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Learning Outcomes

1.9 and 2.5

Learning Intentions

I will learn about consumer responsibilities

I will reflect on the impact of my shopping.

I will learn about the impact businesses have on the environment through the production of clothes.

How might you use this stimulus material in class?

This video provides a great introduction to Fast Fashion - defining the problem and outlining the role of social and financial organisations in the industry.

Support resources: the question quadrant provides open and closed questions to support student discussion.

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Why do we use plastic?
What are the problems with it?
What might be possible alternatives?

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'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' gets 'larger' with more plastic floating in the ocean

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Learning Outcomes

1.1 and 1.9 and 1.10

Learning Intentions

1. I will learn about the types of renewable energies

2. I will learn about the impact the energies I use have on the environment.

3. I will learn about the need to move to sustainable energies.

How might you use this stimulus material in class?

Down to Earth with Zac Efron on Netflix

Episode 1 - Iceland

Iceland's renewable energy efforts.

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Learning Outcomes

1.7, 1.1, 3.6

Learning Intentions:

I will be able to define the term fast fashion.

I will learn about the impact of my choices as a consumer.

I will learn about the impact of fast fashion on society.

How might you use this stimulus material in class?

The article highlights what the protest is about, highlighting that is it a non-violent protest and the reasons behind the protest.

Think pair share and place mat so the students can write down and share their ideas.

Create a class discussions regarding the difference between Brown Thomas and Penneys and the decisions they can make as consumers.

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Extinction Rebellion protesters storm Penneys and Brown Thomas

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Group aimed to highlight the climate impact of ‘fast fashion’ on third day of protests

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Learning Outcome:

2.4

Learning Intentions:

I will list rights and responsibilities of employers and employees

I will understand rights and responsibilities from different perspectives

I will know the implications of each right and responsibility for employers and employees

How might I use this stimulus in class?

Individually list rights/responsibilities

Group discussion to rank importance of each right/responsibility

Group discussion about implications of each of the rights and responsibilities listing 1-2 implications for each one

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Learning Outcomes
1.9 and 2.4
Learning Intentions

I can appreciate what it means to be an ethical consumer

I understand  the considerations ethical consumers take into account when shopping

How to use in class

Introduction to Fast Fashion

Students can use the website to research their favourite brands to examine how ethical they are in regards to Fast Fashion

Classroom discussion about which brands we consider ethical and unethical

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What Is Fast Fashion and Why Is It So Bad? - Good On You

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You might already be aware of fast fashion’s dark side, but it’s worth exploring how we got to this point. What is fast fashion, and why should we avoid it?

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2.3 2.4

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I will  learn about the legal, social , ethical and environmental rights of employees.
I will look at the responsibilities of employers.

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Learning Outcome
1.9 and 1.10

How it might be used in class:
This article gives an insight to how our choices and how we might possibly lead a greener life style.

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Journalist-turned-green-entrepreneur Anne-Marie Tomchak (37) is a Zoom vision in her Instagrammable home office in Walthamstow, London. Make-up and hair perfectly appointed, she wears a sleeveless top with sequin collar, bought in a BBC wardrobe department clear out "years ago" when she worked at the broadcaster.

"They were having this flash sale of items that were on TV shows like Strictly Come Dancing and they were raising money for Comic Relief. So it's almost like ShareJoy before ShareJoy existed."

ShareJoy is the not-for-profit platform Tomchak launched in January which uses the Depop resale site to sell pre-loved clothes to raise money for mental-health charity Pieta. But today we are talking about ShareJoy's "more grown-up sibling", DesignTracker, the highly ambitious, for-profit company, of which she is founder and CEO.

With its tagline, "setting the standard for sustainable business", DesignTracker will monitor, report on and index companies with bona fide green credentials. Tomchak will consult with companies wishing to improve their ESGs, the latest buzzy acronym on Wall Street for 'Environmental Social Governance' standards. In other words, their sustainable investing.

She will carry out green audits to ensure companies move with the times and aren't left behind in the planet-saving push for net zero emissions by 2050. For starters, they might not get the climate-minded Gen Z staff otherwise.

"Whenever you start talking about the environment or ESG, you start to lose people - and I guess that's my challenge," says Tomchak. But what on this endangered earth could be more fascinating than a farmer's daughter from Longford creating the Dow Jones of sustainability with her DesignTracker 100 idea?

If that doesn't tickle your fancy, her new approach to managing her wardrobe might - and later we will get to her journey from exec to minimalist shopper.

But first, who is Anne-Marie Tomchak?

She studied journalism in DCU and began her career in RT É in 2005, spending five years presenting news and reporting on 2FM and Radio One. She was Anne-Marie McNerney then - her uncle is country singer Declan Nerney and her first cousin is pop star Una Healy. Tomchak also has an identical twin sister, Sinead, and "it's great having a clone living in Dublin, so when I go home I don't have to pack much." She met her husband David Tomchak when he was her producer at the BBC, where she worked from 2010 to 2016, notably setting up its social media unit, BBC Trending. She left to take up the role of UK editor of media platform , before being hired by Edward Enninful as digital director of British for a year, until her contract ended in January 2020.

Lockdown was a period ofreflection and reading for Tomchak - Post Growth by Tim Jackson and by Will Storr, among others. "I was reading about people like Larry Fink," she says, of the billionaire CEO of US investment management company BlackRock. "They are setting up a whole area around ESG. This idea that sustainability could also be profitable was a real moment for me, because I never thought about it in those terms before."

If Tomchak "had to pick a moment" that "crystallised" where her career was going next, it was this mid-pandemic realisation that saving the planet and making money are not necessarily mutually exclusive. "The key thing that DesignTracker is working on is saying that sustainability and prosperity can live side by side. In fact they coexist really nicely together," she says, adding later: "ESG has been described as the most exciting and most important thing to happen in the investment space in the last 20 years. I'm not from a business background, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that that presents a major opportunity."

