THK Active Ageing Centres at Cassia and Kaki Bukit and The Circular Classroom celebrated National Day with creativity and heart. Over 35 seniors came together to craft a special Merlion - made from pre-loved school uniforms.Every colourful fabric circle holds a memory: of childhood days, diverse cultures, and our shared journey as a nation. The Merlion is a Singapore icon. Our Merlion, created with the seniors of Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities Active Ageing Centres, is a proud ambassador for a sustainable Singapore, and a beautiful reminder that in sustainability, just like in nation-building, every stitch counts. Here’s to many more moments where creativity, community, and care for our planet come together. 

We were excited to join fellow change makers on Saturday in a booth showcase to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the SG Eco Fund—a milestone that marked over $18.6 million disbursed to more than 350 sustainability initiatives across Singapore. As a proud grant recipient, we were thrilled to be part of this gathering of environmental advocates, educators, innovators, and community leaders.

The event at Vidacity was a celebration of ground-up action and collective impact. We had the opportunity to connect with other initiatives dedicated to environmental stewardship and sustainable living, each contributing uniquely to Singapore’s vision of a zero-waste nation. 

A particularly meaningful moment was meeting Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Ms Grace Fu. We were deeply honored to share with her the progress of The Circular Classroom. 

Textiles are one of Singapore’s least recycled waste streams—only 2% of textile and leather waste was recycled in 2023. At The Circular Classroom, we see this as both a challenge and an opportunity. By partnering with schools, we work to reduce textile waste at its source through environmental education and sustainable consumption practices. 

The SG Eco Fund’s anniversary was a reminder that climate action thrives when communities come together.

The Circular Classroom took part in a two-day showcase event organised by the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH), where we joined an inspiring community of SAMH-affiliated artists with powerful stories to share.

At the booth, we promoted our upcycled products made from pre-loved school uniforms, engaged visitors in conversations about sustainability, circularity, and mental well-being. It was a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about our mission and connect with the public through creativity and purpose.

We are grateful to SAMH for the chance to participate and share our work, and to everyone who visited our booth and supported our cause.

On 14 June 2025, The Circular Classroom participated in the “Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine!” event at the Sustainable Singapore Gallery in Marina Barrage — a day of learning, sharing, and sparking inspiration on sustainable living.

At our info booth, visitors were able to explore how we are tackling textile waste through creative reuse, and learn how school uniforms — often discarded too quickly — can be transformed into meaningful, functional items. Our handcrafted samples and student project showcases turned heads and started conversations!

From upcycled pouches to collaborative patchworks, the booth gave visitors a peek into how hands-on learning and circular design can help shape a zero-waste future.

The Sustainable Singapore Gallery is a public education initiative by PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE). It is an interactive space designed to showcase Singapore’s ongoing journey toward environmental sustainability, including its Zero Waste Masterplan, climate action goals, and water resource management under the "Four National Taps" strategy. PUB’s goal with this space is to inspire visitors — especially students, families, and the general public — to reflect on their environmental impact and take tangible steps toward sustainable living.

We Popped Up at CapitaLand’s Sustainability Showcase at Funan Centre! 

The Circular Classroom was invited to be part of Let’s Get Down to Earth, CapitaLand’s week-long sustainability showcase held from 17–23 March 2025, where we shared our hard and creative work with a wider community interested in sustainable practices.

 At our booth the public had the opportunity to learn more about our mission to reduce textile waste in Singapore through   pre loved school uniforms form schools Island wide. The event gave us the opportunity to present our education-based sustainability work to a broader public audience beyond schools.

We’re thankful to CapitaLand for the invitation and for spotlighting The Circular Classroom. 

We celebrated International Women's Day on 9 March 2025 with creativity & sustainability and organised a special workshop at PlayPan's new home - the Glassdome in the heart of Chinatown. In a cosy environment, we repurposed pre-loved school uniforms into unique items, to promote sustainable consumption and reduce textile waste in Singapore's education system towards a zero-waste future. We were happy to welcome about 20 parent-child duos and students who were passionate about crafting, stitching, upcycling and learning sustainability skills.

We were thrilled to start again our sustainability workshops with seniors at THK Active Ageing Centres at Cassia and Kaki Bukit! In 2025, they workshops will take place on the last Thursday and Friday of each month, and bring together active seniors from the community, eager to repurpose pre-loved school uniforms with much creativity and skill.

The workshops from February to end of May will be part of our intergenerational project called “ReGENerate: Connecting Generations through Sustainability”, which we also run at Victoria School with 350 students – the whole Secondary 1 cohort! Together, we will create pencil cases from pre-loved school uniforms.

