Want to get this season’s hottest look? You may want to think twice. Over forty million tons of textile waste goes into landfills every year. Much of this waste comes from clothing purchased from fast fashion companies like Shein and Primark that capitalize on trendy looks. Trends change, however, and Senior Angela Gil and Professor Laila Swanson seek to transform the way we curate our seasonal wardrobes.

As a part of her President’s Sustainability Research Fellowship, Angela organizes Reuse and Repair workshops to help Swarthmore meet its sustainability goals. Each PSRF student is supported by a board of Swarthmore faculty and staff, including Angela’s project mentor, Clare Hyre, Associate Director of Sustainability at Swarthmore, Theater Department Professor Laila Swanson, and other staff from the Lang Center, Maker’s Space and TLC. Through Angela’s Reuse and Repair workshops, she’s showing the average Swattie how they can change their consumption habits to make a real environmental impact.

Angela, what has been the main focus of your PSRF project?

Angela Gil: My PSRF project centers on organizing zero-waste workshops on campus that engage the community. I had seen the Herbivores host clothing swaps in the past, and they were really successful, so I thought it would be great to collaborate with them on this event!

I decided to host a clothing swap as my first workshop because it addresses a big problem in the waste sphere: Fast fashion. Fast fashion is a great example of a consumerist, resource-intensive, and exploitative industry that can be addressed in a community-building way. This swap aims to address those larger systemic issues.

Laila Swanson: I am thrilled to be working with Angela, as I support her idea to bring awareness of fast fashion and its enormous waste to the attention of the Swarthmore community. And to further support her on all the projects that she intends to implement for a more sustainable life while she is here on campus and beyond. I hope that her efforts will establish a tradition for years to come.

Laila, how has your commitment to sustainability impacted your work as a professor and costume designer?

LS: I grew up in a poor working class family, [and so] I learned all the skills it took to be self-reliant, including sewing, cooking, building furniture, maintaining a car, and much more. I value the skills, time and effort to make and take ownership of something. This perspective has influenced both my private life as well as my professional one.

Angela, what has it been like working on this project with prof. Laila Swanson?

AG: Laila has been amazing! From the beginning, she has been a very active and enthusiastic member of my PSRF board, and it is clear that she's passionate about prioritizing sustainability. I'm an Engineering and Environmental Studies major, so I haven't had much experience working with the Theater department. My appreciation for the department’s commitment to combining art and sustainability has skyrocketed ever since I met Laila.

When it comes to sustainability, how should people think about buying clothes?

AG: There's a lot of talk about slow fashion—buying clothes from higher-end brands with sustainable, ethical supply chains—but that's still consumption. It’s also not always an accessible option. I would highly recommend exhausting all other options before buying new clothes. The ethics of buying clothes are quite convoluted. The only surefire net zero action is refraining from buying new clothes.

The first step is always to ask yourself if you truly need the thing you are buying. Ask yourself if you are going to wear this article of clothing more than 30 times. If the answer is no, it's best if you don't buy it. Also, ask yourself if you can get the item second-hand, from a friend/family member or a thrift store. If you're buying new to replace a broken item, can you or a friend repair it? There are sewing machines and hand-sewing supplies available in the Makerspace.

LS: In recent years, I sense from my design class students that there is a strong interest in attaining sewing skills [for students to make or maintain their own clothes] and learning about upcycling. I can only teach so much about these topics in a given semester but I'm happy to recognize the interest.

As a costume designer, I have to be prepared to find any period style clothing that is needed to tell the story of the play. Whether that play is set in the Medieval times or in 2024, I generally look through everything we have at hand in our stock at Swarthmore first. After that, I see what I can rent from other institutions or find in thrift and vintage stores. As much as possible, I try to steer away from fast fashion in my professional work, and I include conversations around [sustainability] in my Costume Design course as well.

Want to be a part of the change and get a new-to-you look? Check out Angela’s clothing swap on December 12th in the Singer Atrium from 12:00 pm to 6:00 PM, co-hosted by the Office of Sustainability, the Theater Department, and the Herbivores.

If you’re interested in other Repair and Reuse workshops hosted by Angela, fill out this survey to let her know what kind of workshops you’d like to attend!