Companies making short-term profits now at the expense of the environment may need to take a longer-term view to survive. "They risk becoming obsolete and irrelevant in the future if they don't engage with this topic now. Talented people want to work in companies that have a purpose."

The current focus on ESG reminds Tomchak of when the buzz phrase 10 years ago was "digital transformation". More recently, companies have had to adopt best practices in another revolutionary acronym, EDI (Equality, Diversion and Inclusion). There is overlap between all three in intersectional environmentalism, another new "ism" that advocates for the protection of both people and the planet.

"The climate crisis is the biggest problem of our lifetime, make no bones about it," says Tomchak. "It is, without doubt, the single most important issue and story of our lifetime."

She has decided to devote her career now to exploring and highlighting solutions to it. But she also has to earn a living, so how will DesignTracker make money?

"There are three different main revenue streams." The first is by providing "service journalism" and Tomchak jokes that she does not intend to be "the next Rupert Murdoch". Instead, the free DesignTracker newsletter is a means of growing a nicely segmented audience. "There is scope to eventually build in a subscription model for some of our premium content, which might be, for example, a white paper on the chief sustainability officers around the world... There is potential to charge for that kind of content, or to devise branded content partnerships."

The second arm is theconsultancy, helping companies to become more environmentally friendly, now and into the future. "Like anyone who's offering a service and expertise, you would charge a fee for that. This is a for-profit company, albeit with socially conscious objectives and goals. The idea is to create different packages for companies and to give them a costing, whether that's working with a company for a week, right up to working with a company for a year on a longer-term project and assigning an account manager to that company, the same way that an agency would." Tomchak sees this as "the middle ground, bread and butter" of her business.

The third and dream-big project is the DesignTracker index of top 100 green companies. She hopes this will grow to become one of the business world's most coveted accolades and an annual event, minus the earth-unfriendly tablescapes.

"I'm currently working with an environmental financial analyst who has worked in the FinTech, fashion and environmental space, around building out a set of indicators," she says, of how companies will be chosen for the list. "Initially my idea was to look at existing benchmarks and indicators for what good looks like. But I think more ambitiously, the longer-term goal is for me to build out a new set of indicators that are specific to DesignTracker, and that the index itself could grow into something much bigger where your credit rating can be affected by your green or ESG credentials. That's extremely ambitious, I realise, but you have to start somewhere."

Creating a job that requires youto think about solutions to the biodiversity crisis all day long - while also trying to make a wage from scratch - is not for the fainthearted. "I want to be really candid with you; there have been times where I have said to myself, 'Why am I putting myself through this?' I think every entrepreneur thinks about going back into an employed role, and I've been headhunted for many roles over the last 18 months. It's not like I'm doing this for the good of my health. I really believe in it."

Tomchak reminds herself that if things don't work out, she will at least learn loads by launching her own business. "If that's the worst outcome, then this is a fantastic thing to do. Obviously, I need to pay my bills, that's very important as well. But I really believe that it presents an enormous opportunity for me to do something of real value with my life."

Tomchak's life already takes the planet into deep consideration. "I've made a few lifestyle changes that I feel are not too difficult to do. For example, I don't eat meat any more. Don't tell my dad - he's a livestock farmer!" She is "not preaching" and would eat chicken if served it at a dinner party. "I honestly don't think it's possible to live in a way where you're beating yourself with a stick all of the time."

She is a stickler, though, for not wasting food. "My husband teases me about putting the most tiny bit of salad or something into Tupperware," she says with a laugh, adding: "As someone who's grown up on a farm, you know the effort that goes into growing vegetables, sowing potatoes. I used to help my dad harvest potatoes during the summer."

In a way, her habits are coming full circle. "My life back then, growing up on a farm in rural Ireland, was much more circular and sustainably minded and I think a lot of people are returning to basics."

Her wardrobe evolution is also ongoing. Tomchak "used to love" a fast-fashion bargain. "Getting something for a fiver was a badge of honour. But now I would just associate that with a whole different range of emotions. And I think that this penny is dropping for a lot of people."

Fashion is one of the world'sgreatest polluters, with an estimated three in five items ending up landfills within 12 months. Not to talk about child labour in the supply chain. "Once you see these things reported it is so difficult to unsee them."

Even before she got the job at , Tomchak had concerns about the impact of the fashion industry. "One of the key things that I was talking about during my interview was how important sustainability and purpose is. That was something that I was already very cognisant of having worked in , which is an extremely progressive new media title, very socially and environmentally aware."

For our shoot today, she is exclusively dressed in Hardly Ever Worn It (HEWI) a luxury fashion resale site where you can save up to 80pc on cost. "It's quite amazing to see what you can get. Some items have actually never been worn before."

What is she putting in her own wardrobe these days? "There are less new things coming in. In fact, I would say zero new things coming in. And then there are things going out," she says, of the clothes she sells on Depop. Tomchak has even been researching ways of steaming and deodorising clothes to reduce water waste.

"Another way I've been trying to sustain my wardrobe is I've been going down to the local tailor here in Walthamstow." Instead of throwing out some dresses, she had them altered. "I've got the neckline changed, cut the sleeves off or got a halterneck made out of it, or just changed the length so it's not hanging so long and is more wearable. I've spent, say 50 quid on getting three dresses altered, but I could have gone out and bought a new dress for 50 quid."

She is "not out to vilify fastfashion because I don't think there's a person on the planet who doesn't own an item of fast fashion." But she is "definitely a lot more conscious and considered" about what she buys.

