Rotarians in Singapore are tackling environmental issues
RCMC held its annual Rotary Climate Change Conversations gala event to bring awareness about how to live a more sustainable life through clothing and food consumption practices.
Saturday 15 April 2023, the Rotary Club of Marina City held its second annual Rotary Climate Change Conversations event. The prestigious seminar and dinner was held at the Goodwood Hotel and was graced by District Governor Joanne Kam, Guest of Honor Chew Ghim Bok, current and past presidents and Rotarians and Rotaractors from clubs around Singapore.
The exciting evening had a range of activities from interesting talks, popular hits by Metta Band, and a fashion show. Attendees enjoyed Mr. Vikas Garg, founder of abillion, talk about why reducing meat, fish, and diary consumption is vital to the environment. He stressed that cattle farming is the number one cause of deforestation globally and that animal agriculture is the number one cause of pollution globally.
Vikas challenged the audience to think about how humanity is how will we feed everyone in the future. It is forecasted that we will add 1 billion people by 2020.
The event then welcomed Mr Raye Padit, The Fashion Pulpit, a circular fashion hub that aims to advance sustainable practices through clothes swapping, up cycling, thrifting and educating. He described the different facets of the fashion industry and how the textile waste drove him to set up his non-profit. He shared some eye-opening statistics. On average Singaporeans dispose of 200K tonnes of textile waste annually. On average we only use 20-30% of our wardrobe.
The evening closed with a talk by Sera, The Reoutfitter and a fashion show. Rotarians and Rotaractors from clubs around Singapore walked the stage in the name of sustainability and shared fashionable recycled and environmentally friendly clothing. The crowd cheered on the models as they made their way around the ballroom.
Bianca, from RCMC, introduced the ESRAG 15 day plant-rich diet challenge. It starts April 22, 2023. She encouraged attendees to sign up for the challenge. Registrants will receive a starter kit, cookbook, daily emails, practical tips, expert speaker series, and cooking demonstrations.
Rotarians were delighted to hear the speakers and see the fashion show. Soma Roy shared, “Thanks to Ambaree for curating and conceptualizing the entire event! Every element was relevant and fabulous.”
Priya smiled and thanked the gala ground for spearheading this initiative which fructified in the best possible manner. It was executed flawlessly! The message reached across to the attendees in the best possible manner. It was demonstrated with a beautify, sustainable and healthy dinner and instilled the awareness that wearing fashion responsibly is a choice everyone can make!”
