RSO HerCampus Raises Hosts Thrifting Event to Money For Women's Shelter

By Katherine Gourley | December 1, 2022

The Holy Cross chapter of HerCampus– a site dedicated to empowering collegiates–hosted their second semester-annual thrifting event for Holy Cross students and Abby's House on October 26, 2022.

In the days leading up to the event, all members of the Holy Cross community were invited to drop off clothing items and accessories for resale. All items were checked off by a member of HerCampus and then priced at an amazing deal of $10 or less. About 60 students donated clothes ranging from trending athletic wear to professional items for the soon following Women in Business Conference on November 19th. The event successfully raised over $600 with 70% of the proceeds going towards Abby’s House, a local women's shelter in Worcester.

Thifting and buying second hand clothes, as opposed to purchasing new items, has become the trendiest new way to shop amongst Gen-Z. Thrifting has become a great way to combat climate change through sustainable fashion, as the fashion industry is currently the second largest contributor to climate change. The industry alone is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and uses over 70 million barrels of oil each year. Producing a single pair of jeans requires on average 7,500-10,000 liters of water–roughly10 years of drinking water for one person–and produces the equivalent combustion of driving one hour in a gas-powered car. For clothing produced in the “fash fashion industry” known for trendy clothing created out of low quality materials, typically with unfair labor practices that are inexpensive for the consumer, the level of pollution drastically increases.

The HerCampus event presented the perfect opportunity to promote sustainable fashion on campus as well as raising money and awareness for local Worcester women's shelter. The next HerCampus sponsored thrifting event will be held during the Spring 2023 semester, if interested in joining the HerCampus chapter at Holy Cross reach out to hercampusatholycross@g.holycross.edu or on instagram: @hercampusholycross*

Edited by Colin Jones