Junior Bella Kamplain, one of the student directors for Sustain Mizzou, has been a member of the program since her freshman year, but she has fielded a passion for sustainability longer than that. As an environmental science major, Sustain Mizzou, a program committed to educating students about sustainable practices, helps to fuel her passion for sustainability events.
From biweekly beekeeping to gardening days on campus, Sustain Mizzou hosts a variety of different activities around campus for students to get involved.
Kamplain works alongside co-director senior Lydia Reed to organize and plan the events the program puts together.
“It’s something that I’m really passionate about,” Kamplain said. “It’s something that I want to do for the rest of my life. It gave me an opportunity to see the behind the scenes of planning sustainability events.”
Because October is sustainability month, both student directors wanted to give students an opportunity to participate in their program. The Oct. 19 clothing swap in the MU Student Center educated students on fast fashion and better alternatives for new clothing pieces.“Our main goal with it is to promote more sustainable clothing practices,” Kamplain said prior to the event. “Instead of throwing stuff out or leaving stuff in your closet that you’re not really wearing, give students an opportunity to bring stuff [in] and get some new pieces.”
The event provided an excellent opportunity to comb through your closet and find clothes you no longer wear, while also sprucing up your winter wardrobe for free even if you don’t have anything to donate.
“Obviously, donating clothes is an easy way to be involved, but for students who may not have those resources to donate, the best way to be involved with the clothing swap is to come,” Reed said. “We try to make it open and inclusive for all with [the] sizes, types of clothing we provide [and] who can come.”
The sustainability office, located on the second floor of the MU Student Center in room 2507P, accepted donations prior to the event during office hours.One of Sustain Mizzou’s goals with this event is to educate students about how they can work to fight fast fashion in Columbia. Roni Bercherer, Sustain Mizzou’s supervisor, works alongside Reed and Kamplain to create events that are interactive and educational for students.
“You’re serving your community by not putting your clothes in a landfill,” Becherer said. “It’s also educational because you’re learning about fast fashion; you’re learning about the impact that your clothes have on the environment.”
The clothing swap leaned into Sustain Mizzou’s mission of educating students on ways they can be more sustainable in their everyday lives. From giving students an opportunity to donate clothes to putting together garden work days, Sustain Mizzou is working to make campus a more sustainable place. This clothing swap specifically aimed to fight fast fashion while also making a difference in our environment.
“We are really good at making things efficient,” Becherer said. “When we make clothes, we found a way to make it really efficient, so there’s a lot of clothes out there. Fast fashion’s role [is] that they’re making a lot of clothes, [and] they’re going to people in such a fast way that there’s no great way to utilize those clothes after they’re done being used by that first person.”
The clothing swap provided an opportunity to combat this model of clothing production, while showcasing how little steps in the right direction still move towards a more sustainable future.
“A lot of times, people think one person can’t make a difference,” Reed said. “But it’s really important to understand your impact on the world and understand [that] buying from fast fashion [stores] is not ethical in multiple ways. I think understanding your impact on the environment and how you can be more sustainable is important.”
Edited by Lucy Valeski | lvaleski@themaneater.comCopy edited by Emily Rutledge | erutledge@themaneater.com