Adithi Sathiyan on Fashion, Education, and Building a Sustainable Future
- Adithi Sathiyan
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
In India, I watched my grandmother reuse glass jars, mend clothes until they were threadbare, and compost food scraps without ever calling it 'sustainability.' In the UAE, I saw consumption at its peak, with towering malls and fast fashion stores promising endless novelty. And in London, I've seen both the urgency of climate action and the energy of young people working collectively to make change...
Adithi Sathiyan is currently a third-year undergraduate student in International Relations. Throughout her degree, she has become a dedicated advocate for sustainable practices within the King’s community, raising awareness of its global relevance while also translating these ideas into meaningful action. Although still at the beginning of her career, she has already built an impressive record of recognition and leadership. She is a recipient of the King’s Edge Champion for Change Award in the Sustainability track, was awarded the Exceptional Contribution Certificate from King’s Volunteering for contributing over 100 hours to an NGO, and received both the AKC and Dean’s Commendation in consecutive years.
Alongside these achievements, she currently serves as a Sustainability Education Assistant at King’s Climate & Sustainability. I first met her through her work on their KEATS module, which provided the opportunity for this exchange. With the hopes of teaching fashion lovers more about the importance of sustainability and how they can get involved, she brings her heartfelt insight to this conversation. In this feature, Adithi reflects on the experiences that have shaped her path towards activism, the evolving meaning of sustainability in different parts of the world, and how awareness can drive broader change.
When I reflect on what inspired me to pursue sustainability, I always return to the small yet powerful lessons I learned while growing up in India, the UAE, and the UK. In each place, I noticed key differences between how people valued their relationships with the environment.
In India, I watched my grandmother reuse glass jars, mend clothes until they were threadbare, and compost food scraps without ever calling it ‘sustainability.’ In the UAE, I saw consumption at its peak, with towering malls and fast fashion stores promising endless novelty. And in London, I’ve seen both the urgency of climate action and the energy of young people working collectively to make change.
These stark contrasts greatly shaped the way I have come to understand sustainability. Which is why, sustainability, to me, is not simply recycling or reducing waste; it is a mindset about recognising the interconnectedness of people, the planet, and our collective purpose. It asks us to shift from a culture of excess and disposability to one of responsibility, creativity, and care.
Why Do You Care About Sustainability?
It combines everything I believe in: equity, empowerment, and imagination. Equity, because we cannot talk about climate without talking about who suffers the most. Empowerment, because every individual, whether a student at King's or a farmer in Uganda, has a role to play. And imagination, because building a sustainable world requires us to rethink the very systems we live in and dare to dream of alternatives.
When I look at the work happening around me - from Colèchi’s fashion activism to King’s student-led projects - I feel inspired, because sustainability is not about sacrificing momentary enjoyment or cutting back on life's pleasures; it is about creating something bigger and better than us, which is to design a future where what we eat, wear, and build reflects care for the entire planet and all its people.
Why Should We Care About Being Sustainable?
Because our lives depend on it. The climate crisis is not an abstract, faraway issue. It is already here, visible in rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, and widening social inequalities. In fact, sustainability is not only about preventing catastrophe but in equal part about building an equitable, healthier, and more meaningful way of living on earth. Being sustainable also pushes us to ask: who makes our clothes, who grows our food, and who is affected by the choices we make?
If sustainability is about survival, then at its heart it is about caring for each other and for the future of the human race.
What Has Your Journey in Sustainability Been Like at King's?
My work at KCL has been fundamental to deepening this passion for sustainability. As a Sustainability Education Assistant, I support the KEATS Climate & Sustainability module (currently open), which reaches over 500 students each year and aims to empower them to take action in their own communities. I help organise events in the Sustainability Seminar Series, respond to student queries, and even promote initiatives to ensure sustainability feels accessible and relevant to everyone, no matter their discipline.
