for college students 
by college students

 NOVEMBER 21 • 2019 | 47

HMD Activist

Hillel leader organizes show
to promote sustainability.

G

reen is the New 
Black,
” a fashion show 
of environmentally 
conscious clothes by local 
designers, was held Nov. 7 at 
St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, 
with more than 200 students 
attending. 
We have been told to 
“Reduce, re-use, recycle” in 
our routines. However, in our 
actual day-to-day life, how 
often do we really think about 
our planet? 
Fast fashion is polluting 
our environment quickly. 
According to JStore Daily, 
“
Americans dispose of about 
12.8 million tons of textiles 
annually. Textiles are second, 
in terms of clogging landfills.
” 
So, the question arises, what 
are we going to do about it? 
After hearing Erin Schrode 
at a Hillel of Metro Detroit 
speaker event last year, 
I started thinking about 
coordinating a Wayne State 
“sustainable living” fashion 
show. Schrode, a politician 
and environmental activist, 
inspired the idea. 
My goal was to raise 
awareness about sustainability 
and increase awareness of 
“slow fashion” as one of the 

ways to prevent the increase of 
our current climate crisis. 
My other goal for the event 
was to create community. It 
is vital that to stabilize and 
solidify change, we need 
support. People who are 
trying to take a stance against 
fast fashion need to meet 
one another to hopefully 
restructure the mindset of our 
campus culture. 
As president of Hillel of 
Metro Detroit’
s Jewish Student 
Organization, I began to 
form a team of co-sponsors 
that included WSU student 
organizations La Vie Detroit, 
FDMO (Fashion Design 
Merchandising Organization) 
and Take Back the Tap. 
The event was a huge 
success, with attendees 
enjoying the show, learning 
about sustainability and 
networking with each other. 
Going forward, I am 
energized to make my voice 
louder and to continue to 
advocate for this cause. I know 
“Green is the New Black” will 
never go out of fashion. @

Chella Bluth is a senior at Wayne 
State University and is president of 
WSU’
s Jewish Student Organization.

Marcella “Chella” Bluth } jewish@edu writer

WSU student
Avery Newman 
takes the runway.

gvsu.edu

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