"What I've also started doing recently is renting my wardrobe, interestingly, and this is something I never imagined I would ever do." She does this via the peer-to-peer fashion rental app, By Rotation, which allows you to borrow something for between 3pc to 5pc of its retail price. "I've been listing things that I don't really want to part with yet but I'd love to share them with other people. It's nice, because you can see how someone else styles this dress that you've loved for a long time."

Renting high fashion, perhaps a little like Tomchak's new green start-up, is "a great way of road-testing things that you feel like you might, in the future, want to invest in."
See designtracker.ai

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'Sustainability and prosperity can live side by side' - Anne-Marie Tomchak on her new, green venture DesignTracker

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Journalist-turned-green-entrepreneur Anne-Marie Tomchak (37) is a Zoom vision in her Instagrammable home office in Walthamstow, London. Make-up and hair perfectly appointed, she wears a sleeveless top with sequin collar, bought in a BBC wardrobe department clear out "years ago" when she worked at the broadcaster.

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The Threat of Plastics to Sea Turtles

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Learning outcomes

1.5, 1.6, 1.9

Learning Intentions

I will appreciate the different sources of finance available to me when purchasing a mode of transport.

I will understand that there are several options to ensure my mode of transport.

I can identify the positive and negative impacts on sustainability from the type of transport I choose to use.

Stimulus material
Newspaper articles, videos, group discussions.

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Pros And Cons of Electric Cars-Advantages And Disadvantages Of Electric Cars

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Can Stacey Dooley Survive Working in a Sweat Shop? | Blood Sweat, and T-Shirts S1 Ep2 | Only Human

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Learning Outcomes

1.7 and 2.4

Learning Intentions

I will learn about consumer responsibilities.

I will learn about employee rights.

I will learn about the impact my consumer choices have on the rights of workers and understand the importance of fair trade in this context.

How might you use this stimulus material in class

Use this video to stimulate debate on the above issue

Use lower order and higher order questioning to gain knowledge of student understanding

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The Story of Chocolate: Unwrapping the Bar

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I will learn about difference between employment work and volunteering
I will be able to identify rewards features benefits and Careers within
I will be able to distinguish between rights and responsibilities

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Learning Outcomes

2.7 and 2.8

Learning intentions

I will learn about market research

I will learn about the responsibilities organisations have for the environment and society

I will learn advertising in the marketing mix

How might you use this stimulus material in class?

This video provides a great introduction into the founding of Veja. It is narrated by the two co-founders. They talk about the mission statement of their company - to make shoes that are socially, environmentally and financially sustainable by eliminating advertising costs.

It shows the founders conducting market research in Brazil to find sustainable materials for their shoes

It is a 10-minute video with a lot of information so I would watch it in 2 minute clips and explore the content using a question quadrant in pairs

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Learning Intentions

i will learn about workers rights.

i will learn about industrial relations

types of industrial action

stimulus
this video can be shown when discussing workers rights.
highlights how large corporation have a responsibility to each worker.  especially around redundancy.

why should workers receive redundancy?
the impacts of an older person becoming unemployed ?
what ethical responsibilities do large firm have towards employees when they no longer need them?

how can workers engage in peaceful industrial action?

people V's profit

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847 Years: The Story Of The Vita Cortex Sit-In

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Learning Outcomes

1.9, 2.4, 2.5

Learning Intentions

I will identify where my clothes come from

I will understand the impact of my shopping

How will it be used in class?

Class investigation into their school uniform. Where is it made, the average age of the factory worker, calculate how many days they would have to work in order to buy their uniform.

Then have a class discussion.

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Andrew's research investigates the changing geographies of the global economy. In early 2015, he completed a book Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes which examines global clothing systems of provision. In other research interventions he is investigating the investment of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in Mozambique and Zambia. We asked him about 'Clothing Poverty' and how fast fashion affects those in developing countries.

Fast fashion was a term first coined by retailers to encapsulate how fashion trends move rapidly from the catwalk to the store. There is a short turnaround time between designing garments and the production of new clothing collections. Manufacturing is quick and cheap and consumers in the Global North can easily take advantage of affordable and desirable clothes in the shops of high street brands with whom we are all familiar. Fast fashion garments are normally produced in the Global South, predominantly by low paid, female workers. Quick turnaround times place often overwhelming demands on these factory workers, one effect of which can be the manufacture of lower quality clothing. This can encourage the rapid consumption and disposal of cheap clothes after they have been worn only a few times, creating a very unsustainable sector.

Clothing production is spread between different locations and therefore it is actually difficult to say where a garment is truly 'made'. A lot of well known brands have head quarters in the Global North where the bulk of their design and advertising work takes place. A fibre plant such as cotton, for example, is grown around the world from Albania from Zimbabwe. A single garment like a pair of jeans (see the link below for more information) can contain threads of cotton from a number of different regions that have then been woven together. Manufacturing began moving away from the developed economies of North America and Europe in the 1960s. Factories were established in developing countries where wages were lower. When we buy clothes they might have a 'Made in China' label, but that is only a small part of the story. Normally multiple countries are involved in, for instance, the design, cotton growing, manufacturing, advertising and retail. The veil of market-exchange hides the social and environmental relations and conceals the production process from consumers.

We should all question the ethics behind the label. Image: Malthrl (Flickr)

It is a common misconception that some charitable organisations distribute second-hand clothes freely in the developing world. In fact they get sold onto traders who further sell them to street traders, who then sell them to members of the public. Across Africa clothing manufacturing industries were established in the 1960s as countries tried to modernise their economies. Many factories have since shut, but the import of second-hand clothing has boomed. Cheap imported clothes have flooded African markets and some workers in clothing factories have lost their jobs. One of the sad ironies of today's globalised economy is that many cotton farmers and ex-factory workers in countries such as Zambia are now too poor to afford any clothes other than imported second-hand clothes from the West, whereas thirty or forty years ago they could buy locally produced new clothes. Stopping the trade of second-hand clothes alone will not enable the development of clothing industries in Africa, but old jeans and t-shirts are often unwittingly part of the problem.

