Thank you for reaching out with your concerns. The Sustainable Fashion Initiative’s Executive Coalition has given a great deal of thought to the below message and we would like to thank you in advance for your time and your consideration regarding these matters.
Transparency and holding ourselves and our partners accountable is a key part of our mission. Sharing our problems and our roadblocks with the greater community is how we ensure that we do not greenwash our audience; those that hold us accountable. Despite the “angry” tone that may be present in the messages DAAP has received, we feel it is important that the voices of our community are able to be expressed and heard. More so, we hope that these messages are seen as evidence to the positive impact that SFI and our partnership with DAAP has had on our intertwining communities. SFI has received immense amounts of support and encouragement in the past few days. We are motivated by these messages and we hope that their positivity and well wishes will remain the focus.
We left the meeting with Dean Muratovski with the agreement that there would be further communication, formalization, and inclusion of our team in the packing and moving of our resources/materials/waste. The deadline of August 26th was put forth in multiple instances; however, this was disregarded as we were only given a one day notice of the actions taken. We are disheartened by DAAP’s lack of communication, consideration, and respect in these matters. Moving forward, we would like to request that our new location be made fully accessible and unlocked at all times. We have materials in our new space that we need immediate and unfettered access to.
We vehemently object to donating our remaining resources (excess that will not fit in our new location) to H&M or the like. It has been documented thoroughly that H&M only recycles a fraction of the donations they accumulate and this is unacceptable to our standards and our mission. We left the meeting with the agreement that we would do our due diligence to find a more suitable way to responsibly recycle/reuse the excess waste. SFI has relationships with several parties who are capable of such and are willing to pick up the excess in a timely manner. SFI will lead the coordination for their pick ups and will ensure that all excess is properly handled by August 26th.
In relationship to the above mentioned, we would like to underscore the importance of DAAP’s waste being visible and accessible. This is critical to the education, reduction, and reuse/recycling process. The collected waste may not be aesthetically pleasing to all; however, its prominence and presence within DAAP is how we achieve and maintain transparency, accountability, and most paramount: awareness. SFI will continue to care for the waste’s proper collection, organization, and “merchandizing” for the greater community. Furthermore, accessibility is also incredibly important as many students rely on SFI’s resources to offset the immense financial burden that they are managing. We have received an outpouring of inquiries and support in response to the sudden changes that are taking place and we implore that our students and our larger SFI community be held in the highest regard and be given due consideration as we progress. Again, we request that access to this closet be immediate, unrestricted, and that all non-SFI materials be relocated so that students and our team may begin to utilize the space.
We kindly ask that all communication involving SFI matters be conducted through SFI channels. The entire Executive Coalition as well as our larger SFI community can be reached via email and/or DM to our Instagram handle. This will allow us to work more efficiently and will greatly alleviate the burden of sharing information across a magnitude of platforms. More so, we respectfully request that members of the Executive Coalition not be interrupted or removed from class during their studio/coursework hours at DAAP; during which time we are students only.
Going forward, SFI is extremely motivated to be solution positive and not problem negative. We are not perfect and our partners are not perfect. We value our relationship with DAAP to the utmost degree and we strongly wish to continue supporting and educating the student body on proper waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. This needs to be conducted in a mutually beneficial environment and SFI looks forward to DAAP’s continued support.
Lastly, we propose that a detailed plan be put into place as to how this semester will transition into fall. Please communicate and delineate any further actions to be made directly to our email with as much advanced notice as possible. Please also detail how we may best support our continued partnership with DAAP. SFI’s current Executive Coalition will remain present as mentors to fall semester’s Executive Coalition. Collectively, we will adhere to the aforementioned date of August 26th as the deadline for properly disseminating our excess waste.
We look forward to this new semester and our continued collaboration. Please feel free to further address any additional concerns or areas not covered in response.
Respectfully,
Sustainable Fashion Initiative
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