#ExpectMoreFromYourClothes: The Story of a Young Environmentalist
By: Doha Wang
@DohaWang
Photo Courtesy of La Palette de Farah
Fast fashion, which is the rapid-paced selling of trendy clothes at low cost, is negatively affecting the planet through excess carbon emission from factories which mass produce these items.
But one 17-year-old is combining her talent in drawing, her passion for art and her fondness of the environment to make a difference.
Farah El-Shawarby was experimenting on an old jacket with paint designs and decided to post a picture of it on her personal Instagram account.
The feedback on the picture was overwhelmingly positive. El-Shawarby’s friends and family then began encouraging her to start her own business of rehashing old clothes with spiffy new artwork and designs.
“At first, I was too afraid to do it because of the huge responsibility of ruining someone’s clothing. But then I thought, I have nothing to lose because either way I’m doing something that I love. And that’s all that matters to me,” said El-Shawarby.
At the age of 16, she launched her Instagram business account La Palette de Farah, a sustainable brand that aims to raise awareness about the power of one.
El-Shawarby believes that an individual can make a huge impact on the environment with a simple act such as re-wearing their old clothes, and replacing plastic bags with reusable tote ones.
“Not only will they [the customers] help save the environment by up-cycling their old clothes but they will also have a very unique and one-of-a-kind piece that reflects their personality because they get to choose their own designs [through social media],” said El-Shawarby.
Through La Palette’s Instagram direct message or El-Shawarby’s WhatsApp number, customers are able to contact her and send over their own clothing pieces, whether old or new, to have her paint over them with their desired print. They could also request a specific design to be drawn on the tote bags, which El-Shawarby offers.
“I try to get to know them more [through private messaging] so I could provide them with a unique design that suits their personalities,” El-Shawarby said.
According to Planet Aid, an organisation that resells and recycles old clothing and household items, fast fashion is one of the most environmentally hazardous industries on our planet.
The fashion industry alone contributes to 10 percent of global carbon emissions and most of the clothing items contain fabrics that are non-biodegradable.
Upcycling clothes and shoes, meaning reusing them, is crucial, as each pound of clothing cleared from the landfill conserves almost four pounds of carbon dioxide.
At the beginning of her career path, El-Shawarby was fully supported by her friends and family members.
“I took my friends’ old clothes that could not be donated and tried different design techniques and different paint colors. I started washing them over and over again to know which ones are unwashable,” explained El-Shawarby.
Over time, La Palette began gaining attention on Instagram and its community began increasing. El-Shawarby began painting jackets for celebrities such as Egyptian actor Ahmed Zaher, Egyptian actress Ayten Amer and one half of DJ duo Disco Misr, Mostafa El-Sherif.
“I feel that the way you dress is representative in a way of your identity and so letting go of certain clothing items isn’t easy for me. But, finding a way to revamp or revitalise these old items and making them more personalised was a great plus for me,” Layla Al-Kadi, a loyal customer, said.
La Palette’s main priority is to give back to the community, as El-Shawarby created the campaign ‘Double The Happiness’, where she chooses a different charity to collaborate with every couple of months and donate 100 percent of the profits to. The idea behind the name is that the happiness and satisfaction of La Palette’s customers also brings happiness to someone else in need.
“Last Ramadan, I collaborated with Neya, a community organization, and the money was donated to food boxes for families in need. In October, which is breast cancer awareness month, I donated all the profit to breast cancer fighters in Baheya Foundation,” said El-Shawarby.
She also held two online workshops with Middle East Art and Design (MEAD), an online platform that supports upcoming artists, to talk about her story and answer attendees’ questions while demonstrating a step-by-step painting session.
Last spring, La Palette collaborated with AUC’s Student Union (SU) to produce two free workshops where students upcycled their clothes by painting over them themselves with El-Shawarby’s supervision and help.
“I’m still developing everyday and gaining experience from everyone I work and collaborate with. I still have so much to learn. But so far this journey has been crazy and so overwhelming. All I can say is that I’m happy I took this decision, and I can’t wait to see where this journey is going to take me,” said El-Shawarby.
