Onsite - Learn & Explore: Sustainable Fashion – Earth Day

Tuesday, April 15, 2025. 

Fashion who? What? Where? When? Why?

Who makes clothing? Who wears clothes? What are our clothes made of? Where are our clothes made? When do we wear our clothes? Why do we wear clothes? Why should we care? Fashion is one of the top leading industries that pollute our planet. How do we understand sustainable fashion and create sustainable solutions with our fashion choices.

Join us at ROM as we explore Sustainable Fashion through textiles, environmental lifestyle and cultural understanding.

With guest artist Marta XI Balam

Marta Orellana (Maya K’iché, Petén Guatemala), the designer of Ix Balam, explores culture, photography, and sociology in her fashion. Orellana contributes to community development and empowerment, currently focusing on mental health and addictions programs at Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society.

The IXÖQ collection by IX BALAM pays tribute to the remarkable women of Iximuleu (Guatemala) who resisted oppression and colonial constraints. Using mixed textiles and vibrant embroidery on black lace, the collection symbolizes rebellion and the fight for women’s rights and safety, embodying their enduring spirit and impact on freedom and self-expression.

Learning Goals

• Making connections to everyday life
• Understanding process of fashion industry and how this affects our environment Ei. Climate change
• Understand cultural artistic differences

Curriculum Links

• Depending on the examples the ROM educator decides to focus on, curriculum links may include:
• Grade 3-5: Visual Arts
• D2. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing
• D3. Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts
• Grade 3-5: Science and Technology > C1. Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World
• Grade 3-5: Language -> grade 5 -> A3 > C2 – COMPREHENSION strategies

Program content and availability subject to change.

Booking Information

• Advance booking is required.
• President's Choice School Entrance hours - Tuesdays to Fridays – 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Museum Hours – 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Bookings are for Ontario-based groups only.  Groups may include schools, educational groups, daycares, and camps with children/youth aged 18 or younger.
• NEW! In keeping with standard practices at major attractions, ROM has implemented metal detectors and mandatory bag checks at all entrances to the Museum. To ensure quick entry, we recommend that visitors bring a minimum of belongings for their visit. More information on prohibited items can be found here.
• Booking includes access to all permanent displays.
• Review the ROM’s Visitor Guide for the latest gallery information and closures.
• All groups of children and youth must be accompanied by their teachers/adult chaperones at all times.