Sustainability Stories with May

Lauren's blog's bright colors and bubbly font immediately caught my eye. I was drawn to her images-- specifically the one on her "Scribbles!" post. Each of Lauren's posts listed simple steps for stress-relieving drawing activities. The "scribbles" activity was something I used to frequently partake in during especially boring classes. Having been at home for remote learning, I've found other alternatives for "scribbling" and haven't done it since last semester. Lauren's post encouraged me to pick up a pen and get to drawing. I began scribbling away, beginning with a black outline. Working in no particular order, I lined the spaces with orange, magenta, green, and violet, until my abstract creation was complete. For the first time in several months, I moved my hand in a non-letter form. Watching each individual section come together was entertaining-- and oddly satisfying. Thank you Lauren for sharing this fun activity!

During my most recent thrifting trip, I headed over to the Champaign Goodwill in hopes of finding some warmer pieces for fall. After browsing around for an hour, I left with a yellow handmade sweater and coral peacoat (50% off!), spending $8 in total.  I've been thrifting for around 3 years now and have been to Goodwill more times than I can count. With the majority of my closet being thrift finds, I like to think that I've picked up some useful tips and tricks over the years. That being said, here are 5 tips you can use the next time you go thrifting! 1. Know your store's specialties. Not all consignment stores are the same! There are two local Goodwills-- one in Savoy and the other in Champaign. I've found that the Savoy Goodwill tends to have a better selection of sweaters, shorts, skirts, kids' clothing, and mens' clothing. You may have better luck at the Champaign Goodwill for jeans, shoes, dresses, and coats/outerwear. Of course, this varies from year to ...

Recently popularized by influencers and content creators, ThredUP is the largest online thrift store. With a user interface similar to other e-commerce websites, ThredUP is a great option for those who are relatively new to shopping secondhand. ThredUP's collection is massive, with items in nearly every style and size that you can browse through for hours on end. When shopping secondhand, everything is one-of-a-kind. If someone else is also interested in a piece you have your eye on, they may buy it before you! ThredUP has a neat feature where everything you add to your card is reserved for you for 4 hours. In addition, you can like pieces you're interested in, and they'll be saved in your likes. Although they aren't guaranteed to be available when you return, likes are a convenient way to refer to back items you're interested in. ThredUP has frequent sales and codes you can use to save on top of the already discounted prices. Although prices are higher than you wou...

On average, Americans throw away 81 pounds of clothing each year. (That's right, the equivalent of a small child!) Many donate their clothes, and although donating is a preferred alternative to straight up throwing away your clothing, only 10% of clothes donated are actually sold. The other 90% find their way into landfills, where they'll sit for decades. According to EPA statistics, fashion is the third highest-polluting industry in the world and second largest consumer of water. In fact, 7,000 liters of water are used in the making of a pair of jeans, which is equivalent to 5-6 years worth of the average American's drinking water. Popular fast fashion brands such as Zara, Nike, Forever 21, etc. are known for their unsustainable and unethical practices. The push to produce clothing at unprecedented rates and low prices in recent years has led to poorly made clothing with cheap materials and lowered pay for garment workers in third-world countries far below the living wage....