Environmentally-friendly fashion The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters, so it is not surprising that there is increased interest in the industry taking its share of responsibility for protecting the environment. However, the reality is that we live in a world where there is a strong desire for ‘fast fashion’ — clothes that are made quickly and sold at low cost. Fast fashion has become popular in recent decades because it means that everyone can wear the most up-to-date styles for little money. This encourages consumers to throw clothes away after only wearing them a few times. Fortunately, some people in the fashion industry are now beginning to take notice. One fashion designer who is trying to make a difference is Maria Harries — the first person ever to receive the ‘Champion of Sustainability’ award for her work in the area of environmentally-friendly fashion. Maria knows that being kinder to the planetis a work in progress for the industry, particularly when there is little agreement on the exact meaning of environmentally-friendly fashion. However, the award means a great deal to her as she feels that it will inspire other businesses to improve their practices; something she has come to believe is essential Maria is the first to admit that the environmental impact of her profession had not always been the most important consideration for her. After starting her brand in 2000, it wasn't until 2015, after 15 years in the industry, that she introduced more environmentally-friendly methods into her business, with all that this involved. She knew, for example, that moving to less harmful practices typically means higher manufacturing costs. However, through her work, she had seen first-hand some of the environmental damage caused by the industry. She was upset, for example, by how much water is wasted in the production of traditional cotton, and how some popular materials create plastic pollution. As shocked as she was by all this, it was the desire to create a better world for her son that really encouraged her to make the change. After making the decision, Maria was totally focused on running the business differently, although she was aware of the risks. For a start, people who regularly bought her clothes knew what to expect from the brand, so they may not accept the changes. After all, environmentally-fiendly materials are limited, and so she naw had to use recycled nylon made from things such as fishing nets to make her famous swimwear, for example. She also had to make changes to pricing because working with different materials makes aspects of design more costly. Although this was good for her creative skills, the increased prices cauld make her clothes too expensive for some. Maria also admits to a personal dilemma. While she believes that the business is producing clothes in the kindest way possible, she is aware that creating any new product simply adds to the waste, which is in conflict with her environmentally-friendly ambitions Nevertheless, while she continues with her aim to produce beautiful quality clothing, the principal mission now is to promote a change in the way people think about fashion. To keep clothing in use for jonger, she has introduced a ‘take-back’ programme, which allows customers to retum items they no longer wear. This is just one of her small steps towards a belter future. As Maria points out, her brand is proof that you can make a start.How does fast fashion cause waste? seis ee | ‘According to Maria, what will winning the award achieve? [1 When did Maria change the way she runs her company? .t What finally persuaded Maria to make her business more environmentally friendly? — ssnemmene Md What reactions did Maria think her customers might have to the changes to her business? Give twe details. - 2) Why does Maria feel that her business may not be completely environmentally friendly? - What is Maria's main business goal? ~T How is Maria's company trying to reduce clothing waste? - {1 What challenges do fashion brands face in trying to be more environmentally friendly?Read the biogs (A-D) written by four young people about their early experiences of writing. Then answer Question 10 (a}-(j). Becoming a writer A Alex Most people assume that if you are a writar, you write long novels, but this isn't necessarily the case There are many other types of writing people can da depending on their skills. I've always written short stories based mostly an my childhood in the countryside. Growing up wasn't always easy, but somehow, putting my day-to-day experiences dawn on paper made it seam more manageable At the beginning, one of the few people | allowed to judge my work was my best friend. She'd sometimes point out which parts didn't work, and this really wasn't what | was hoping to hear. However, | always rewrote my stories taking her opinion into account. These days, | feel comfortable enough to let more people sea my work. I've recently approached a few magazines, not expecting much, but to my surprise, one has agreed to publish some of my stories. | should have tried this much earlier when my English teacher at college suggested it. B Beatrice Writing seams to run in our family. It all startad with my great-grandfather, who had several successful novels published during his lifetime. 'm hoping to do the same one day. My twin sister and | got into writing after we were given our first diary at the age of seven. As a teenager, my sister then went on to write poams to get aver her heartaches. Meanwhile | started posting entries on sacial madia, which is not that different to writing a diary. Than | moved on to writing online about my travel experiences. Anyone can do this and it's a great way of getting a group of followars. This also means that writers can get an immediate response from their readers, which can sometimes be rather critical. Young writers, in particular, may find it hard to take. Personally though, | really appreciate whatever feedback | get. © Ceci I've always enjoyed writing. In my teens, | really wanted to become a writer, but my parents discouraged me from doing it as a fulktime profession. With time, | realised thay were right, but | wasn't going to giva up on writing completely and entered a school