Charity clothing banks may not always share their donations freely. Image: Phil Carlton (Flickr)

Textile workers have very little agency. The de-skilling of labour in the textile and clothing industries has concentrated power in the hands of management so it can be very difficult for workers to negotiate for improvements in wages and conditions. If there are labour disputes at a factory, it may just close and re-open elsewhere. The mobile and footloose nature of fast fashion production means that factories can easily and quickly relocate to new lower wage locations without any serious loss in production.

Street traders who sell second-hand clothing in Africa also have little influence over the trade. They are vulnerable to variations in the quality of the second-hand clothes they sell. If they buy a shipment with lots of torn or soiled clothes they will lose money. This makes their livelihoods very vulnerable.

Second hand clothing market in Mozambique. Image: Ton Rulkens (Flickr)

I do not think individual voluntary action is the real solution to the problems of fast fashion and sustainability in the clothing sector. If we leave it to people to voluntarily 'choose' if they buy ethically produced goods or to recycle this will only result in partial improvements as many people will opt for cheaper or more convenient choices. I think more meaningful change may come about if the issue of living wage levels was addressed across the developing world. In the short term the most important thing to do is raise awareness of these issues, but ultimately a radical social change in politics is required. This would lead to a revaluing of our relationship with labour, consumption and the environment.

This would be a step in the right direction, but I would support mandatory regulations and minimum welfare standards rather than voluntary mechanisms. It is also important that clothing collection charities and companies are also transparent about what happens to the donations they collect. Clothing banks should be labelled with this information clearly and leaflets produced to allow donators to make informed choices. I think most people are unaware of the hidden realities of the global second-hand clothing trade and many question the re-selling practices.

To reduce the environmental impacts of fast fashion it is much better to slow the rate at which one consumes new clothes. This means buying fewer garments and ensuring those that are bought are of a higher quality. We can try to find clothes that are well made and will last, rather than low-quality things which will soon wear out. The human impacts are more challenging for individual consumers to address. The campaigning organisation 'Labour Behind the Label' (see link below) provides very good advice on how to change our shopping habits. They suggest supporting ethical products, buying from popular brands which are improving workers' rights and shopping for second-hand clothes, but most importantly emphasise the benefit of taking direct action.

When I started this project I did not realise quite how important the clothing industry has been in the world's economic history. Cotton was traded throughout the British Empire in the colonial era. Clothing factories launched the industrial revolution. American fashions and patterns of dress spread through the twentieth century. China's recent development began with clothing industries. At the same time some areas of the world which have remained poor, such as sub-Saharan Africa, have not been able to successfully integrate themselves into clothing trade networks. The clothing sector alone cannot explain world economic inequality, but it offers an excellent vantage point from which to understand the process of uneven development across both time and space.
Follow the Thing: Papaya Dr Ann Le Mare on Fair Trade
Agency
The capability of a person or a group of people to change something about their lives.

Footloose
An industry which by the nature of the raw material used and its labour, market and transport needs is not tied to a particular location.

Globalisation
Increasing interconnectedness between people and processes in different countries.

Manufacturing
The process by which raw materials are made into goods which can be bought and sold

Transnational Companies
Companies that operate in more than country.

Workers' Rights
Standards of working conditions established to protect the needs and rights of workers.

Students can carry out an investigation into their own school uniform. Based on where it is made and the average wage for a factory worker in that country, the students can then calculate how many days they would have to work in order to be able to buy their school uniform. This can open up a discussion about who is responsible for this inequality.

A small survey amongst students can establish what the last item of clothing was they bought, how much it cost and where it was manufactured. Students can then decide whether they have participated in the 'fast fashion' complex and to what extent they have fuelled the phenomenon.

Students can investigate a clothing company of their choice and through their websites research their ethical trading policy. Students can then rank the companies based on how far they have gone to try to be as fair as possible to their workers.
Andrew's Brooks' Book: Clothing Poverty A closer look at the clothing poverty associated with jeans The Telegraph (Jun 2014) The Secret Life of your Charity Shop cast offs CNN (2013) Is your old T shirt hurting African economies Brooks, A. (2010) Spinning and Weaving Discontent , Journal of Southern African Studies, 36:1, p113-132 Brooks, A. (2013) Stretching global production networks: The international second-hand clothing trade, Geoforum, 44, p10-22 The Clean Clothes Campaign The Guardian (Jan 2011) Clothes placed in charity recycling banks earned trader £10m in five years Labour behind the label BBC (Feb 2015) Where do your old clothes go? Crewe, L. (2008) Ugly beautiful? Counting the cost of the global fashion industry, Geography, 93, p25-33
Ethical Fashion Forum
The geography of my stuff
Andrew was interviewed in February 2015

Developed as part of the UK government funded Global Learning Programme

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Royal Geographical Society - Geography resources for teachers

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Andrew's research investigates the changing geographies of the global economy. In early 2015, he completed a book Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes which examines global clothing systems of provision. In other research interventions he is investigating the investment of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in Mozambique and Zambia.

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Learning Outcomes

1.7, 1.9, 2.5 & 2.8.

Learning Intentions:

I will learn about consumer responsibilities.

I will learn about ethical consumerism.

I will learn about ethical business practices.

How might you use this stimulus in class?

Link in with Marketing Mix, about the packaging of a product.

Get students to bring in a package of their choice to analyse.

Rank the package they bring, based on certain criteria.