In this position, I also work alongside the Take Action Team, which are a group of student volunteers committed to turning awareness into impact. From running campus campaigns to facilitating workshops, we try to create a culture where sustainability is not a ‘niche’ interest but part of everyday student life. For me, it’s about building a community where students feel confident and supported to create change.
What is Fashion's Role in Sustainability?
This brings me to fashion, an industry that touches all of our lives and is one of the biggest contributors to global emissions, waste, and exploitative labour. Fast fashion thrives on overproduction and overconsumption: clothes made cheaply, bought quickly, and discarded almost instantly. Globally, an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste is created each year, with landfills overflowing with clothes that were often only ever worn a handful of times.
(Read more about it here: Unsustainable fashion and textiles in focus for International Day of Zero Waste 2025)
But fashion also holds enormous potential. It is a medium of self-expression, culture, and creativity. If redirected, fashion could become one of the most powerful vehicles for sustainability by shifting away from extractive systems and towards ones that prioritise circularity, equity, and care.
Circularity:Â Practices that optimise resource use and minimise waste across the entire production and consumption cycle. (McKinsey & Company)
Equity:Â Fairness to ensure all people have access to the resources and opportunities needed for a healthy life, both now and in the future, and that no group bears a disproportionate environmental burden. (Sustainable Environment Online)
Care (Sustainability): providing current healthcare and social care needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, encompassing social, environmental, and economic dimensions. (Health and Care Professions Council)
This is why I was so inspired by my experience volunteering with Colèchi, a London-based company interested in using fashion as a tool to reimagine sustainability. Thanks to King’s Volunteering, I had the chance to be part of their workshops and discussions, where young people, designers, and changemakers came together to think differently about clothing. Colèchi isn’t just about clothes, it’s about stories, identities, and relationships. It showed me how sustainability in fashion is not only about what we wear, but how we connect to the wider systems that shape our lives.
Beyond King's: Global Grassroots Action
My commitment to sustainability doesn’t end at King’s. I also volunteer as the Communications and Fundraising Manager for Thriving Youth Farmers Uganda (TYoFU), a grassroots NGO that empowers rural youth through sustainable agriculture. One of our flagship initiatives is the Fish Pond Project, which provides food security, income, and education for communities in Kampala. This role has taught me the realities of grassroots sustainability: it is not just about carbon footprints or climate pledges, but livelihoods, access to everyday needs, and ultimately, human dignity.
I have coordinated international volunteers, led digital campaigns, and organised live donor events to secure funding for projects that directly change lives. What keeps me going is the reminder that sustainability must be global and local at once. It must be driven by those who are most affected by environmental and social challenges.
Help Support Thriving Youth Farmers Uganda: DONATE – Thriving Youth Farmers Uganda
A Call to Action
As students, we sometimes feel powerless in the face of the climate crisis. But our collective action has an impact. Joining societies, volunteering, participating in initiatives like the KEATS module or King’s Volunteering projects, these are all ways to start. Change doesn’t always have to be big; it can begin with one reused tote bag, one clothes swap, one conversation with a peer. That's why, I encourage everyone reading this to ask: What small step can I take today to make my world more sustainable? It might feel small, but when added together, these actions become transformative.
The End of this Chapter
To conclude, sustainability is not a buzzword. It is a commitment to fairness, creativity, and care for the world we live in. Fashion plays a critical role in this journey, both as a culprit and as a powerful agent of change. Through my experiences with Colèchi, my work at King’s, and my volunteering with TYoFU, I’ve learned that sustainability is both deeply personal and profoundly collective.
Thanks to King’s, I've been giving the opportunity to explore these pathways and experience sustainability not simply as a budding idea, but as a practice strongly rooted in community. As a student, activist, and advocate, I hope to continue inspiring others to see themselves as part of this story as well. Because, ultimately, sustainability isn’t just about surviving the future, it’s about building a future worth living in, and fashion, education, and community will all be central to that transformation.
Written by Adithi Sathiyan
                          Introduction and editing by Co-Fashion Editor Abbey Villasis
