Author: Camellia Moors

Fast Facts About Fast Fashion

Author: Eve Cooke ’22

Image Credit: Gatis Sluka, 2020.

What is fast fashion?

Fast fashion—like fast food—is cheap, easy to get your hands on, and not that good for you or the environment. Merriam-Webster defines fast fashion as “An approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers.” Fast fashion companies can sell their clothing at such a low price because the environment and the workers who make the clothes are absorbing the cost. To maximize profits, fast-fashion companies underpay and overwork their workers, cut corners on quality control and workplace safety, and produce environmental emissions that pollute our air, water, and land.

There are several organizations that are dedicated to reforming fast fashion companies and educating consumers, including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Fashion Revolution. As consumers and citizens of the world, we have the power to take action against fast fashion. 

Here’s a list of some of the other hidden costs behind fast fashion, along with ways that you can take action to mitigate the damage caused by this industry:

What can we do?: Join the Fashion Revolution and support their campaign to pressure fast fashion companies to put an end to forced labor from their supply chains, pay their workers a living wage, provide safe working conditions, and to be transparent about who makes the clothes they sell.

What can we do?: Remake, an organization dedicated to ending fast fashion, suggests that “[by] doubling the life of clothing from one to two years, we can help reduce emissions from clothing production and disposal by as much as 24%.” You can also try to only buy clothing that you need and that you will wear over and over again. If you have the resources, supporting ethical and sustainable brands and investing in durable pieces is a really great option, but making thoughtful and careful purchases is also an important way for anyone on any budget to shop more sustainably.

Follow Mend on Instagram for sustainable fashion and repair tips!

Remember to take care of the clothes you already have by repairing rips or missing buttons and altering or upcycling clothes you don’t wear anymore. If you want inspiration or information about repairing and upcycling clothes, check out Mend’s Instagram (@tigers_who_mend).

What can we do?: Try to buy second-hand clothing. If you are in Princeton, check out Greene Street or the Nearly New Shop. You can also buy and sell used clothing on various websites and apps such as eBay, Depop, Etsy, ThredUP, and Poshmark. Vintage clothing is also an affordable way to find high-quality and unique clothing on a budget. If you are cleaning out your wardrobe, try swapping clothes with your friends or selling your clothing online. That way your clothes will wind up with someone who will actually wear them!

Want to learn more about fast fashion? Join Princeton Mend and John-Hopkins University on November 13th to watch and discuss The True Cost!

Eve Cooke ‘22 is a Mend Leader and EcoRep for the Office of Sustainability

Sustainable Meals for Busy Students: No Parm Eggplant Parmesan

Author: Kara Steele ‘21

Have you ever been to your local farmer’s market? Going to the farmer’s market can be a really fun way to support local businesses and connect with the community (especially now since they are mostly outdoors and socially distanced). Visiting farmer’s markets can also be a good way to learn more about the crops grown in your area as markets often offer local, seasonal produce. While it is fun to try new things and eat super fresh food, eating local, seasonal food can also reduce your environmental impact and food waste. By eating food grown closer to you, you can reduce the energy needed to transport the food to you and reduce necessary packaging. Eating local can also minimize food waste as over 50% of food waste happens when the food is in transit or storage.

Photos of Athens Farmers Market taken by Caitlin Jett.

Lately I have been finding a lot of eggplant at my local farmer’s market, so I went on a hunt for some tasty eggplant recipes. The winner so far is plant-based eggplant parmesan, which is featured below.

Photo from page 103 of 30 – Minute Vegan Dinners by Megan Sadd.

Ingredient list: 

  • Two to three small to medium sized eggplants
  • Salt (1 tbsp + ¾ tsp)
  • Water
  • Flour (4 tbsp)
  • Breadcrumbs (Italian preferred)
  • Garlic powder
  • Italian seasoning
  • Pepper
  • Nutritional Yeast
  • Marinara sauce 
  • Spaghetti 
  • Optional: Parmesan or plant-based cheese

Steps:

  1. Wash and cut the eggplant into quarter inch slices. I usually use two to three small- to medium-sized eggplants. Fill a bowl with a tablespoon of salt and a quart of warm water and mix. Then add two more quarts of cold water and the eggplant slices and let sit for 30-45 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 450˚F.
  3. Prepare your dredging liquid. In a bowl add about a ½ cup of water and 4 tbsp of flour and stir. 
  4. Prepare the breading. In a separate bowl, add: 2 cups of breadcrumbs, ¾ tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, and pepper to taste. Pour this mixture onto a plate.
  5. Prepare your assembly line. Line up the bowl of dredging liquid, plate of breading, and a pan lightly greased with olive oil.
  6. For each slice of eggplant, dredge it in the dreading liquid and coat it with the breadcrumb mixture and put it on the pan. If the breadcrumbs on the plate get too saturated with liquid they may stop sticking, so mix in some dry breadcrumbs if needed.
  1. Bake the eggplant slices for 18 minutes, then flip them and cook for another 10 minutes. Check their tenderness with a fork. If the eggplant is still chewy or tough, you can cook it longer until it becomes more tender and less bitter.
  2. If you want, you can add a sprinkle of parmesan to the slices when they have about 5 minutes left to cook, but you can opt to leave this step out for a more plant-based meal.
  3. I like to serve it with marinara sauce and spaghetti, but feel free to mix and match as you prefer! Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from page 103 of 30 – Minute Vegan Dinners by Megan Sadd.

