Fast Fashion 101 Seminar Recap:

Created by Lola Lancaster 

Students for Sustainability presented a Fast Fashion 101 Seminar at their February 8th meeting. Students learned the standard definition of fast fashion, as well as many of the ways those production practices cause water and soil pollution, fossil fuel usage, carbon emissions, and landfill waste. The presentation also discusses the poor pay and working conditions that employees fast fashion companies face, as well as which companies qualify as fast fashion. Students talked about ways to buy ethically, such as purchasing locally and secondhand, as well as not overbuying. Students dissected sustainability statements released by some of the biggest fast fashion companies and learned how to detect green washing from brands. One of the highlights was using the sustainability ranking tool on the website “GoodOnYou”, a page that provides ratings on the sustainability of clothing brands and breaks down how they contribute to the environment. Everyone offered up different brands, good and bad, to see what their scores looked like and why. Students also shared ways that they reuse and upcycle clothes and were taught some new ways to reuse and donate clothes that no longer serve them.

The presentation can be viewed here.

With the 2022 Goodwill, not Landfill campaign we collected over 3,800 pounds of donated items from students during the Spring 2022 move out. By donating items and clothes to Goodwill, students diverted thousands of pounds from being sent to landfills for disposal. From May 2 to May 9, donation boxes from our sustainable community partner, Goodwill, were placed in the lobbies of the five residence halls (Coronna, Bonin, Baker, Huger, and Agnes Edwards).

Spring is back and so are our flowers! The urban prairie is blooming again and now joining them is an informational sign where you can learn more about what the urban prairie is doing. Stop by and see more in between Madison and Oliver Hall.