competition. To make sure I knew what | was doing, | signed up for a course where | learned that without determination and a good eye for detail, writers ara unlikely to get very far. The teachers also encouragad us to get a feel for different styles from all sarts of written texts, which | think is really good advice. | was so glad | listened to them, unlike some of my classmates who came to regret i, Thanks to this advice, | became more experimental with my own work. | noticed that | was actually rather good at nonfiction, something | hadn't anticipated because it was very different to the short stories | had been writing before that. D Dan At school, | never had difficulty writing essays. so it didn't come as a complete surprise to me when my English teacher at collage pointed out my talent. She asked me if I'd be interested in writing for the school magazine. | agreed and I've been writing ever since. Last year, | won a national competition for naw authors. And that's how | gat noticed by a publisher, who approached me and a few other competitors with the possibility of publishing our work as part of 2 collection of shart stories. | learned a lot from being invalved in this project. However, reading each other's work and sharing our experiences of the whole writing process was the real highlight for me. Some writers got rather upset after receiving feedback. |, on the other hand, valued the lips | got, although | admit it wasn't always easy to apply the advice when it came to editing my work10 For each question, write the correct letter A, B, C or Don the line. Which person ... (a) (b) ( (g) th wo a discovered they had an unexpected talent after they started writing? enjoyed working on their first book with other young writers? would like to become a professional writer? claims a writer needs certain abilities to be successful? was disappointed by someone's reaction to their first attempts at writing? believes new writers. should read widely? feels writing helped them cope with life's problems? thinks it is easy for new writers to make their work available to the public? regrets not listening to somebody's advice? sometimes found it dificult to make changes to their own writing? a f] io] (1) (1) a (1 - [1 fl) {Total: 10]Read the article about the fear of not having your mobile phone (cell phone), a condition called ‘nomophabia’, and then complete the nates. Nomophobia (‘No-mobile-phone-phobia’) The desire to connect with other people is natural in humans, and advances in mobile technology have provided new and exciting ways to do this. However, research has shown that the benefits we enjoy from our mobile phones have caused many of us to become dependent on them. When people begin to rely on their mobile phones too much, it can become an addiction. ‘Nomophobia’, oF the fear of not having your mobile phone, is affecting an ever-increasing number of users, and it seems that younger people in particular are more likely to suffer. Many people do not realise that they are suffering from nomophobia, and indeed the first step in dealing with the issue is recognising that there is a problem. We all check our mobile phones throughout the day and many of us receive notifications telling us that a new message has arrived or somebody has posted on social media. While most of us don't feel the need to check straightaway, someone with nomophobia will have to react to new information immediately. They can reduce these distractions and their impact by changing their mobile settings so that they no longer receive notifications, Most mobile phones offer a wide range of functions, from photography to music, and interactive games to online messaging, which have undoubtedly improved our lives in many ways. These have also led to us filling our screens with a huge number of apps all designad to attract and hold our attention. Carefully considering which apps to download can help those who are addicted to their mobile phones to minimise their use. Being addicted to your mobile phone is a serious issue that can have an impact on your emotional health. Sufferers will experience a sudden sense of panic when their mobile phone battery dies for example, or there is a loss of signal. Doing deep breathing exercises has been shawn to be a very effective method in controlling some of the effects of nomophabia. And of course these exercises can be done anywhere and at any lime. Feeling permanently anxious about losing your phone, even when it is in a safe place, is another symptom that addicts may experience. What's more, the need to have their mobile phone clase by is not limited to the daytime. Addicts typically can't resist checking their mobile phone during the night. Leaving your phone outside your bedroom is an obvious solution. It goes without saying that mobile phones have multiple uses in school, and that the advantage of using them to do things like look up information or email teachers is clear. While some people are able to focus on one such activity at a time, people with nomophobia suffer from a reduction in the ability to concentrate on any one thing. In this situation, the indication is that the risks are outwaighing the benefits. We all recagnise that mobile phanes are here to stay, and none of us would want to be without them, but like anything in life, finding the right balance is key. If you feel you can't bear to be separated from your phone, downloading a special app to help you manage yaur use could be an option!You are going to give a talk about nomophobia to your class at school. Prepare some notes to use as the basis for your talk. Make short notes under each heading. " 12 Signs of nomophobia: How to overcome the effects of nomophabia: (4) (5) [Total: 9}44 You have recently set up a new club at school. Write an email to a friend telling them about your new club. In your email, you should: + explain why you decided to set up a new club + describe the preparations you made for your new club * tell your friend about your future plans for the club, The pictures above may give you some ideas, and you can also use some ideas of your own Your email should be between 150 and 200 words long. You will receive up to 8 marks for the content of your email, and up to 8 marks for the language used.