Spring has finally arrived, which means it’s time to do some spring cleaning! To help students clean out their closets in a sustainable way, the Sustainability Office recently hosted the Repair Fair and the Free & For Sale Frenzy. Through the Repair Fair, students were able to bring broken items including electronics, clothing, and bikes to be fixed by community members and other students. At the Free & For Sale Frenzy, students had the opportunity to sell their clothes and buy other students’ clothes, similar to a pop-up consignment shop.
Both events were huge successes, in part due to all the amazing volunteers that helped out. Personally, I got my bike repaired (it was in bad shape after the winter!) and I sold a top and got 3 new shirts! My fellow STA (Sustainability Assistant) Rebecca McCartney was similarly enthusiastic, stating, “It was a wonderful opportunity to revitalize my closet in a closed-circuit way that promotes sustainable consumerism.”
Often times, students are confused that the Sustainability Office is the organization hosting the Repair Fair and Free & For Sale Frenzy. I think this is because people do not always make the connection that repurposing items can be sustainable as they are diverted from the landfill. The main goal of these events is to disrupt the linear consumption economy–the idea that when you buy a new item, you use it until you no longer want/need it or it breaks, and then you throw it away. However, there are so many easy and creative ways to repair and repurpose items, or relocate them to other people who may have a better use for them. As the old saying goes, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” This gets at the heart of the Free & For Sale Frenzy’s purpose, as an old piece of one student’s wardrobe can be a new asset to another student’s.
The Repair Fair was intended to not only help repair students’ items but also teach students how to repair things. The goal is that students learn how to fix various items, or who to reach out to if an item is broken, so they can make more sustainable consumption decisions in the future.
The Sustainability Office hopes to continue hosting both events at least once a year, due to their popular demand. In the meantime, happy spring cleaning!