Jordan Hoover, December 12, 2024
The average American collects up to 82 lbs of textile waste each year. Altogether, 11.3 million tons of textiles occupy U.S. landfills. While Washington and Lee University has active compost and recycling initiatives, there has yet to be an established program for textile waste. Instead, community members must be proactive and creative in discarding their clothing and fabrics sustainably.
Sustainable Purchasing
According to Jane Stewart, the director of W&L’s Office of Sustainability, the first step to reduce waste, is to be conscious of sustainable purchasing. It can be easy for campus organizations to order too much merchandise and have leftover waste. To combat this, Steward recommends reflecting on what “we cannot buy.”
The school’s sustainable purchasing guidelines currently focus on administrative and department activity. However, student workers at the Office of Sustainability are creating new guidelines for student organizations.
“The core elements are thinking about why you’re purchasing something in the first place, and then thinking about where you can get it. Can you get it used? Can you get it local?” said Stewart.
Since joining W&L a year ago, Costume Shop Manager Elizabeth Wislar has encouraged her department and students to be mindful of purchases. The costume shop, located in the basement of Lenfest Center, creates costumes for theater productions and the dance company.
“We don’t buy new materials. If we do, they’re plant-based organic like hemp, cotton, linen, and rayon,” said Wislar. These organic fabrics are compostable and are easier to break down when thrown away.
Through thrifting, Wislar has also found second-hand fabric at cheaper prices. Recently, she acquired $4,000 worth of fabric for $80 at her local Salvation Army. She plans to use the fabric for dance costumes.
Besides thrifting, students have other opportunities on campus to acquire clothing sustainably. The Student Environmental Action League has hosted a student garage sale during the past two spring semesters.
Fifty-two student and faculty vendors participated last year, said SEAL President Grace Rustay. Instead of throwing or donating their items, vendors bring them to Cannan Green to sell or swap.
“The best part was that students could go into the summer with a new wardrobe or they would get to swap items. We also started conversations on sustainability and fast fashion that had not happened on this campus before,” said Rustay.
Donating To The Local Community
Throughout the year, there are also different opportunities to donate textiles to the community.
At the end of each school year, trucks for Habitat and Humanity are stationed outside of dorms, said Stewart. Students are encouraged to leave their discarded clothing, furniture, and other items in the truck when they move out.
Through the Office of Sustainability, students can also utilize the W&L Exchange, a room in Early Fielding where students can trade and leave items. However, the exchange does not accept clothing because it would become too uncontrollable, according to Stewart. She emphasizes the importance of the Goodwill store in the community.
“We do have a great Goodwill here in town that people in Rockbridge County take advantage of. There are a lot of people in the community who need that resource for good clothes, and we did not want the Exchange to take away from that broader community resource,” said Stewart.
Students are also encouraged to donate their garments to the Closing Closet, run by the Division of Student Affairs. The closet provides students with access to free professional and casual clothing.
However, W&L Sophomore Ka’mya Clark wishes for more diversity in the closet.
“If you need something from there, it’s kind of like you’re going to get it or you won’t. It’s not very diverse in the campus closet. It’s all like one size, and one style,” said Clark.
Recycling Fabrics At The IQ Center
While the IQ Center only accepts donated fabrics, students can use its sewing machines to mend and repurpose their own clothing. Located in the Science Building, the IQ Center began in 2013 to provide students with the tools and technology to problem solve.
Earlier this year, Stewart connected a campus organization with the center to donate misprinted items that would have otherwise been thrown away. However, she notes that she rarely gets these requests.
“I think I’ve only had one or two inquiries about recycling textiles, and they were from faculty and staff,” Stewart said.
Even so, the costume shop regularly donates their textile waste. After making feathers and patches from fabric scraps, Wislar gives her excess material to the IQ Center. These fabrics are then repurposed through student sewing workshops.
During a SEAL-partnered workshop in October, Rustay learned to sew hand and dish towels from fabric scraps.
“Working with the IQ Center is always so much fun, because you get technical experience that otherwise you wouldn’t have had, and it adds more tools to your toolkit so you can continue to promote sustainable behavior,” said Rustay.
As someone who never used a sewing machine before, Rustay says the IQ Center was very patient and helpful. Now she is more confident in her future sewing endeavors.
Rustay encourages others to learn how to sew and repair clothing.
“If you can do that, then that is a massive step towards a more sustainable wardrobe and future for our school,” she said.