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Learning outcomes                           1.9, 2.4 and 2.5

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Learning outcomes                           1.9, 2.4 and 2.5

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What defines food waste ?                                What should consumer do to reduce food waste?                                                                  Can the enterprises production process reduce food waste ?                                                  How does food waste affect the environment, economy and society ? How can I as a consumer reduce food waste?

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Learning outcomes:

1.9 Debate the ethical & sustainability issues that arise from their consumption of goods/services & evaluate how they can contribute to sustainable development through consumer behaviour

3.1 explain how scarcity of economic resources results in individuals having to make choices , predict possible consequences of these choices

3.5 the purpose of taxation from a financial, social, legal and ethical perspective.

Current transport use is not sustainable, using fossil fuels to fuel our vehicles is damaging the environment.
Cycling to school, or taking public transport
The use of taxation to achieve social objective of changing peoples behaviour towards the use of petrol/diesel cars, increases in carbon tax
Government incentives to use more public transport or purchase EVs

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Learning Outcomes
2.12 and 3.1

Intentions

I will be able to plan a household income and expenditure and analyse how a change in health of one partner can affect the households choices

I will understand how worker burnout/stress affects our ability to earn income and cover costs

I will discuss how business can get get the most from their workers  and the implications for this on business

How will this work-
Discuss stress in the workplace and how this can affect workers lives. Analyse how a crisis of health can affect a households ability to earn income and cover expenditure.
Use video and online search material around these issues

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Top 5 Triggers for stress in the workplace

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Learning Outcomes

1.9 and 3.6

Learning Intentions

1. I will learn about the current model of economic growth

2. I will learn about the impacts of economic growth on the environment and on society

3. I will look at alternative models of growth

How might you use this stimulus material in class?

Clips from this video could be used as a stimulus for a wider classroom discussion about what our economic targets are and whether they are good or bad for people and the planet.

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Doughnut economics with Kate Raworth | WIRED Smarter

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Learning Outcomes

1.1, 1.9, 1.10

Learning Intentions

What are the types of renewable energy

What impact I have on the environment

Importance of sustainable energy.

How you use the stimulus material in your class:

Create class discussion around the the topic

Find out students knowledge of renewable energy locally, nationally and internationally.

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Renewable Energy 101 | National Geographic

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Learning Outcomes

1.9 and 2.5

Learning Intentions

I will learn about corporate social responsibility

I will reflect on the impact of my food shopping.

I will reflect on the impact of my food consumption and waste in school and at home.

I will learn about the impact businesses have on the environment through the production of food.

How might you use this stimulus material in class?

This video provides a great introduction to food waste - making students stop and think about their own food waste at home and in school.

Support resources: handout with questions about the video while students watch.

Discussion after video.

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How can how we solve the planet's food waste problem? - BBC News

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Short Video: There’s a Rang-Tan in my bedroom

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Introduction

Employees have a number of legal employment rights and protections in Ireland. Here we provide a summary of these rights and entitlements, which are governed by employment legislation.

Am I an employee?

An employee is a person engaged under a contract of service. If you have this type of contract, you are protected by the full range of employment legislation.

The term, contract for services, is generally used when an employer is engaging an independent contractor or self-employed person for a job. If you have this type of contract, you may not have the same rights as an employee under employment protection legislation. You can find more information about different types of employment, self-employment and contracts of employment.

Minimum wage

The national minimum wage for an adult employee is €10.20 per hour since 1 January 2021. Lower minimum hourly rates may apply if you are younger. For example, a person aged under 20 may get paid less than the national minimum wage. You can read more in Minimum rates of pay.

Some minimum rates of pay are set for particular industries or sectors in Employment Regulation Orders (EROs), Registered Employment Agreements and Sectoral Employment Orders. You can read more about Employment agreements and orders.

Maximum working week

In general, your maximum average working week cannot exceed 48 hours. This does not mean you can never work more than 48 hours in a week, but that your average weekly hours over a 4-month period should not exceed 48. There are some exceptions to this, which you can read about in our page on the working week.

Statement of terms and conditions

If you work for an employer for a regular wage or salary, you automatically have a contract of employment. You must be given a written statement of 5 core terms within 5 days of starting your job and you must be given the remaining terms of employment in writing within 2 months. Read more about what terms should be included in a contract of employment.

Statement of pay

You must be given a written statement of pay or a pay slip with every payment of wages. A pay slip will show your gross wage and details of all deductions. Your employer must have your permission to make deductions from your wages, unless these deductions are authorised by law (for example, PAYE, PRSI and USC).

Breaks during working hours

You are entitled to take breaks while you are at work and have rest periods between working days or nights. You are entitled to a daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours per 24-hour period and one period of 24 hours' rest per week, preceded by the 11-hour daily period - in other words, your usual 11-hour break followed by a whole day off.

In general, you are entitled to a 15 minute break when you have worked for 4 ½ hours. If you work more than 6 hours, you are entitled to a 30 minute break, which can include the first 15 minute break. Your employer does not have to pay you for these breaks and they are not considered working time.

Special rules apply to shop employees. If you work in a shop for more than 6 hours a day, including the period 11.30am to 2.30pm, you are entitled to a one-hour consecutive break, which must occur between 11.30am and 2.30pm. You can read more about rest periods and breaks.

Right to disconnect

As well your right to take adequate breaks, you also have a right to disconnect from work outside of normal working hours.

The code of practice on the right to disconnect is effective since 1 April 2021 and applies to all employees, including people working from home. It provides guidance on an employee's right to disengage from work outside normal working hours. While failure to follow the code is not an offence, it can be used as evidence in a case taken to the Labour Court or WRC under employment legislation.

