Hi! My name is Emma Rudy and I am a Grade 12 student at an international school in Japan. After finding microplastics in every fish I dissected as part of my research for my IB Extended Essay, I was angered and knew I had to do something. As I was learning about fast fashion and sustainability in class, I was inspired to upcycle some of my old t-shirts into eco-bags. Soon I realized that many of my neighbors could also benefit from these eco-bags and together we could wave goodbye to plastic bags. From this, my Girl Scout Gold Award Take-Action project was born. Interestingly enough, my Gold Award is actually linked to both my Bronze and Silver Awards. For my Bronze Award, I upcycled cloth into dog toys and for my silver award I made my own environmentally-friendly cleaning and home supplies line.