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More relevant than ever is the burning question posed on Macklemore’s 2012 “Thrift Store”: “Hey, Macklemore. Can we go thrift shopping?”
Loyola students’ desire to shop sustainably collides with the harsh reality of being a college student on a budget. With sustainable brands rising in value and fast fashion becoming incredibly affordable, it can be hard to know which is the right path to follow – but why should young adults have to choose between saving the planet and buying new clothes?
Professor Sarah Koo, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Business Management, addressed the economic, social and environmental components of sustainability in business. Sustainability often comes with a price point, Ku says, making it difficult for students on a budget to shop ethically.
“If products in the social economy are non-renewable from poor energy sources or poor labor practices, this is really a matter of social justice,” he said. “But what should you do as an individual consumer?”
Consumers are prioritizing budget-friendly options for clothing, says Ku. First-year theater major Dean Morgan offers the easiest option for those in the low-income bracket of fast fashion.
“Fashion is not a very accessible thing,” says 18-year-old Morgan. “Sometimes fast fashion is all you can buy.”
When looking for pieces to add to his closet, Morgan says he prefers to buy from companies with an ethical, sustainable track record. Fashion majors have recently begun to learn how to recycle old clothes to try and recycle them. He is not the only one who has started to realize the importance of sustainability in fashion.
Students in Brother José Martín Montoya Dura’s environmental sustainability class are getting to learn more about the ins and outs of the fashion industry. Montoya, an environmentalist at Loyola, said he is teaching his students to question where and how their clothes are produced.
Montoya student Dasha Musil, an international business major, said her eyes were opened by the Alex James film “Slowing Down Fast Fashion,” a class about a lesson about the unethical practices of the fashion industry.
Students see the people behind the clothes: the faces of men, women and children forced to work in appalling conditions for little pay.
After showing this grim reality, the film presents several sustainable alternatives to not supporting the corrupt business of fast fashion. Frugality is one of the more popular options in the film, something some Loyola students are already heavily involved in.
“We often associate sustainability [being] Dear, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” I said.
Saving and splurging are low-cost options for buying new items to add to your closet.
Upcycling involves creative reuse of clothing, such as painting new designs on old jeans. Thrift is about buying used clothes and giving them new life. Sustainable fashion experiences like these allow students to express themselves through their clothes without breaking the bank.
Sydney Shimizu, a first-year public health major, enjoys checking out the Goodwill bin to save closets. Her unique style can be attributed to her open-mindedness about sourcing clothes from off-the-beaten-path stores on Michigan Avenue.
There are no limits to Shimizu’s creativity in choosing her next outfit.
“My clothes change all the time,” says the 18-year-old. “who am i? Who am I calling now? Who am I today?’ It can be anything, that’s fun. “
Schmizu isn’t the only student experimenting with fashion at Loyola. Freshman Stella Jensen said she prefers to buy second-hand rather than new because of the environmental benefits and access to non-swimming clothing.
Having the ability to save and find special rooms is something Jensen really likes. The communication studies major said her approach to personal style is more trend-oriented than others.
“Instead of trying to follow trends, I try to think about fashion as an art project,” Jensen said.
Both Shimizu and Jensen use thrift and second-hand shopping as a creative outlet to reuse clothes and make their style unique.
Such innovation will be necessary to harvest the unused potential in materials that are considered “waste” such as Cu. Loyola’s own Paul Schnell, a senior advertising and public relations major, has a creative solution to an annual problem — the Halloween costume.
Schnell said he wanted to use the Halloween Challenge at Loyola to leverage the reach of social media and create a campaign to break the habit of single-use pieces of clothing.
“I want to spread awareness about fast fashion and our own consumption, at the same time, like, I want to develop action across our campus,” Schnell said. “At the end of October, people tend to buy a lot of clothing and apparel at the end of the year, which is to reduce consumption,” Schnell said.
Sustainable procurement requires a change in culture and practices. Creating a world that prioritizes consumption reduction, garment longevity and clothing’s ethical background is key to continued sustainability. From classrooms, to thrift, to campus-wide initiatives, Loyola students are creating a world where sustainable fashion is the only solution.
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