Leave from work

Annual leave

Most employees are entitled to 4 weeks' paid annual leave per leave year. However, your contract of employment may give you more annual leave than the statutory entitlement. Your annual leave can be calculated in a number of different ways. To calculate annual leave, see our case study.

Public holidays

All full-time employees are entitled to 9 public holidays each year. To qualify for pay or a paid day off on a public holiday, part-time employees must work at least 40 hours in total during the 5 weeks ending on the day before the public holiday.

If you have to work on a public holiday, you are entitled to one of the following in exchange (as decided by your employer):

A paid day off on the public holiday

A paid day off within a month of the public holiday

An extra day's annual leave

An extra day's pay

If you work part-time and the public holiday falls on a day that you do not normally work, you are entitled to one-fifth of your normal weekly wage for the day.
Protective leave
You are entitled to certain statutory protective leave, such as maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, parents leave, adoptive leave, and carer's leave.

There are specific rules for each leave type of protective leave and you must comply with the required notice periods, as below.

Maternity leave: You are entitled to take 26 weeks maternity leave from work while you are having a baby. Your contract of employment will state if your employer will pay you when you are on maternity leave (this is not a requirement). You may be entitled to Maternity Benefit. You are also entitled to take up to 16 weeks of additional unpaid maternity leave, which is not covered byMaternity Benefit.

Paternity leave: New parents (usually the father or the partner of the mother, or in the case of adoption, the parent who is not taking adoptive leave) are entitled to 2 weeks' paternity leave from employment or self-employment following the birth or adoption of a child. Your contract of employment will state if your employer will pay you when you are on paternity leave (this is not a requirement). You may be eligible for social welfare paymentPaternity Benefit.

Parental leave: Since 1 September 2020 each parent is entitled to 26 weeks' unpaid parental leave. You must take parental leave before the child is 12 years of age, or 16 years of age if the child has a disability. In general, you must have been working for your employer for at least 12 months to be entitled toparental leave.

Parents leave: Each parent is entitled to 5 weeks' leave during the first two years of a child's life, or in the case of adoption, within two years of the placement of the child with the family. You may also qualify for a payment calledParent's Benefit during parent's leave.

Adoptive leave: One parent of the adoptive couple, or a parent adopting alone is entitled to 24 weeks' adoptive leave, beginning on the day the child is placed with them. Employers have no obligation to pay an employee for adoptive leave. You may be entitled to Adoptive Benefit. You are also entitled to take up to 16 weeks' additional unpaid adoptive leave, but this period is not covered byAdoptive Benefit.

Carer's leave: You are allowed to take unpaid leave to provide full-time care and attention for a person in need of care. The minimum statutory entitlement is 13 weeks and the maximum is 104 weeks. Generally, you need 12 months' continuous service with your employer to get carer's leave. If you have enough PRSI contributions, you may be eligible for Carer's Benefit. If you do not qualify forCarer's Benefit, you may qualify for a means-tested payment called Carer's Allowance.

Equal treatment in the workplace

You have the right to be treated equally regardless of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, age, disability, race, religious belief or membership of the Traveller community. Discrimination on any of these 9 specific grounds during the recruitment process or in the workplace is unlawful. You can read more about equality in the workplace.

Safety in the workplace

Your employer is responsible, as far as is reasonably possible, for ensuring that you have a safe workplace. This includes protection from violence at work, harassment and bullying.

Privacy and data protection

You have enhanced privacy rights under data protection legislation (GDPR). Employers have certain obligations and responsibilities in relation to how they collect, use and protect your personal data. You can read more about data protection in the workplace. If your employer uses CCTV in the workplace or monitors your use of email, internet or the phone, you can find information about surveillance in the workplace.

Part-time employees, zero-hour contracts and employment permits

If you are working part-time, have a zero-hour contract, or are working on an employment permit, you have certain employment rights, see below.

Part-time employees

A part-time employee is someone who works fewer hours than a comparable full-time employee doing the same type of work. A part-time employee cannot be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time employee unless the less favourable treatment is justified on objective grounds, such as pension entitlements. You can read more in our document on the rights of part-time workers.

If you are in full-time employment, you do not have a statutory right to change to part-time employment or to other flexible working patterns. However, if you would prefer to work part-time, your employer should consider your request.

Zero-hour contracts

A zero-hours contract of employment is a type of employment contract where you are available for work but do not have specified hours of work. Zero-hours contracts are prohibited in most cases, but there are some exceptions to this rule.

Employment permits

Foreign nationals working legally in Ireland are entitled to the same range of statutory employment protections as Irish employees. To work in Ireland, most non-EEA nationals must have an employment permit.

Minimum notice periods

You have certain entitlements if you lose your job. These relate to notice periods and pay for annual leave that you have earned but have not taken.

If you are leaving your job, you must comply with the notice periods in your contract of employment. If your contract does not state a notice period, you must follow the terms of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973-2005. The requirement will depend on how long you have been working for your employer.

Redundancy and dismissal

Redundancy generally arises where your job ceases to exist. Employees who are made redundant from their jobs have certain entitlements. To qualify for a statutory redundancy payment, you must have 2 years' continuous service and meet other criteria.

Dismissal occurs when you lose your job but the position remains open and could be filled by someone else. Reasons for dismissal can be fair or unfair. Normally, you must have at least 12 months' continuous service with your employer to bring a claim for unfair dismissal.

How to make a complaint

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) deals with employment disputes in Ireland. You should make your complaint to the WRC within 6 months of the alleged incident. This time limit can be extended by a further 6 months if there was a reasonable cause for the delay.

Your complaints can be dealt with by mediation or adjudication. If both parties agree to mediation, a mediator will help you reach a mutually acceptable agreement. This method often prevents complaints from reaching the stage of a formal court hearing. With adjudication, there is a public hearing and an adjudication officer will make a formal judgment.

