Clothes Drive Set For Friday

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the recovery rate for all textiles in the United States was 15.3 percent in 2011, which amounts about 2 million tons of bedding, clothing and other textile materials. The rest was thrown away, filling up landfills and wasting valuable resources. A study done by Wrap, a British government waste body, estimates that the total amount of unused clothing in the United Kingdom is worth 30 billion pounds sterling, around 50 billion US dollars.Exeter students of BIO342, “Human Populations and Resource Consumption,” decided to respond to the mass waste of textiles. Students and faculty will hold a clothing drive this Friday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Agora to spread awareness of the emerging environmental issue.The BIO342 classes have also tackled water and food waste in the past. Last year’s students worked with individual departments—Grill and admissions—to reduce paper usage on campus.This year, though the two science instructors of BIO342, Dr. Sydnee Goddard and Michele Chapman initially organized the event, students handled the majority of planning and advertising required to ensure the drive’s success. The students will promote the event on social media and in an announcement during Friday’s assembly.Exonians plan to set up informative poster boards about different kinds of materials, from man-made fiber such as cotton to animal-based textiles like leather, around the center of Agora. The posters will explain the composition of different fibers and how specific textiles are manufactured.All members of Exeter’s community are welcome to donate clothing, and anyone who contributes will receive a ticket. The ticket will allow participants to choose a different piece of clothing from the drive to take home with them. Donations will be separated based on fiber.Prior to event, Goddard and Chapman highlighted the usage of textiles in the real world for their students. The BIO342 classes recently finished a unit on consumption and the waste produced, and are looking to incorporate their new knowledge into this clothing drive.Chapman wanted the investigation’s results to be available to everyone. “Students in BIO342 have been doing small research projects on sustainability and the textile industry, and we wanted their research to be available to the PEA community,” she said.Upper Shiwhan Kim said that the event will help students become more aware of environmental issues. “Hopefully, through this drive, the school community can learn about what they are wearing and how to be eco-conscious about buying and discarding clothing,” Kim said.As Exonians swap their unwanted clothes for wanted ones, the BIO342 classes hope to seize the opportunity to teach students practical ways to increase the lifespan of used clothing.Kim further expanded on how the clothing drive may help Exeter become more environmentally friendly. “With the knowledge gleaned from the event, students can be more thoughtful with their purchases in clothing and may even check the tags and see the material that makes up a shirt or jacket in the future,” he said.Students in the BIO342 classes, like senior Andrea Conde, thought that people will learn something useful from the experience. “We just want to get people interested in sustainable practices and hopefully learn a little bit about the clothes that we wear everyday because sometimes people don’t think about the choices they make when they go to a mall or something, but there are a lot of environmental impacts that come from that,” she said.Chapman anticipated that the event will the swap will add extend the lifespan of old clothes, and acknowledged Exeter’s existing used clothing non-profit, the Exchange. “We are hoping that by swapping clothing, less will end up just hanging in closets and getting no use or going in the dumpster at the end of the year,” she said. “Of course, whatever clothing isn't claimed at the event will go to the Exeter Exchange.”Chapman added that she was excited for the plans to come together this Friday. “The students are very enthusiastic about the event,” she said. “We hope that we will see a good turn out!”