BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — There’s a local program that’s working to make people think twice about throwing out old clothing.
“Fix it Friday is a program that was created by the department of fashion merchandising and design at ISU and our office of sustainability. Their goal is to make minor repairs on clothing to keep them out of landfills,” said Jeri Biggs, a professor at Illinois State University.
Carle Bromann Resale Boutique is working with Illinois State University’s Office of Sustainability to offer community members a chance to reduce the environmental impact of their fashion choices. The goal is to make the most out of clothing already in their closets.
“When we talk about recycling, we also talk about reusing and reducing,” said Biggs. “So, hopefully, this reduces purchases, and increases reuse of clothing.”
Fix It Friday offers basic sewing, mending, and clothing repair at no cost.
The United Nations estimated that the fashion industry produced up to 10% of total global CO2 emissions, which is more than 1.7 billion tons of CO2 annually. That’s why students from ISU are fixing one button at a time.
“Clothing is a huge issue for us, textiles are a huge issue for us in our landfills, and we all have that thing in our closet that needs one little minor repair, and then you’re able to use it, so fix it Friday does that,” said Biggs.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), landfills in America received 11.3 million tons of municipal solid waste textiles in 2018. That is 7.7% of all municipal solid waste that was landfilled.
Fix It Friday happens every Friday at different Bloomington locations during the regular Illinois State semester.
