Story of the Week: New Zealand Lions Turn Trash into a Fashion Statement

As Lions, we do what we can to make the world a better place, through a variety of means, including recycling, fund-raising, organizing cultural events, encouraging youth and bringing entire communities together. We recently traveled to New Zealand to see how Lions manage to do all of these things and more through just one project – The Recycled Trash Fashion Show.

This low-cost project is inclusive of people of all ages – Lions and non-Lions – who want to participate as designers, models and in other capacities. Lions donate the funds raised through fashion show ticket sales to those in need. This year, the funds are going to the local rescue services, including the ambulance, fire brigade, coast guard and search and rescue, all of which are volunteer services in this small coastal area.

“The Lions club decided that they needed to become a focal point in the community and we’ve done that by having this show,” said Julie Syme, a member of the Seaward Kaikoura Lions Club. A Lion and Recycled Trash Fashion designer, Julie feels that the club is “encouraging people to recycle and to be careful of what and how they dispose of their materials and their products from their households and workshops.”

Our film crew, who documented this project for an upcoming feature in LQ, was very impressed with the process and the result of the project. They insisted that the show, which took place at the local community center, was so professional it could have been part of New York City’s Fashion Week.