Friendly Fashion

The EcoCreators Design Club meets at least once a week. It’s based out of Diamond View Elementary School, in Greenacres, Florida. Kids learn about science topics and get creative. They turn plastic waste into one-of-a-kind outfits.

Availa Johnson, 9, started the club in 2024. She wanted to find a solution to plastic pollution. Availa told TIME for Kids she was inspired by ocean animals. “I learned how plastic materials were harming them,” she says. “I wanted to help.”

On April 22, EcoCreators will share its designs at Diamond View’s Earth Day fashion show. Syndie White is the school’s STEM program director. “This will be our biggest year,” she says. “Everyone wants to be a part of it.”

Trash to Treasure

Oceans cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface. They’re home to marine animals. But oceans are littered with plastic trash, from big bottles to tiny flecks called microplastics. Some microplastics are invisible without a microscope.

Availa has seen plastic waste on beaches. “It hurts my heart,” she says. “I just pick up all the trash.” But sometimes, she adds, “I think the plastic bags are jellyfish.” Marine animals make the same mistake. A bag can look like prey. An animal might eat it and get sick.

Kids in the EcoCreators club learn how to reduce plastic waste. Plastic items in the fashion show come from collection bins in classrooms and from a nonprofit group. “I just want to teach people that we save materials,” Availa says. “We can make them into something new.” 

Making Waves

In 2025, Action for Nature honored Availa as an International Young Eco-Hero Award winner. In a statement, the group called her “a true innovator with a flair for fashion and a heart for the planet.”

MAKING WAVES Availa competes at the 2024 Future Wavemakers event, in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she’s named one of the winners.

Availa is proud of the impact she’s made at Diamond View. EcoCreators started with just her and a few friends. Today, the club has about 30 members. There’s a waiting list to join, White says: “[The club has] grown from something really small in her heart to something just so big.”

IMAGINE THAT Availa sketches fashion ideas during an EcoCreators Design Club meeting.

Availa now wants to expand her efforts to Connecticut, where she moved last summer. “I am starting an art class soon and planning on pitching my plastic fashion idea,” she says.

“She’s bold,” says Availa’s mom, Rachel Cimmino. “She sees a need, and she runs with it.” Availa’s mission at Diamond View continues. She won’t be at this year’s Earth Day fashion show. But White hopes Availa will visit the club virtually.

“I just like helping the world,” Availa says. By mixing her talent for fashion with her love for animals, she’s doing her part.

Inspired?

Let Availa’s story inspire you to make a positive difference to the planet. Click below for ideas on protecting the environment.