From a pilot collection in a handful of schools to a nationwide initiative engaging thousands of students and hundreds of educational institutions, “Clean Up Your Closet” (“Zrób porządek w szafie”) is an example of how a simple idea can become an effective environmental communication tool. Together with the Eco Textil Foundation, we created a program that combines education, local engagement, and consistent media presence — a program that not only changes habits but builds awareness of responsible consumption.
About the Campaign
“Clean Up Your Closet” is a nationwide educational and social campaign run by the Eco Textil Foundation, which operates alongside the Wtórpol textile sorting facility. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the environmental impact of clothing overproduction and to promote textile reuse. The campaign is directed primarily at primary and secondary schools, which become local collection hubs for unwanted clothing and textiles.
The project launched in 2020 and has since become one of the most recognizable educational environmental initiatives in Poland. Its strength lies in the simplicity of its message: everyone can meaningfully contribute to protecting the environment, starting with their own wardrobe. Schools from across the country can participate. Students, parents, and teachers collect clean, unwanted clothes, shoes, backpacks, and household textiles. The collected items are delivered to Wtórpol’s sorting facility, where they are processed. Some are returned to circulation, receiving a second life.
The Challenge
The clothing industry is one of the largest contributors to CO₂ emissions and waste production. In Poland, the average resident generates several kilograms of textile waste per year, of which less than one percent is reused. In 2020, the topic of clothing recycling was still underrepresented in public debate, and environmental education in schools rarely touched on circular economy issues.
The motivation behind the campaign was not merely to collect as many clothes as possible but to build awareness that every item in a wardrobe has value and that discarding it prematurely harms the environment. Another challenge was transforming a simple collection drive into an attractive educational tool that would engage students, schools, and local governments. The campaign, therefore, needed to combine educational, social, and environmental aspects while maintaining consistent messaging despite its growing scale and the diverse participants nationwide.
A pivotal moment arrived with the spring 2025 edition — the first to take place after new regulations on textile waste disposal came into force. This directly prompted an expansion of campaign efforts and intensified educational outreach to both children and adults about the new rules and the consequences of improper textile disposal. Although the changes naturally increased the campaign’s visibility, they also placed greater responsibility on organizers to communicate the regulatory updates clearly.
Campaign Execution
Our communication strategy was built on three pillars: education, community engagement, and media promotion.
- Education and teaching: In collaboration with the Foundation, we developed educational materials for schools, including posters, brochures, and lesson plans focused on the environmental impact of the textile industry. These materials became the foundation for lessons on responsible consumption.
- Community engagement: Each school received support in organizing its collection drive, including bags, informational posters, and, when possible, clothing containers provided by the Foundation. As the campaign grew, additional assistance was offered with coordination and collection logistics. During the most recent edition, a webinar was held for parents and teachers on how to talk to children about circular economy principles, hosted by eco-educator Aleksandra Włodarczyk. Thanks to these efforts, the initiative became a community-wide event uniting children, teachers, parents, and local institutions around a shared goal.
- Media and PR: Effective communication in national and local media played a crucial role. Since 2021, the campaign has been covered primarily by national environmental platforms such as Zielony Onet, Portal Komunalny, and EkoGuru, as well as numerous regional news outlets (including Calisia.pl, Express Bydgoski, and Echo Dnia).
The campaign developed cyclically, typically including two editions per year: spring and autumn. Each edition involved press releases announcing the start of enrollment, mid-campaign updates, and final results. Every new edition brought an increase in the number of institutions and participants.
The evolution of the campaign is also reflected in the collection model — the first edition in 2020 was a pilot, and by 2022, the campaign had expanded nationwide. Media outlets regularly highlighted concrete numbers: tons of collected clothing, increases in participants and schools, and unique stories such as the involvement of a school for children with disabilities.
Results
From a communication perspective, the project is an example of effectively building social awareness through practical action:
- Scale and outcomes: From 2020 to 2025, seven editions of the campaign were conducted. Each year saw growth in both participants and collected textiles. The spring 2025 edition was the most impactful: 66 institutions and 19,000 students collected a total of 81,523 kg of clothing. Earlier editions yielded between 6 and 50 tons of textiles.
- Media visibility: Over five years, nearly 150 articles appeared in local media and several major publications on national platforms. Coverage in outlets such as Zielony Onet, Polskie Radio 24, Radio Czwórka, and regional pages of Nasze Miasto strengthened the campaign’s image as an effective social initiative with measurable results.
- Educational and social impact: In each edition, schools organized lessons and workshops on recycling and sustainable fashion. Part of the funds raised from collected items was allocated to purchasing rehabilitation equipment for people with disabilities, further reinforcing the campaign’s social dimension. Participants felt that their actions had a direct impact on others, which encouraged ongoing engagement and record-breaking participation in subsequent editions.
- Reach and longevity: Over five years, the campaign reached hundreds of educational institutions across Poland. It also became a recognizable part of the school eco-calendar. The regular scheduling of editions helped maintain continuity in media coverage and local community discussions — something rarely achieved in educational campaigns of this type.
