To combat the effects of fast fashion, the Environmental Club will be hosting a “Trade Day” on October 26 for students to trade or donate new or lightly used clothing. 

“We wanted the students in our community to get an understanding on how to repurpose items, or avoid them automatically being thrown away,” treasurer Alize Quiroz said. “Everyone participates in fast fashion, so instead of these garments ending up in landfills, you could give it to someone else, or someone in need.”

The event is free for students to attend, as long as at least one article of clothing is exchanged or donated. Uno, Jenga and other games will also be available for attendees. 

“A really big difference between this event and others is that we’re offering the opportunity for students to trade items, rather than just donating,” adviser Martha Horner said. “We’re trying to encourage clothes being used for a longer time frame. Even if there are clothes that no one wants, we can donate it to someone who will use it.” 

Fast Fashion Infographic (800 × 1700 px) by Ashley Harris [STUDENT]

Being a smaller club on campus, members hope that this event will promote interest in participation. 

“Members will become educated about a [environmental] topic, and then do a related activity to bring awareness to the student body,” member Carmen Ruiz said. “We haven’t done many [school-wide] activities in the past, and this is the first ‘big’ activity that we’ll be doing. It’s something that we think the student body will be interested in since we have a fashion program, and many others are generally interested in fashion.”

Fast fashion contributes to 10% of global carbon emissions, and Gen Z is one of the most active generations in promoting sustainability. 

“Our generation has been a lot more involved in environmental awareness, and we speak out about past and current issues harming our environment, and the policies that could change that,” Ruiz said. “Bringing any form of awareness is really our main goal. Students seeing clothes not being picked up will hopefully be a visual reminder of the effects of fast fashion.” 

Any clothes that are left at the end of the two hour event will be donated to Project 150.

“I just hope to see a lot of students and clothing coming into our club,” Quiroz said. “People will be coming together in our community, with different backgrounds or different styles. As much as I’d like to see interaction, I want to see garments go to the homeless shelter so those in need don’t have to spend more money on clothes.