The Day I Almost Didn’t Deliver My SEA Change Pitch
Have you ever had one of those days where everything goes exactly as planned? Neither have I.
So let’s talk about the day I didn’t pitch
Columbus Fashion Academy at the
SEA Change Final Showcase. Because, in the spirit of Opposite Day, let’s flip the narrative and tell the version that never happened.
The “Un-Pitch” That Changed Everything
Picture this: a crowded room, an eager audience, a panel of seasoned judges. The energy is electric. But in this alternate reality, I don’t walk up to the microphone. I don’t tell them about the
global health crisis created by fashion—the environmental, mental, and social damage that fast fashion has unleashed on communities like ours.
I don’t tell them how, at
12 years old, I was already questioning fashion’s impact while making costume jewelry as my first business. How my
Brazilian roots shaped my passion for sustainability before “sustainability” was a buzzword.
I don’t explain how Columbus Fashion Academy is turning
waste into wonder,
teaching kids that old clothes aren’t trash, they’re a blank canvas, and proving that
fashion doesn’t have to be the enemy—it can be the revolution.
I don’t tell them that
over 50,000 pieces of clothing have been diverted from landfills through our programs. That we are creating a
generation of changemakers who are learning to mend, repurpose, and challenge the status quo of disposable fashion.
Instead, in this “opposite” version, I stay silent. I let fashion remain exactly what it has been—a machine of excess, a system of waste, a business model built on exploitation. But that’s not what happened.
Fashion Needs an Upside Down Revolution
On that stage last Fall, I did speak. I did pitch. I did tell the world that fashion has been built backwards and that we are flipping it on its head.
Instead of fast, we are teaching slow. Instead of waste, we are embracing repair. Instead of exclusivity, we are building an
intergenerational, community-powered movement where everyone belongs.
And guess what?
They listened.
They saw what we see: that fashion is more than what we wear. It is
a tool for empowerment, a force for sustainability, a way to rebuild confidence in people who feel invisible.
This is why we continue. This is why we fight for a
fashion industry that heals instead of harms.
Because the dark side of fashion? It’s real. We’ve seen it. But we’ve also
seen the light that emerges when creativity, sustainability, and community collide.
And we are just getting started. Follow us and stay connected.
Do you agree? Please share the message and mission. It takes a village but we can do it together!
Kids are watching and its our responsibility as adults, as parents, as educators to do fashion for good!
