Abstract
In order to explore questions of sustainability in the constructed environment, we have examined textile pollution as an issue of environmental injustice that disproportionately affects those who are more economically disempowered. Despite the scale of the problem (more than 35 billion pounds of textile waste generated annually in the U.S.), awareness of textile waste as an environmental and public health issue remains low. More importantly, for those who are educated about this issue, it remains unclear how individuals can come together to contribute to meaningful political and community actions that address the environmental injustice of textile pollution and lead to local and systemic changes. Games have previously been used to educate and engage groups on issues of social and economic justice. This led us to ask: how can we leverage game playing to engage individuals on the topics of environmental injustice and textile pollution and spur action? We used design-thinking processes to develop the game and used policy analysis and stakeholder interviews to develop an innovative engagement tool. We produced a conference symposia on structural solutions to textile waste pollution, policy briefs, and a scientific paper leveraging data from our team’s prior research to analyze environmental savings of various policies.
Presenters
Julia De VoyDean of Undergraduate Programs and Students and Director of First Year Program Lynch School of Education and Human Development , LSEHD , Boston College, Massachusetts, United States Leena Gerster
Student, Bachelor of Arts, Boston College, Massachusetts, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Landfills, Used Textiles, Textile Waste, Environmental Health, Recycling