If you are unhappy with the WRC's decision, you can appeal it to the Labour Court. In general, appeals should be made within 42 days, but this can be extended if exceptional circumstances cause a delay.

To complain to the Workplace Relations Commission, use its online complaint form.

Further information

The Workplace Relations Commission has published a Document to Employment, Labour and Equality Law (pdf) and a booklet on Employment Law Explained (pdf).

You can get further information on employment protection legislation from the Workplace Relations Commission's Information and Customer Service.

Where to make a complaint

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Employees have a number of legal employment rights and protections in Ireland. Here we provide a summary of these rights and entitlements, which are governed by employment legislation. An employee is a person engaged under a contract of service. If you have this type of contract, you are protected by the full range of employment legislation.

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Learning Intentions

I will learn about workers rights during the coronavirus pandemic

I will learn about employment

I will learn about the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers

I will learn about industrial relations

Stimulus video

Group work with some questions

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Coronavirus Creates New Questions About Workers' Rights

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Learning Outcomes

1.9 &2.4

Learning Intentions

I will learn the ethical and sustainability issues that arise from their consumption of goods and services

I will learn the right & responsibilities of employer

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Some farms discharge large quantities of agrochemicals, organic matter and drug residues into the environment. Agricultural runoff pollutes aquatic ecosystems, posing a risk not just to habitats and wildlife, but also to human health. Nutrient pollution can also result in eutrophication, when a body of water becomes so enriched with nutrients that algae and plants grow in abundance. These algal blooms create dead zones, where aquatic life cannot survive.

But what if agriculture was separated from nature altogether? Could a closed-system farm recycle all its waste and leave no mark on the environment?

In recent years, there has been an increase in controlled environment agriculture, where food production takes place in greenhouses, polytunnels or warehouses, and uses systems such as vertical farming, hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics.

"All of these can be set up so they are circular," says Chow. "Aquaponics is really good as it uses nutrient cycling and water cycling, and can be run on renewable energy."

Each year, 70% of the world's accessible freshwater is used for agriculture, but almost half of this is lost to the environment.

Aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics, needs no fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides, and nothing is discharged into the environment. No nutrients are lost and the water is continually recycled. What's more, aquaponics can be done anywhere, at any scale. Fish and plants can be produced in industrial-scale warehouses, on roofs, even in outer space. This closed loop farming technique could allow urban populations to produce fresh local produce with little or no supply chain, food miles or pollution.

"These are the chickens of the water," says Sara Barrento, a marine biologist and science communicator at the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) at Swansea University, in the UK, as we peek into one of the 30 or so barrels in her dimly lit laboratory. Inside, are baby tilapia, a freshwater fish commonly used in aquaponics. At this age they are just a little bigger than tadpoles. "They'll eat anything."

Next to us water trickles constantly into a tank full of what look like spiky rubber wheels, bobbing about in the water.

"The bacteria sticks to them," explains Rob Smith, CSAR's aquatic systems senior technician, showing me the cleaning system that keeps the water circling back to the fish. A mechanical filter removes the solid fish waste from the water and a bio-filter removes the dissolved waste. Bacteria in the bio-filter convert ammonia, toxic to fish, into nitrate. The water is pumped through plant grow beds, the plants absorb the nutrients, and the water is returned to the fish purified.

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As global food production is on the rise, food waste is soaring. About 40% of all food goes uneaten, but 10% of the world's population are hungry. This edible waste also contributes to climate change, increasing the risk of food insecurity.

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Learning Outcomes 3.6

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Learning outcomes

1.1 Review the personal resources available to them to realise their needs and wants and analyse the extent to which realising their needs and wants may impact on individuals and society

1.9 Debate the ethical and sustainability issues that arise from their consumption of goods and services and evaluate how they can contribute to sustainable development through consumer behaviour

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Learning Outcomes
Students should be able to:
2.4 Distinguish between the rights and responsibilities of employer and employee from a legal, social, environmental and ethical perspective

2.5 Investigate the positive and negative impacts on a community of an organisation from an economic, social and environmental perspective

Learning Intentions:
Students will recognise the rights of employees

Students will understand the responsibilities of employers

Students will explore, by use if a case study, the impact of consumer demand on local communities

Stimulus for class:
- Allow students to discuss the rights of employees versus the responsibilities of employers.

- Students to further develop their understanding of the world around them and the different experiences depending on our life circumstances.

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China Factory Collapse bury all, because bad construction 30 serious injuries & Kills 12 on spot

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Learning Outcomes
1.1, 1.9, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6

Learning Intentions

Students will compare the impact of driving cars compared to using public transport.

Students will debate the pros and cons of a major development within Dublin and the positive and negative effects this can have socially, environmentally and economically.

How will this work

Use the RTE news article to learn about the proposed metro link in Dublin.

Students will debate the pros and cons for the introduction of the Metro Link.

In groups or pairs, students will complete a worksheet outlining the social benefits, environmental benefits and the economic benefits of the introduction of the Metro Link and present their work to the class.

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The Minister for Transport has indicated that Dublin's Metro Link will be delayed and will not be delivered by 2027.

Eamon Ryan said he was still "very confident" the project would go ahead.

However, when it would be delivered depends on the planning process, which he said was a "key uncertainty".

He said: "I think the existing [National Development Plan], if I recall rightly, said it would take five years. It would be completed by 2027. That was never likely to be achievable, I'll be honest.

"The budget forecast for it is likely to be much smaller than the final outcome. There's been a big cost inflation since then, particularly in big infrastructural projects.

"So those indicative numbers weren't ones that we expected to be able to meet."

The Green Party leader was speaking at the opening of a new €10.5m train station in Pelletstown in west Dublin, which is on the Dublin-Maynooth line.

