Featured in The Straits Times – The Circular Classroom’s Upcycling Journey and Changkat Primary’s 60th Anniversary Project
The Circular Classroom is proud to be featured in The Straits Times!
The Circular Classroom’s Upcycling Journey and Changkat Primary’s 60th Anniversary Project 7 July 2025 The Circular Classroom is proud to be featured in The Straits Times spotlighting our most recent event with Changkat Primary School for its 60th anniversary, showcasing end products of a large scale upcycling project.
With initiative and guidance from The Circular Classroom, the school community upcycled 2,000 old school uniforms into 1,400 handmade items– including cutlery pouches, tissue holders, pencil cases, stuffed owls and more. The products were gifted to guests or auctioned with proceeds going towards the supporting of educational programs.
Every one of Changkat’s 1,000 pupils received a donated uniform to dismantle at home—just like nine-year-old Kaelyn Ore—then brought the fabric scraps back for community sewing sessions. This hands-on project addressed the startling statistic that 86 percent of school uniforms end up as waste, while teaching art, craft and circular-economy principles.
Through these collective efforts, we not only created 1,400 unique keepsakes for visitors and supporters at the July 5 celebration, but also ignited eco-stewardship in the next generation. The Circular Classroom’s vision, founded by Leonie Nagarajan and Zinobia Tinwala, aims to tackle textile waste in schools, where 86% of uniforms are discarded or donated. T
heir collaboration with CKPS began in 2023 and has since grown into a model for circular education. As Nagarajan puts it: ‘Kids wear their uniforms all day– they need to see them as valuable resources.’ Most uniforms are made of polyester, which can last for centuries. This initiative helped students and families rethink waste, value and creativity.
