Clothing is responsible for 7.7 percent of landfills and contributes 1.7 million tons of CO2 emitted annually, accounting for 10 percent of global greenhouse gases. A culture of waste and fast fashion has taken the world by storm and hit America especially hard with the average American throwing out 81.5 pounds of clothing every year. In a desperate attempt to combat this destructive norm people, as said best by Macklemore, are headed to the thrift shop. The Sustainable Fashion Club, founded earlier this year by junior Jessie Dean, is a place for students to engage in sustainable fashion practices such as clothing swaps and upcycling. It also creates a community for people who want to do their part in protecting the planet and look great while doing it.

“I was always passionate about the environment and how little things can impact it and I also know that I and all the people I surround myself with really like fashion. I realized how much of an impact that it makes and so I wanted to start a club to bring more awareness to the school and people my age,” Dean explained.

The club was inspired by the increase in activities such as thrifting among high schoolers. While it became a trend in 2012 with Macklemore’s hit song, Thrift Shop, it once again became a trend in recent years due to social media such as TikTok. While there has been an increase in sustainable fashion such as thrifting it has been accompanied by a rise in fast fashion with brands such as Shein.

“More people definitely should [thrift] because, if you think about how many pieces of clothing are already on this earth and how many are currently being made again, the more you buy from fast fashion, the more they’re going to make. You can find really cute stuff secondhand, try it out because you’ll find some good stuff,” senior Genna Moss explained.

They host events at their monthly meetings such as jewelry making and up-cycling days, which senior Annabelle Lewis explained are her favorite. These activities encourage up-cycling and slow fashion among students both at school and at home.

“My favorite part about the sustainable fashion club is that we’re all learning to be sustainable. And I think that not only are we going to have way cooler outfits after this, but we’re going to be helping the environment,” Moss said.

More and more students are pursuing re-selling as a career option as apps like Depop become increasingly popular. These apps allow students to support the sustainable fashion movement while making some extra cash to buy “your grandma’s clothes.” Three students in the club have re-selling accounts or sell at events such as vintage markets.

“It’s definitely becoming more popular and I think it promotes a great sense of community. I think it is because people are starting to realize the benefits of reselling their clothes,” Dean said.

Over the course of two months, the club has seen great success with “30-40 students at each meeting,” Dean explained. They are far from finished and have many more activities planned such as a fashion show and trips to the thrift shop. The club is planning on running for the rest of this year and into the 2024-2025 school year.

“If people want to join, it would be really fun because you not only meet a bunch of new people, but it’s also such an amazing opportunity to learn about fashion and its environmental and cultural impacts. So it’s really cool and you should join,” Dean said.

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