He said the new NDP, which will be published in the first week of October, will show a significant switch towards public transport and the metro project "fits within that".

Mr Ryan also said the projects that are quickest and cheapest will be the ones that get completed first.
Read more
National Transport Authority outlines €3bn underground Metro plan
In 2018, the NTA said that the 26km track should be operational by 2027 if it succeeds in the planning process.

The line will run from Sandyford in south Dublin to beyond Swords in north Dublin and also take in Dublin Airport.

The Metro would travel overground from Sandyford to Charlemont where it will go underground to the airport.

The Luas Green line would shuttle between Brides Glen and Sandyford and from Charlemont to Broombridge.

It would mean a journey time of 20 minutes from the city centre to the airport and 50 minutes from Sandyford to Swords with trains coming every two minutes in each direction.

Meanwhile, the new station at Pelletstown will serve the communities of Ashington and Royal Canal Park.

📣 Welcome to Pelletstown! Our newest station now open - 94 trains daily on weekdays between Pelletstown and Dublin City Centre, and journey time from 12
minutes.
ℹ️ Minor changes to Maynooth / M3 Parkway to Dublin Connolly timetables, full details at https://t.co/r50m24kCsx pic.twitter.com/EYJG31qw6E
- Iarnród Éireann #StaySafe (@IrishRail) September 26, 2021

It is the first new station to open in Ireland for eight years and will see 94 trains stopping each day.

The journey to Dublin city centre will be 12 minutes and 2,000 boardings a day are expected at its peak.

Iarnród Éireann CEO Jim Meade said it is hoped that the station will be electrified for future DART use.

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Dublin Metro Link will not be delivered by 2027 - Ryan

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The Minister for Transport has indicated that Dublin's Metro Link will be delayed and will not be delivered by 2027. Eamon Ryan said he was still "very confident" the project would go ahead. However, when it would be delivered depends on the planning process, which he said was a "key uncertainty".

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Learning Outcomes

1.7 and 1.9

Learning Intentions

I will learn about consumer responsibilities

I will learn about the impact buying imported products rather than buying local produce has on the local economy

I will learn about the the impact buying imported products has on the environment

How it might be used in class?

Debate: What are the potential impacts of buying a multipack of tomatoes etc produced abroad, rather than buying loose produce grown locally from the local greengrocer?

Increased packaging and you potentially won't need the whole multipack so increased food waste also

Impact on economy as money going out of local economy rather than keeping local buy buying from greengrocer

Impact on environment due to transport of the food from abroad

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L.O.

1.9 Debate the ethical and sustainability issues that arise from the consumption of goods and services and evaluate how we can contribute to sustainable development through consumer behaviour

Learning Intentions;

I will learn about the sustainability issues related to being a good consumer

How it might be used in class

Look at the Food Cloud website, watch a video on how they operate, and discuss the contribution they are making to society

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We connect businesses that have surplus food with Charities and Community Groups that need it.

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Learning Outcomes
2.5 positive/negative impacts organisation from economic/social/environmental perspective
2.8 devise/apply marketing mix to promote new/existing product/service

.....

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New Hydrogen Buses on Bus Éireann Route 105X

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Garment workers in Bangladesh face poor working conditions and anti-union tactics by employers including assaults on union organizers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. In the two years since more than 1,100 workers died in the catastrophic collapse of the Rana Plaza factory on April 24, 2013, efforts are underway to make Bangladesh factories safer, but the government and Western retailers can and should do more to enforce international labor standards to protect workers' rights, including their right to form unions and advocate for better conditions.

Story Timeline

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"Whoever Raises Their Head, Suffers the Most": Workers' Rights in Bangladesh's Garment Factories - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

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Garment workers in Bangladesh face poor working conditions and anti-union tactics by employers including assaults on union organizers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

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Learning Outcomes
2.4 and 2.5

Learning Intentions
I will learn about workers rights
I will learn about Employers responsibilities to workers
I will learn about living wage
I will reflect on how my behaviour as a consumer could influence companies behaviours

How might you use stimulus materials
In pairs using a template (Venn) compare the rights and resps of employees and employers
Video examines the lack of a living wage and conditions for those, mainly women in developing countries, who are not receiving a living wage
support resources - question quadrant

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Learning Outcomes:
2.4 2.5

Learning Intentions:

1. I will learn about my rights as an employee

2. I will reflect on the impact of my consumer choices on other employees

3. I will learn about the responsibilities employers have in providing a safe working environment

How it might be used:
-Students can brainstorm before the video what rights they think every employee should be entitled to
- Students should write down what rights are being breached in the video
- Students will investigate how the rights of workers/working conditions  in western and 3rd world countries compares at this current time.

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Walk in My Shoes: Nike's Sweatshops (A Culture Jamming Documentary) | Bonettwork

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Garment workers in Bangladesh face poor working conditions and anti-union tactics by employers including assaults on union organizers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. In the two years since more than 1,100 workers died in the catastrophic collapse of the Rana Plaza factory on April 24, 2013, efforts are underway to make Bangladesh factories safer, but the government and Western retailers can and should do more to enforce international labor standards to protect workers' rights, including their right to form unions and advocate for better conditions.

Story Timeline

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"Whoever Raises Their Head, Suffers the Most": Workers' Rights in Bangladesh's Garment Factories - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

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Garment workers in Bangladesh face poor working conditions and anti-union tactics by employers including assaults on union organizers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

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Learning outcomes
2.4

Learning intentions
I will learn the rights and responsibilities of the employee
I will learn the rights and responsibilities of the employer

Stimulus material
Worksheet above
Video on sweatshops ( students watch the video and identify where the employees rights have not been taken into consideration