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Campus Sustainability Month Stories of Sustainability Sustainable Fashion

Slow Fashion in Philly

Culture on campus is ripe for climate action and Temple Sustainability is encouraging you to ‘decarbonize your life’. Let’s think critically about our consumption: What is the true cost of consumer goods? Where are we now and where do we need to go? How can students be a part of the solution?
Temple Thrift at the Bell Tower
Temple Thrift at the Bell Tower

Everyone’s favorite on-campus sustainable retail experience returned this semester. After sorting over one ton of Give and Go Green donations in May, Temple Thrift, our own triple bottom business, was in action at the Bell Tower on October 6th and 13th.

Slow Fashion with Temple Thrift

Hundreds of students in residence halls donated and over 20 volunteers sorted donations to divert 1,279 pounds of clothing from the landfill for this year’s Give and Go Green initiative, a collaboration between Temple Sustainability and the Division of Student Affairs. 1,142 pounds of food and hygiene products were donated directly to the Cherry Pantry. 99 pounds of food waste was sent to the landfill, and 9 pounds of waste was recycled.

Of the clothing donated by Temple students, we gathered the following insights:

  • Majority of items were from some of the largest contributors of fast fashion, including Forever 21, American Eagle, Shein, H&M and Old Navy. 
  • Over 30% of the items were made with a combination of cotton, polyester, nylon and spandex and contained microplastics Read more about reducing their negative ecological impact in your laundry here.
  • It took 344 pounds of oil to create the cotton items GGG collected.
  • Only 3% of the textiles were manufactured in the United States.
  • Over 80% of textiles were manufactured in China, Vietnam, or Bangladesh.

60 individuals volunteered to help run two days of pop-up sales, completing over 100 unique shifts. 395 shoppers spiced up their wardrobes and picked up practical home goods affordably — no item was over $5! Still, we collected $5,057 in sales revenue on items that were otherwise headed to the landfill. All the proceeds were donated directly to the Cherry Pantry, an on-campus pantry for students.

Decarbonize your Closet

It is hard to deny Temple Thrift’s positive impact, but thrifting is not a silver bullet. Second hand sales are not a solution to this much larger global crisis. 

The problem is overconsumption and our ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mindset. Fast fashion is the world’s second largest pollutant and 85% of the post-consumer textile waste — 3.8 billion pounds– slowly decays in landfills each year. You can read a deep dive on the ecological impact of the fashion industry in our Waste Conscious Fashion Community blog. Our choices — from the second we click purchase on an online webstore, to the moment we throw them away or drop them off at a donation site — have a real impact on people and the planet. 

As climate advocates and social entrepreneurs, we should think hard about the true cost of each and every garment.

(The Considerate Consumer)

Advocating for slow fashion looks beyond simply thrifting to support a movement and a community of conscious consumers. Through their choices, slow fashion advocates support sustainable and ethical brands that benefit “the planet and all people,” embodying the shift from purchasing cheap items for a short period of time to investing in high-quality items for their long lifespan.

Everyone can decarbonize their closets – whether it’s upcycling items, swapping clothes with peers, shopping from sustainable brands, or shopping for pre-loved items. Encourage your friends and family to join the movement.

Philadelphia’s Slow Fashion

Local sustainable fashion companies in Philadelphia, like Lobo Mau and Grant BLVD, have taken social and ecological impact to a new level. Labo Mau’s use of hemp, eco-friendly screen printing, local manufacturing, and penchant for upcycling serve as an aspirational example for individual consumers and brands alike. Grant BLVD designs with secondhand clothing and preloved fabric to curate unique garments and connects their work with the larger global crises of climate change and poverty through their mission and message.

Grant BLVD
Lobo Mau

Shay, an EcoLead and intern at Grant BLVD, tells us about the difficulty of navigating this work on the ground.

“Whether it’s becoming a Zero Waste Partner with the City of Philadelphia, which is actually centered around recycling initiatives, or the lack of existing programming and resources to successfully execute sustainable initiatives — these small businesses are essentially starting from scratch  and still creating a positive impact”.

– Shay Strawser

FABSCRAP, one-stop textile reuse and recycling resource, opened in Philadelphia on November 15th. A business solution to pre-consumer textile waste, FabScrap Philadelphia will pick up fabric scraps, process by fiber content and recycle with fiber-to-fiber technologies or give local creators the opportunity to reuse materials for a low-cost. Anyone can volunteer with FabScrap for 3 hours and take home 5 pounds of free textiles for their next project. 

