Clothing Drive
Fast fashion has been a growing industry for the past couple of decades, and consequently, there have been many concerns raised by this mass increase in consumption by the public. Not only does this industry support forced and inhumane labor, but it also reinforces the idea of consumerism. As a way to combat this issue, I decided to host a clothing exchange with my environmental club. This would support the idea to reuse and recycle clothing rather than throw them away.
In a meeting prior to the exchange, I presented the detriments the clothing industry has on the environment, including the build of waste in landfills as well as the immense environmental costs of transportation involved in the fast fashion industry. We spent this meeting discussing brands known to be unsustainable as well as ways individuals can reduce consuming unsustainable clothing. The clothing exchange was planned for the week after. At this time, the other club officers and I got an official date and permission from our sponsor to hold the exchange in their room. Additionally, we had planned to donate any leftover clothes to Afghan refugees in Virginia. The biggest challenge we had, however, was the timing. Due to the exchange being the week before Thanksgiving break and having only one week as notice, we were not expecting a huge turnout like our last clothing exchange. We tried our best to advertise within the time we had for the exchange by sending many update emails, promoting on our school’s morning announcements, and putting up flyers.
As expected, we did not have as many attendees as our previous clothing exchange. About 15 people participated, and fortunately, it was a meaningful event for those who attended. Everyone left with items they were excited about, and we were very pleased to donate 2 full boxes of clothing to Afghan refugees. For events similar to this in the future, I would plan the timing better for the exchange by giving ample time to notify members of our club and other classmates in order to have a larger turnout.
Project Year: 2021
Completed by: Juju Lee
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