This series is brought to you by student group, Greening Dining

Good News Friday (10/23/20)

Author: Camellia Moors ’22

It is admittedly easy to get caught up in the seemingly endless torrent of negative environmental news from around the globe, which can make positive actions feel pointless. In doing this, we can lose track of positive developments and, even worse, lose hope for our planet’s future. If you are in this position, welcome to our new “Good News Friday” series, which hopes to provide a breath of fresh air with some recent positive environmental news from around the world. 

Here’s a list of just some of the things that have been happening recently:

Image Credit: Lucien Wanda via Pexels.com
  1. Bye-Bye Ocean Plastic: It is no secret that plastics pollute our oceans, present on both the surface and the seafloor and worsened by the volumes of trash generated during the pandemic. Groups like the Ocean Voyages Institute and The Ocean Cleanup, however, have made it their mission to remove some of this pollution: the former recently removed the largest-ever haul of plastic (103 tons) from the Pacific Ocean, and the latter plans to present its first product made from collected ocean plastics later this month.
Image credit: images.nasa.gov
  1. Planetary Emergency: The United State’s announcement of its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in 2017 sent shockwaves around the world, threatening future progress towards obtaining emissions goals. While that withdrawal cannot officially go into effect until November 4th of this year (one day after the election), one reason for hope for the future of global cooperation is that the leaders of 64 countries plus the European Union have acknowledged the “planetary emergency” and have pledged to undertake a variety of actions to counteract environmental degradation.
Image Credit: Kamil Szerlag via Pexels.com
  1. Climate Cases: Litigation seems to have become a common way of targeting polluters and encouraging environmental justice in recent years. One example is an ongoing suit filed by state and local governments against the American Petroleum Institute (API) which charges that API misled consumers about the climate impacts of fossil fuels. Regardless of the case’s outcome, advocates see the act of litigation alone as providing serious leverage against big oil.

It might not seem like it, but progress, even if slow, is progress nonetheless. Here’s to hoping it gets even better! 

If you’d like to share some Good News with us, submit an article by contacting one of the Blog Editors.

Got a Case of Cabin Fever?

Author: Matthew Lee ’22

Image Credit: Pixabay via Pexels.com

Zoom fatigue is real, and us staying locked in quarantine doesn’t help the case. These days, it is more important than ever to prioritize mental health and stress management. It can, however, be hard to find any breathing room amidst our steadily compiling assignments and deadlines. But self-care doesn’t require fancy equipment or programs. In fact, lifting your mood and lowering anxiety can simply be done by spending time outdoors.

According to registered psychologist Dr. Lynne M. Kostiuk, “Nature…slows us down, lets us pay attention to different things, and let go of others. It gives us a chance to just enjoy ‘being’.”

Research has shown that as little as 20-30 minutes of exposure to nature a day can significantly reduce your cortisol levels, leading to a less tense and more positive mindset. Your memory and ability to focus improve, and your future self and grades will thank you. Exposure to natural light and fresh air revitalize your body, and it helps give your mind the break it needs. It doesn’t have to be a long, grand hike either – just a walk around the neighborhood will do the trick.

Got a case of cabin fever? It’s time for a change of scenery. How about taking a walk today?

Matthew Lee ’22 is a Peer Health Adviser (PHA) for First College.

Sustainable Meals for Busy Students: BBQ Portobello Burger

Author: Julia Harisay ’21

Are you cooking for yourself this semester? Are you trying to figure out how to balance all your school work and find time to cook healthy and delicious meals? Are you interested in how to do this while reducing your carbon footprint and doing something good for the planet? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then you’ve come to the right place.

Try out this quick Southwest BBQ Portobello Burger recipe!

Why in the world should you ditch your juicy, delicious beef burger for a mushroom you might ask? Producing meat, especially beef, has a huge impact on the planet. From the feedstock grown to feed livestock to the methane emissions from cow farts and burps (yup, that’s the proper terminology), livestock production produces far more greenhouse gas emissions than does plant and crop production. Producing a pound of beef can produce an equivalent of 14.8 pounds of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that when in excess contributes to global warming. Mushrooms? Producing a pound of mushrooms only produces an equivalent of .7 pounds of carbon dioxide. Not only are mushrooms better for the planet, they are also really good for you! Mushrooms contain a high daily percentage of key vitamins and minerals.

Still hesitant? Wondering how a mushroom can come anywhere near rivaling a burger? I promise you, you will be surprised. Follow this recipe to cook your mushrooms in a delicious barbecue marinade that is going to pack your mushroom with flavor. Not into barbecue? Swamp it out for a flavor of your choice! This recipe is easy and quick–exactly what a busy college student like you needs to satisfy your taste buds and do good for the planet and yourself.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 475 °F. Wipe the portobello mushrooms with a damp cloth and remove the stems.

Step 2: Combine and mix the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl: ¼ cup of BBQ sauce, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp of liquid smoke

Image 1: Photo of marinade ingredients.

Step 3: Dip and submerge each mushroom in the marinade and then place them gill side up on a glass baking pan. Pour the remainder of the marinade over the mushrooms and then put them in the oven to cook for 22-25 minutes.

Image 2: Photo of portobello mushroom being dipped in marinade.
Image 3: Photo of portobello mushrooms in glass dish.

Step 4: Prepare any other toppings you normally like on a burger: pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, etc.

Step 5: Toast your buns, assemble your burger, and pair with your side of choice, such as fries. Enjoy!

Image 4: Assembled portobello mushroom burger.

Recipe from: 30-Minute Vegan Dinners by Megan Sadd

This series is brought to you by student group, Greening Dining