Leaf Foundation enters the classroom to discuss responsible purchasing and planet protection
Future chefs and dining room managers attended a lesson on sustainability with the Leaf Foundation. The Florence-based foundation, which aims to guide companies towards responsible business philosophies and strategies, met with students from some third and fourth-year classes at the Bernardo Buontalenti Hospitality Institute in Florence to talk about climate change and ethical choices in the fashion industry. The main stakeholders of the Leaf Foundation are companies in the luxury accessories, leather goods, and footwear sectors, and the foundation helps guide these companies toward more sustainable business decisions from ethical, social, and environmental perspectives. However, to activate real and lasting change in production processes, the first step is to raise consumer awareness, making informing them of the impact that daily purchasing behaviors have on the surrounding environment. Hence the idea of bringing sustainability into the classroom.
“When we proposed sustainability lessons in schools, we received great interest from head-masters and teachers, but it was mainly the students who were most curious and attentive. They ask questions and get involved in our lessons because, after all, sustainability is a topic that directly concerns future chefs who will have to make choices about food consumption, waste, and their origins,” commented Mimma Dardano of the Leaf Foundation. During the lessons, students discover how much water is needed to produce a pair of jeans, the journey a fashion item makes when purchased online and then returned, and where it ends up. They also learn how many trees should be planted to offset the environmental impact of a return. “Fast fashion,” Mimma added, “has revolutionized how we dress. It’s so ingrained in our daily lives that young people find it normal to use a t-shirt for only two or three months at most and then throw it away to get a new one. But this comes at a cost, and while the economic cost may ‘seem’ convenient, the price the planet pays is enormous in terms of the reckless use of raw materials and waste production. However, the new generations are much more sensitive to issues related to climate change and environmental protection. Young people and students can make a difference by stimulating real change even in daily habits. Not from tomorrow, but from today.”
Today’s event at the Buontalenti Hospitality Institute was the second appointment focused on sustainability, with the next one scheduled with the students of Saffi on April 23.