A Global Platform Uniting Fashion, Climate Justice, and Human Rights — From the United Nations to the Sidewalk
Built in partnership with United Nations Human Rights, RHRN Fashion debuts with a global Oxford Saïd Business School panel on “Fashion, AI and Trust” on June 5 — and a grassroots Re-Purpose Fashion pop-up in Boulder on May 30, presented by Apocalypse, Boulder’s iconic vintage & second hand store, inviting the public to up-cycle, stencil, and wear the movement.
BOULDER, CO — Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance(RHRN) today announced the launch of RHRN Fashion, a global platform built in partnership with United Nations Human Rights to advance climate justice and human rights through fashion. Guided by Executive Director Nell Tercek — a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and Politecnico di Milano in Italy — RHRN Fashion brings together craft and innovation to help set a new standard for responsible fashion, elevating a new generation of designers and creators redefining the industry with transparency, responsibility, and care for both people and planet.
What makes RHRN Fashion distinct is where it operates. The platform moves fluently between two altitudes: the institutional treetops — shaping policy, dialogue, and narrative alongside United Nations Human Rights, Oxford’s Saïd Business School, and global cultural leaders — and the grassroots sidewalk, where independent designers, community organizers, and everyday participants turn ideas into action through local pop-ups, repair circles, and creative reuse.
RHRN Fashion is designed so that a conversation held at Oxford’s Saïd Business School can, within days, be lived out on a street corner anywhere in the world — and so that a garment stenciled at a farmers market can, in turn, inform the conversations happening at the UN.
RHRN Fashion positions fashion not as an industry alone, but as a cultural and ethical system capable of shaping behavior, influencing global narratives, and accelerating systemic change. The platform will debut through two integrated activations — one institutional, one deeply local — in the lead-up to UN World Environment Day on June 5.
“Every garment tells a story — of who made it, what it cost the planet, and who chooses to wear it,” said Nell Tercek, Executive Director of RHRN Fashion. “RHRN Fashion is about rewriting that story at every altitude: at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, where we are convening the global conversation on fashion, AI, and trust; and in Boulder, where a stencil and a secondhand shirt can become a declaration of values. If you can repurpose a shirt, you can help repurpose an industry.”
At the Treetops: The Oxford Saïd Business School Panel — “Fashion, AI and Trust”
As a flagship session of the 2026 Right Here, Right Now Global Youth Climate Summit — hosted annually by Oxford’s Saïd Business School and United Nations Human Rights — the Oxford Saïd Business School panel will be broadcast globally on June 5, examining how artificial intelligence is reshaping fashion and the implications for trust, transparency, and human rights.
The 2026 summit, themed around climate technology, AI, and human rights, is co-hosted by universities worldwide. It provides a natural and urgent context for fashion as a critical lens through which trust, transparency, and accountability can be explored at scale. The inaugural summit convened participants from 55 countries, establishing it as a leading global platform for youth engagement at the intersection of climate, technology, and human rights.
At the Grassroots: Re-Purpose Fashion Pop-Up — Boulder, May 30
If Oxford’s Saïd Business School is where the conversation is set, Boulder is where it comes to life. On Saturday, May 30, 2026, RHRN Re-Purpose Fashion — led by Allyson Sirois — will activate a pop-up in collaboration with UN Human Rights, Oxford’s Saïd Business School, CU Boulder, and community partners. Presented by Apocalypse, Boulder’s iconic vintage & second hand store, the pop-up invites the public to experience circular fashion firsthand — and to wear the movement.
Attendees will be invited to:
- Buy or bring a garment — anything secondhand, thrifted, or already in their closet.
- Upcycle it on the spot with help from designers and Re-Purpose volunteers — repair, reshape, reimagine.
- Stencil “rePURPOSE” onto the piece — a visible badge of values, and a signal of belonging to a growing global movement.
- Enter the week-long repurposed design competition, with winners announced at the RHRN Global Youth Climate Summit on June 5 — a direct bridge from local action to global recognition.
The premise is simple: fashion can thrive without exploitation. What we wear becomes not only an expression of identity, but a declaration of values. By stenciling rePURPOSE onto a reused garment, participants aren’t just wearing a logo — they’re joining a movement where sustainability is beautiful, practical, and within reach of everyone.
"The fashion industry has spent decades telling people their closet isn't enough. We're doing the opposite — by using a shirt you already own and showing you how to breathe new life into it, we can be the catalyst that leads everyone to a bigger purpose. The 'rePURPOSE' mark is how you recognize each other in a crowd. When the gears start turning, that's when the movement starts." said Allyson Sirois, Director of RHRN rePurpose Fashion.
How to Join the Movement
Wherever you are — Brooklyn, Boulder, or Bangalore — the movement is local everywhere. Participation is simple and open to all:
- Buy secondhand. Choose upcycled over new.
- Repurpose it. Repair, restyle, or reimagine what you already own.
- Badge it. Stencil or paint “rePURPOSE” onto your garment and wear your values.
- Share it. Follow @rhrn_fashion on Instagram and @rhrn.fashion on TikTok, and tag your pieces #rePURPOSE.
About the Right Here, Right Now Global Youth Climate Summit
The Right Here, Right Now Global Youth Climate Summit — hosted annually by Oxford’s Saïd Business School and United Nations Human Rights on World Environment Day — is the flagship convening of a global movement that redefines climate action as a human rights imperative. The inaugural summit brought together participants from more than 55 countries and activates youth leadership at the intersection of climate, technology, and justice.
About RHRN Fashion
Right Here, Right Now Fashion (RHRN Fashion), developed in partnership with United Nations Human Rights, harnesses the power of fashion to advance climate justice and human rights. The platform brings together designers, makers, and innovators who are redefining fashion through sustainability, transparency, and respect for people and planet. Through its applied initiative, Re-Purpose Fashion, it advances a circular model grounded in repair, reuse, and reinvention — transforming fashion from an industry of environmental impact into a force for equity, creativity, and systemic change.
MEDIA CONTACT
info@righthererightnow.global
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