Bates College, a private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, was recently recognized as a top green school by the Princeton Review and ecoAmerica’s Green Honor Roll, which rated over 600 colleges on their environmental policies, practices and academic offerings.
Maybe Bates received the rave review because 82% of its entire campus food waste is composted, recycled, or sent to a food bank or pig farmer, or maybe it’s because of the annual trash to treasure Trashion Show, which showcases some of the coolest outfits made from trash that was once bound for the landfill.
The Trashion Fashions
The Bates College annual Trashion Show was created in 2007 by the Dining Services and the school’s EcoReps, a group of students responsible for bringing recycling initiatives to the college. The event is basically a chance for students and staff to go “Project Runway” on the school by designing cool fashions made from recycled materials.
Some of the categories include:
- Most creative
- Most wearable
- Most fashionable
- Most unique
- Best overall
This year’s trash to treasure project winner (pictured above) was Sarah Dice-Goldberg of Highland Park, New Jersey. Her amazing dress was made primarily from recycled shopping bags.
Wow, the Trashion Fashion show is a huge hit at Bates College, and we think that it should be incorporated into every college’s sustainable initiatives. Students’ wearing their trash is way better than students letting it pile up in their dorm room!
