Oct 2nd, 2019, 04:00 PM

Sustainable Fashion Club at AUP

By Sofia Quintero
Image Credit : Sustainable Fashion Matters
Sophomore Students Launch New Club at AUP

Calling all students interested in sustainability, design and innovation! AUP is proud to present one of its newest clubs: The Sustainable Fashion Club. Founded by two sophomore students, Sylvia Seldowitz and Carolin Melz, the duo was inspired by the city of Paris and its fashion forwardness. Together, they have decided to use the club to focus on creativity, innovation and critical thinking based on fashion and how to make smart decisions while still celebrating fashion its beauty. 

The biggest topic in the world right now is undoubted, the climate crisis. From strikes to UN Conferences, the crisis is being channeled daily through various media outlets worldwide. During my interview with Sylvia, she mentioned how as a society, we constantly talk about helping the environment by buying metal straws and reusable water bottles. But the fact of the matter is, that the biggest industries in the world are the ones that can make the biggest impact. According to EKOenergy, an international non-profit ecolabel for energy, the fashion industry promotes cheap production of clothing, also known as “fast fashion” which is now one of the main dominants of the multi billion-dollar industry. Clothing brands like Zara, H&M and Forever 21 and the leading fast-fashion companies and should always try to be avoided. One of the biggest problems is: What happens to the clothes after we don’t want it anymore? The answer: landfills. In 2014, about 10.46 million tonnes of clothing ended up in US landfills. One of the biggest themes the club wants to address is the creation of awareness, which is why they decided to focus on sustainable fashion. 

  Image Credit : Waldemar Brandt

 

During our interview with founder, Sylvia Seldowitz, she explained that even though pollution and environmental safety have become some of the biggest issues in our society today, “the biggest component of the crisis is the clothing industry.” One of the main goals of the club is to create an open space in which the members can inform themselves about the global impact of the fashion industry. One of the main goals of the club is to eventually, inform the rest of the AUP community through panels and events. 

The club is planning countless different activities for its meetings, some of which include: movie nights, student participation through Instagram, sustainable store searching around Paris and even a charity fashion show with garments completely made out of sustainable materials! The essence of the club is to “inspire each other and exchange ideas of how we as students can make an impact.” The club will be meeting on Monday at 6 pm in Combes in room C-104. Nevertheless, meetings and meeting times and places may differ.  Don’t hesitate to contact either Sylvia (a100454@aup.edu) or Carolin (a10325@aup.edu) for any further questions you may have. 

Image Credit: Becca McHaffie