Use fashion as a STATEMENT

Every stage within the lifecycle of fashion is associated with environmental and social costs, as highlighted by Earth Logic. Fashion is culture. It shapes and is shaped by our lifestyles and communities. I encourage you to continue to use fashion as a statement, not by purchasing more items, but by making intentional decisions that align with your values and consider your carbon and waste footprint. Be conscious of the lifecycle of items — take note of the fabric(s) used, where it was made, and its capacity to move with you as you grow. 

Let’s think about the ten-dollar SHEIN pants you bought on Monday: They were most likely manufactured in Guangzhou, China by a young woman who was paid three cents for making this garment. The trendy design was likely conceived less than a week before it was made and was probably copied from an independent designer. The pants are cheap — in price and in quality. From an aesthetic and construction standpoint, they are unlikely to be worth the time and resources necessary to repair them which means they are destined for the landfill.

But, what if you bought one-hundred dollar pants sourced from a sustainable and ethical fashion brand? These pants would be made of recycled materials or with ecologically ethical and locally grown fabrics like hemp or cotton, designed locally and sewn by individuals that are paid a fair living wage. 

A higher price point is the true cost of a garment and sustainability. These pants are made of great quality and to last you a lifetime, a garment you can upcycle and eventually recycle with the designer you purchased from in the first place. 

You’ve taken the time to learn, and you may have a better understanding of what it means to be a conscious consumer. Although this might be startling, I challenge you to put it into practice by considering the true cost of your purchase -- to people and to the planet -- each time you decide to buy.

This Campus Sustainability month, climate leaders took action to decarbonize their closets and engaged with the community through slow fashion. 

  • Transportation EcoLeads led an EcoReps Excursion and group ride to South Street in Philadelphia, where they shopped second hand at Philly Aids Thrift, Retrospect, and Raxx Vintage. 
  • The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute hosted a Sustainable Fashion and Innovative Performance speaker session with Matt Dwyer of Patagonia.
  • Green Council has led to connections and opportunities, like that with the Temple University American Marketing Association and Thrift and Flop. Both are currently accepting donations of gently used winter clothing for individuals that lack housing during the colder months.
  • The Green Living cohort completed their week 7 action items for purchasing decisions. With a focus on a circular economy, student leaders were encouraged to walk through four questions:
    • Why do you buy & consume the products that you do?
    • Which of those products do you need? Which do you want?
    • How do you decide what you need vs. want?
    • Who benefits from you buying those products? Who loses?
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Campus Sustainability Month Stories of Sustainability

Community Engagement and Environmental Justice

Policy EcoLead and Temple Student Government Director of Grounds nad Sustainability, Katie Perrone, shares her local climate action planning internship experience and discusses learning from environmental justice EcoChampions throughout Pennsylvania. She explores the question: how can we remove systemic barriers and reach out to communities that have historically been overlooked?

Local Climate Action Planning

Last year, the Office of Sustainability hosted an event about Students & Local Climate Action Planning in Philadelphia, which detailed the experiences of students who participated in last year’s Local Climate Action Program (LCAP) cohort. In August, I learned that I was accepted into this year’s LCAP cohort, and I’ve spent the last couple of months diving into the world of local government planning, climate policy, and environmental justice. 

The LCAP program paired me with local government officials from Warrington Township, Pennsylvania, and I am responsible for helping them develop and implement a climate action plan for their community. The first step in beginning to draft our climate action plan for Warrington Township was forming a task force. Key stakeholders were invited to participate and the task force gives all of us working on the climate action plan an opportunity to bounce ideas off of one another. 

Creating graphs, analyzing greenhouse gas emission data, and starting to conduct a climate change vulnerability assessment have been just a few of the tasks that I have worked on with the task force during my first few months as an LCAP intern. However, no part of my LCAP experience has been as interesting as learning about the impact that community engagement has on local planning.

Community Engagement

One of the first things that I learned during my internship training is that creating an effective community engagement strategy is essential to drafting effective policy. Community engagement can come in many forms, from hosting workshops and community meetings to reaching out to underrepresented communities to gain their perspectives.

In the case of Warrington Township, we are drafting a survey to be distributed to the entire township. The survey includes questions about which actions residents are already taking to reduce the impact of climate change and which actions they would like to see the township implement. The main objective of our survey is to gain the perspectives of community members, understand their priorities for addressing climate change, and build transparency between the township and its residents. 

