Summer 2023 was clocked in by NASA as the hottest three-month stretch ever recorded–it was nearly half a degree hotter than any other summer since the first reliable records in 1880.
According to the state’s climatologist, John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas suffered the second-hottest summer in its recorded history.
In the midst of the record-breaking heat, people have become more aware of the environmental effects of their lifestyle choices, from buying new clothes to throwing out significant amounts of waste.
One of those people is Nancy Goldberg.
Goldberg and the Student Store are trying to make a change for the better, taking the school one step closer to eliminating waste production with the new repurposed clothing program.
She recycled the idea from her son’s college, initially finding out about the handcrafted clothing company, Refried Apparel, in an email from the University of Richmond about repurposed items. Refried is known for buying and repurposing the plastic pieces of icons such as Fenway Park’s famous Green Monster and old super bowl signs back into use as duffel bags. They fuse pieces of old, unused clothing together into something new by stitching and patching them up. Their mission is to turn surplus clothing into sustainable, handcrafted apparel, with no two items alike.
“[Refried] are buying things from places that are just gonna throw them away, where they’ll sit in a landfill somewhere,” Goldberg said, “and repurposing them so that people can use them.”
By reusing clothes, the student store aims to both save money and sell unique pieces of clothing to students and their families. The program presents an easy way to help the environment while receiving one-of-a-kind school clothing in return.
According to Goldberg, it’s been a massive success. The Student Store’s stock of Refried clothing sold out within a week, and another shipment of used and donated clothing is on its way to their warehouse, ready to receive new life.
And along with all their environmental benefits, the clothes are very affordable, especially for the effort poured into them. It seems almost too good to be true–but it’s real, and it will continue to be as the Student Store plans on continuing their fight for the environment with sweatshirts, sweatpants, polos, and t-shirts.
“We’re going to keep doing this,” Goldberg said, “because it’s so great for the planet, the world and for our community.”
