Shopaholic To Sustainable Queen, Seri Mirzani Talks Celebrating Earth Day At Fashion Revolution Week

By Quinny Tan  •  in Features
Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

Earth Day 2021: Independent Fashion Brands Challenge Industry Greenwashing

We all have our ways of staying sustainable – recycling packaging, thrifting clothes, or just raising awareness. In conjunction with Earth Day, it’s important to ask ourselves, “What else can we do?”

JUICE spoke to Seri Mirzani, sustainable queen and local content creator, about what Earth Day means to her.

“To me, earth day means learning something new that could help me nurture my community and my surroundings. I’ve come to a point that there’s no right or wrong to be greener and be part in this environmental movement. It’s just about finding what’s right for you, and work to be better at it.

“It’s also about taking the time to embrace the femininity in all of us, no matter the gender is, we are a form of being that has a masculine and feminine energy. And our earth needs more nurturing, it’s called Mother Earth for a reason.”

In regards to the event, the ways everyone could benefit from this are enormous.

“It could benefit the community through education and raising awareness as I do feel we don’t have this sort of event gathering on textile, there’s a lot about different waste such as plastics straws but not really about textile.

“You’d be surprised how a lot of people were shocked about how textiles affect our environment.”

The fashion industry poses a huge threat to the environment, producing about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. When it comes to workers, fast fashion is responsible for numerous human rights violations.

As the local chapter of a global movement that advocates ethical and fair fashion, Fashion Revolution Malaysia is holding Fashion Revolution Week until Monday at REXKL in the city centre.

The campaign features talks and events that promote circular, conscious and slow fashion, such as workshops on up-cycling denim, weaving, natural tie-dyeing, and restyling, in addition to clothes swapping and popup thrift stores.

Visitors can also check out the event’s main attraction – multidisciplinary artist Dhan Illiani’s week-long interactive installation, The Big Waste.

The event is currently running until this Sunday (24 April), and there’s lots of activities to do, so let’s dive right in:

Stitch ‘N Bitch

A social meet-up for likeminded fashionistas, where you stitch (literally) to prolong the lives of our clothes and take part in a guided conversation.

It’s a cross between a roundtable discussion and a mending circle – you can bring along your own mending or sewing projects (*optional) while you engage in conversation on current fashion issues, trends and the future of the fashion industry.

The session will be led by Melissa Tan, Country Coordinator of Fashion Revolution Malaysia.

Up-cycling Denim: Turning Old Jeans into Bucket Hats

In this 3-hour experience, you will have a chance to up-cycle old denim and give it a second life as a bucket hat! The workshop will also provide skills of stitching, sewing and garment cutting to create your own products from reclaimed materials.

Clothes Swap

This one’s pretty straightforward, the only guidelines are to bring your pre-loved clothes for others to enjoy, and you can swap up to 20 pieces of clothing!

Wardrobe Repeat – Capsule Styling + Thrift Experience

Get the most out of your clothing by rewearing your pieces in style. Find out how to:

  • create a capsule wardrobe
  • mix and match your pieces
  • style prints and colours
  • score the best thrift finds
  • and match them all with the right accessories with stylist, Nadia Rose

Participants will go home with one complimentary piece from the pop-up thrift store.

Now you have something to do this weekend! Go ahead and check out their Instagram page for more info about registration.

And it doesn’t just stop after this event. Remember to stay sustainable in your everyday lives!

“For me, it’s always been about clothes. It wasn’t easy at first since I was a shopaholic, but I work towards becoming better for myself and environment,” says Seri.

“As long as it fulfils your mental well being and not causing more harm to planet, you’re basically participating in becoming more sustainable.”

Happy Earth Day! <3 

Catch up on these articles: