn more about fast fashion, but also to motivate my students to take a closer look and help make the world a better place," explained Catrin Stöck. "I initially participated out of curiosity because I wanted to learn more about the fashion industry. The project ultimately led me to want to raise more awareness about fast fashion myself. In the end, we are all affected. Many more people should know this," summarized Sarah-Marie Brenner. Charlotte Mohr accepted the certificate on behalf of District Administrator Dr. Theophil Gallo, who greatly values and supports the exchange with the partner high school in the American partner district Henrico County VA. "Before the project, I didn’t really know the significance of Fairtrade and Fair Fashion. The workers who make our clothes often do so under poor working conditions. There are processes in textile production that harm our environment. More people should know this. We have to do something about it. I have started looking for second-hand stores. Whenever I come to a bigger city, I look for these stores," appealed Charlotte Mohr.
“Applications for the 2022/23 school year can be submitted immediately, until June 1, 2023, at the latest. The team of the Fairtrade Initiative Saarland is happy to assist with the application as well as with activities related to fair trade,” informed Peter Weichardt.
