ECF Circular Fashion Education Toolkit
Online Learning Resources for Students and Teachers
Yoyo and the World’s Coolest T-shirt
Yoyo is just an average school girl…until she wears her super-powered T-shirt! Then she becomes the smartest, fastest, coolest kid in school! But even the best clothes get too small in the end when you are a growing kid, and eventually Mum decides the T-shirt has to go…in the bin! But is that the only solution?
Join Yoyo, her planet-loving little brother Kevin and her friends in this exciting, fun quest to save the magic T-shirt…and learn more about what you can do with your old clothes to help save the planet!
Yoyo and the World’s Coolest T-shirt is Hong Kong’s first-ever educational comic book about sustainable fashion. It brings you on an adventure following Yoyo, a Hong Kong girl, and her little brother Kevin to save their favourite superpowered T-shirt from the bin, when Yoyo grows out of it.
“Our Year 5 children loved the comic book Redress shared on their educational visit. It’s a fantastic resource that addresses circular fashion and sustainability through engaging storytelling. Many children referred to Kevin’s tips when they wrote their persuasive speeches in English, and they absolutely loved the up-cycling tote-bag activity suggested in the last pages of the book.”
“We were fortunate enough to have a Zoom call with Redress representatives who were able to answer students’ follow up questions after they read the comic book. The comic book and illustrations are engaging and informative and really help students understand quite complex topics. As teachers, we really appreciate how this resource, along with the other Redress Modules support students in changing their mindsets towards fashion waste.”
“The best part of the comic book is Grandpa’s wisdom, which inspires thinking – “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated” and “Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.” While his wise words at the end of the story, “Life isn’t really that complicated…” emphasises the importance of recycling.”
Trailer Video
Read the Full Versions
Meet Yoyo and Her Family
Yoyo
Yoyo is the smallest kid in her year at school. But she has a secret weapon: she owns the world’s coolest T-shirt!
Kevin
Kevin is Yoyo’s little brother. He loves his big sister, his tae kwon do classes and the planet! He also has a secret passion for Yoyo’s T-shirt…
Mum
Mum’s an accountant by day.. She’s busy, hard-working and loves her kids. She also loves a tidy apartment!
Dad
Dad is a bit of an inventor in his time off work. He likes making things out of scraps and invariably makes a mess which Mum has to clean up…again!
Grandpa
Grandpa lives with the family. He loves keeping fit, playing mahjong, and hanging out with his friends in the evening. He likes to quote that famous ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius.
Frosty
Frosty is the family’s dog. He loves them all equally but especially loves Mum when she’s cooking char siu bao.
Meet the Creators
Sarah Brennan
The Author
Sarah Brennan is the author of the best-selling Chinese Calendar Tales, the Dirty Stories, the much-acclaimed Storm Whale, and a new book for pre-teens, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah. She loves writing funny books, reading, knitting, gardening and the bagpipes. She hates clothes-shopping and proudly wears her clothes until they’re ancient!
Kathryn Mann
The Illustrator
Kathryn Mann has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She is the illustrator of the comic book Fly, published by Gestalt Comics, as well as contributing to the Kickstarter art anthology Before, After and In-Between. When not drawing she is making and playing computer games, or shopping for vintage clothing. Innovation is her passion and that includes finding a use for everything, even old T-shirts!
How to Get a Copy
If you are a teacher
The books are completely free for schools. Submit an order if you would like a few copies for your class or library. We are also available to run book reading sessions with your students. Don’t forget to send us your details!
If you are a student / parent
The hard copy of ‘Yoyo and the World’s Coolest T-shirt’ is currently made available for schools only. Get in touch with your school if you would like to read it. If they haven’t yet got a copy, feel free to let us know via email.
ABOUT REDRESS
Redress is a pioneering Hong Kong based environmental charity with a mission to educate and empower the fashion industry and consumers to reduce clothing’s negative environmental impact by shifting to circular solutions. Our education programme focuses on educating consumers in Hong Kong of all ages about their fashion footprint and empowering them to drive change through circular solutions like buying more responsibly, donating clothes for reuse, or shopping secondhand.
About the ECF Circular Fashion Education Toolkit
This bilingual education toolkit including a handful of student and teacher resources is funded by the Environment and Conservation Fund and the Environmental Campaign Committee. It was designed in consultation with teachers and curriculum advisors from the English Schools Foundation, the Education Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and our wider network of Hong Kong schools, who provided invaluable guidance, support and feedback.