Last week, Ohio State University’s campus was abuzz with a series of sustainability-centered events as part of Time 4 Change’s “Time 4 Change Week,” an annual student-led, week-long initiative, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Friday, during which various sustainable organizations orchestrated a diverse array of events, all with the goal of spreading awareness and promoting action about sustainability.
Last Friday, to end the week of festivities, the Ohio State’s Students for Sustainable Fashion (SFSF) and the Ohio State branch of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), a national organization whose mission is to build and mobilize the conservative environmental movement, joined to host an inaugural sustainable fashion show, the Green Fashion Show.
The event, which was held in meeting rooms two and three of Ohio State’s Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC) from 7 to 9 p.m., promised an evening of style, substance and sustainability, featuring student designers and models.
Molly Hoskin, a third-year in environment, economy, development and sustainability and the president of SFSF, said the heart of the fashion show consisted of four distinct collections themed around the elements earth, fire, air and water.
“We wanted to dive a little bit deeper into the environmental aspect and look at a way to catch people’s attention,” Hoskin said.
Hoskin said SFSF drew inspiration from Mother Earth to focus on the environmental aspect of sustainable fashion, highlighting the fact that sustainability is a mix of both environmental and social aspects.
The goal of the event, Hoskin said, was to allow students from all majors to model, design and style looks, encouraging non-fashion majors to participate in the show too.
“We wanted to let people have creative freedom to pick out clothes from their closets and create an outfit that represents them and the element of their selection,” Hoskin said.
Sydney Endsley, a first year in environmental science and geology and one of the designers for this year’s show, said she decided to participate in this event because she wanted the opportunity to meet new people through SFSF and share her love for sustainable fashion with others.
“A lot of times fashion, especially sustainable fashion, can feel unattainable or hard to make look like a Pinterest board, Endsley said. “I wanted to curate outfits that I could wear on a regular day and could be found at Goodwill or similar second-hand stores.”
Endsley created looks for both a fire-themed and an earth-themed outfit in the show and said she was willing to design looks for any of the elements that still needed designers for the show as long as she was able to share the important message of sustainability with audiences.
“My thought process was to make an outfit that someone would see and think ‘Oh, I could totally wear that, make that or find something that looks like that,” Endsley said.
So the question is why should Ohio State host sustainable events like this?
“Sustainability is kind of like a gateway,” Hoskin said. “Sustainability, and particularly fashion, is something that is really big right now and I think just starting off small and looking at just the clothes that you wear can lead people to purchasing and developing a more sustainable overall lifestyle.”
But for many, Hoskin said, implementing these sustainable practices can seem overwhelming.
“Sustainability scares a lot of people off because it can feel expensive and like a big lifestyle change,” Endsley said. “I think events like the Green Fashion Show and all the events in sustainability week in general can show a larger population of people that it doesn’t have to be drastic changes to make a difference.”
Both Hoskin and Endsley said that it is important to understand that a sustainable lifestyle can be achieved if others take small steps to educate and expose themselves to environmentally friendly alternatives.
