Avoiding clothing waste
The University’s campus is littered with recycling bins for items like cans, bottles and paper, but some members of The University community say something is missing.
Students and faculty said that, although they can easily recycle at The University, clothing waste deserves the same amount of attention given to traditional forms of recycling.
According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) at www.nrdc.org, the average American tosses 68 pounds of clothing in the trash each year. Instead of tossing old clothes in the garbage, the NRDC advocates that people should donate clothing to a good cause, sell them to a consignment shop or bring them to a textile recycler.
Senior Brandi Thomas said many people do not pay attention to clothing waste because it does not get as much media attention as other environmental issues.
“Other environmental factors are shoved in your face, but clothing waste isn’t as publicized,” Thomas said. “I think it should be, and I admit I don’t know enough about it. For example, how much [clothing] is in landfills or how much of it is harming the environment.”
Michael Cann, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at The University, said in order to get people to change their mindset about clothing waste, they need to be better educated about the issue.
“Somehow, someway, we should be teaching the broad issues of sustainability across The University, one of which is clothing. We have to get it into their minds. Sustainability needs to be a part of the culture here at The University.”
Cann said buying and selling clothing at secondhand shops is a growing trend. The shops allow clothes in good condition to stay in use instead of taking up space in a landfill, but Cann said the cost of clothing sold at secondhand shops may increase as the shops become more popular.
“Why not go to a secondhand shop? The bottom line is it’s all new to you,” Cann said. “I think we now see a lot more of these secondhand shops, and people are shopping there more and more.”
Thomas and her family avoid tossing their old clothes in the garbage. She said they donate old clothes in decent condition to the Salvation Army, but she never considered their donations as a form of recycling.
“You look at it as if you have too much and other people don’t have enough. I have 10 or 12 pairs of jeans in my closet and I wear two of them,” she said. “I look at the amount of clothing I have compared to the amount I wear and it’s a problem, so I try to donate what I don’t use.”
By Danielle Del Prete
News Correspondent
Students and faculty said that, although they can easily recycle at The University, clothing waste deserves the same amount of attention given to traditional forms of recycling.
According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) at www.nrdc.org, the average American tosses 68 pounds of clothing in the trash each year. Instead of tossing old clothes in the garbage, the NRDC advocates that people should donate clothing to a good cause, sell them to a consignment shop or bring them to a textile recycler.
Senior Brandi Thomas said many people do not pay attention to clothing waste because it does not get as much media attention as other environmental issues.
“Other environmental factors are shoved in your face, but clothing waste isn’t as publicized,” Thomas said. “I think it should be, and I admit I don’t know enough about it. For example, how much [clothing] is in landfills or how much of it is harming the environment.”
Michael Cann, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at The University, said in order to get people to change their mindset about clothing waste, they need to be better educated about the issue.
“Somehow, someway, we should be teaching the broad issues of sustainability across The University, one of which is clothing. We have to get it into their minds. Sustainability needs to be a part of the culture here at The University.”
Cann said buying and selling clothing at secondhand shops is a growing trend. The shops allow clothes in good condition to stay in use instead of taking up space in a landfill, but Cann said the cost of clothing sold at secondhand shops may increase as the shops become more popular.
“Why not go to a secondhand shop? The bottom line is it’s all new to you,” Cann said. “I think we now see a lot more of these secondhand shops, and people are shopping there more and more.”
Thomas and her family avoid tossing their old clothes in the garbage. She said they donate old clothes in decent condition to the Salvation Army, but she never considered their donations as a form of recycling.
“You look at it as if you have too much and other people don’t have enough. I have 10 or 12 pairs of jeans in my closet and I wear two of them,” she said. “I look at the amount of clothing I have compared to the amount I wear and it’s a problem, so I try to donate what I don’t use.”
By Danielle Del Prete
News Correspondent
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