These students are saying no to fast fashion, and yes to secondhand shopping.
Students at the Orange County School of the Arts hosted a pop-up thrift shop on campus on Friday, March 24, hoping to raise awareness of the harm the fast-fashion industry can have on the environment.
Now in its second year, OCSA Thrift is the brainchild of seniors Jocelyn Wang and London San Luis, who are best friends and co-student body presidents at the school.
The one-day thrift store invited OCSA students and faculty members to donate used clothing, accessories and books and then go shopping from the donations. More than 1,000 diverse items were collected by members of the National Honor Society, the California Scholarship Federation and the OCSA Leadership Class. Everything was individually priced, averaging around $4.
Proceeds will go to environmental nonprofits, the Wildlife Conservation Society and Fashion Revolution. Any unsold items were donated to a local women’s shelter.
Wang said the event promotes environmentally sustainable thrift shopping to their peers, making it cool to wear reused clothes and buy more used things. Thrifting also increases the lifespan of items, she said, “instead of buying into fast micro-trends that quickly build up in landfills.”
Studies show the fashion industry accounts for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions and about 20% of global waste water in a year. Conversely, event organizers said, sustainable fashion “comes from ethical sources; minimizes waste, pollution and carbon emissions.”
Free zines were also given out to teach students “how to consume consciously with the earth in mind,” Wang said.
Last year’s event sold around 500 items and raised about $3,000.
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