For the workshops on 27 and 28 February at the THK Active Ageing Centres at Cassia and Kaki Bukit, over 40 seniors joined us. It is truly inspiring to see the dedication and precision of the seniors, aged 60 to 92, as they work steadily with their hands and repurpose the materials. Their enthusiasm and craftsmanship make each session a joy to witness.

Thank you to the SG Eco Grant for supporting this project. We can't wait for the next workshops and to jointly finalise the items

We were thrilled to be back at The National Cancer Centre for this year’s NCCS Sustainability Festival!  This time, we joined forces to promote sustainability and wellbeing through a meaningful activity: crafting our beloved owl plushies from preloved uniforms donated by staff. These handmade creations are not only cute, they also double as stress balls to provide comfort for patients.

But our workshop was more than a creative activity; it was part of our bigger effort to tackle an urgent issue. Recent research has highlighted alarming links between plastic pollution—especially microplastics—and health risks, including cancer. Microplastics, which are now found in our air, water, and even food, can disrupt bodily systems and have been associated with inflammation and other conditions that may lead to serious illnesses.

The textile industry is one of the largest contributors to plastic pollution. Polyester, a synthetic fiber widely used in clothing, sheds microplastics into our waterways every time it is washed. These tiny plastic particles eventually make their way into oceans, harming marine life and entering the human food chain - and ultimately us.

By reusing textiles and reducing waste through creative outreach programmes like this, we are not only raising awareness but also taking small, tangible steps to protect both the environment and human health. A big thank you to NCCS and GROUND (GReening Oncology Up aNd Down) for inviting us to be part of this inspiring event.

We were excited to contribute as speakers to the "Sustainability for Educators Day Camp" organised by the Temasek Polytechnic Learning Academy. The camp was a two-day training programme for educators from MOE Schools and Polytechnics and structured around the USER framework - Understand, Strategise, Empower, and Reflect - to equip  participants with practical tools for integrating sustainability into their teaching.

..."I am very privileged to collaborate with TCC for our mother’s day celebration this year!

I believe motherhood is a very rewarding experience but comes with a big responsibility to raise kind, rational and global citizens. 

By repurposing our uniforms into memorable drawstring bags this Mothers day we are spreading the message of love for our environment! A big thank you to Leonie, Zinobia, Hasmitha and volunteers for supporting this event."...

Rupal Arora,  Director

MapleBear West Coast

There is a profound link between crafting and mental health. It reduces stress, enhances mindfulness and provides an avenue for creative expression. IMH welcomed us to collaborate on an exploratory workshop for their clients which included hand-sewing and machine-sewing. We were happy that our hands-on session of repurposing pre-loved school uniforms provided a warm environment and creative outlet for the participants.

SAMH improves the lives of persons with mental health issues through rehabilitation and reintegration.  On 6 and 28 February 2024, we conducted skills workshops for SAMH's clients. Engaging in activities that contribute to sustainability,  in our case using recycled materials and repurposing uniforms, not only provides individuals with a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Such activities are also a platform for creativity and self-expression. As a social enterprise that offers  green job opportunities, we look forward to engaging SAMH clients in our team.

Thank you for collaborating with us and the wonderful token of appreciation! Here with Shane Lim, Deputy Head, SAMH @ Mindset Learning Hub

... "We extend our deepest gratitude for the increaible upcycling workshops you have conducted. Your dedicatin to sustainability and mental health awareness truly made a positive impact on our community.

The innovate and engaging sessions not only provided valuable skills but also created a supportive and uplifting environment for our clients.." ...

Shane Lim, Deputy Head

SAMH @Mindset Learning Hub

Hospital uniforms generate substantial waste and significantly contribute to the environmental footprint of a healthcare institution. 

On 1 February 2024, we were part of the Sustainability Festival at the National Cancer Centre Singapore where we set up an information booth on sustainable textile practices and conducted a uniform repurposing workshop for nurses and staff. 

At the information booth,  we invited representives from the NCCS Leadership team, doctors, nurses, and patients to write messages of encouragement on small fabric hearts made out of repurposed NCCS uniforms.  This activity connected the theme of sustainabilty with health and highlighted the importance of how every member of the community – from student, to apprentice to lifelong learner at the workplace - can help advance Singapore's sustainable development agenda.

The Sustainability Festival was coordinated by Assoc Prof Joanne Ngeow Yuen Yie, Senior Consultant, as well as the dedicated nurses team of  GReening Oncology Up aNd Down (GROUND) initiative, led by Beng Choo Tay.