A Drexel University professor and her students are working together to tackle textile waste, writes Emily Neil for WHYY.
Rachel Higgins, professor of Design and Merchandising and co-founder of Pennsylvania Fibershed, said that her group is starting local to address “a huge clothing waste problem” around the globe.
Last week, student volunteers sorted through bins filled with clothing collected by the Too Good to Toss program. The student-led program aims to minimize trash and waste left by students who have moved out.
“It’s pretty astounding the amount of waste that there is and the amount of stuff that students get rid of,” said Higgins.
Higgins added that textile waste is a “health crisis” as well, as synthetic fibers in clothes release microplastics that are harmful to both the environment and people’s health.
Some of the clothes collected through the group’s initiative will go to local organizations like Our Closet. Meanwhile, others have been earmarked for a new thrift store that was just recently launched by the Design and Merchandising students.
This will create “a circular system for textiles within the Drexel community,” said Higgins.
Proceeds from the sales at the thrift store will go towards a fund supporting the Design and Merchandising program and the Pennsylvania Fibershed.
Read more about the initiative to address textile waste in WHYY.
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