The LCAP program trainings have taught me that community engagement isn’t as simple as planning a workshop or creating a survey. In order for either of those actions to be effective, they need to incorporate the entire community. This means specifically reaching out to any groups that have been historically marginalized and underrepresented and making sure that they play a significant role in the process. Environmental justice is a crucial component of any community engagement strategy for climate action.

(Image from MobilizeGreen.org)

Environmental Justice

A few weeks ago, Alison Acevedo, the director of Pennsylvania’s Office of Environmental Justice, led an LCAP training session about environmental justice and how to address the causes of systemic environmental inequalities. She began by explaining the differences between equality, equity, and justice, and the importance of working to remove systemic barriers and achieve justice.

The history of redlining in Pennsylvania is one of the direct causes of environmental injustice. Communities of color and those without a lot of economic resources were much more likely to be located near industries and factories, and therefore these communities disproportionately dealt with high levels of air pollution and hazardous waste. The environmental history of Pennsylvania, and specifically Philadelphia, has been permeated by a shameful legacy of environmental racism and injustice.

Environmental Justice at Temple

As I learned more about the history of environmental injustice, I began wondering what our university is doing to address environmental injustice. Between 2010 and 2019, Temple has taken multiple steps to better address the inequalities and systemic barriers that exist within our society. 

This is best shown by the updated climate action plan that Temple published in 2019. This plan is written with a comprehensive approach that incorporates environmental justice planning into the framework of the plan. The university begins by updating its definition of sustainability to recognize the importance of creating an equitable and just society.  

“Sustainability seeks to balance a healthy environment with a just, equitable and economically viable society”

2019 Temple Climate Action Plan

The plan presents goals to address food insecurity, incorporate environmental justice principles into at least a third of the Office of Sustainability’s programming, and include more diverse voices and perspectives in the conversation regarding sustainability at Temple. During my time at the Office of Sustainability, I have already had the chance to attend multiple events regarding environmental injustice, lead an energy sovereignty workshop, and learn about innovative research being conducted at Temple to address inequality in Philadelphia.

Struggle Space to a Green New Deal

One of the events that was particularly fascinating was the Struggle Space to the Green New Deal discussion that the Office of Sustainability hosted last spring. This conversation centered around the concept of a ‘struggle space,’ which refers to the overwhelming structural and racial injustices that communities of color continue to face. One of the speakers at this event explained that climate planning is doomed to fail if it does not address this struggle space. 

To make progress, we need to acknowledge the past, address the present, and work collectively to create an equitable future.

Stories of Sustainability: Struggle Space

The first step to addressing this struggle space is identifying the inequalities that exist in our current system, and in particular this means focusing on the discrimintion and inequality that is historically involved in urban planning. In Philadelphia, rapid gentrification and development threaten to exacerbate the problem of environmental injustice. 

One professor from Temple’s Geography and Urban Studies Department, Christina Rosan, is working to address the struggle space through her research. Along with other researchers at Temple, Professor Rosan created an equity index to identify the areas in Philadelphia that face systemic inequalities. 

Professor Rosan’s index identifies areas of environmental need, areas lacking amenities such as playgrounds and parks, and areas of socio-economic disadvantage. The image below shows her results, with those areas experiencing more need or disadvantage colored darker.

Both Alison Acevedo’s training and the research being done at Temple highlight the importance of developing a comprehensive community engagement strategy to address environmental injustice and the struggle space. I am excited to have the opportunity to participate in this important conversation by working with Warrington Township to draft a community-wide survey and brainstorming other ideas to increase community engagement in Warrington. 

Recognizing that environmental injustice is an essential part of every conversation about climate change is the first step to creating meaningful and long-lasting change. We must stop thinking about sustainability and injustice as two separate goals and acknowledge that they are interconnected and must be addressed as one. Until we remove systemic barriers and achieve environmental justice, it will be impossible to fully address the effects of climate change.
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Campus Sustainability Month Stories of Sustainability

Transportation and Climate Change

This will be the first of three blog posts on the transit system in Philadelphia and its connections to climate justice. Stay tuned for our next transportation blog post: Transit Equity in Philadelphia.

The transit system in Philadelphia isn’t quite as multifaceted as the city it serves, but it's got layers to it nonetheless. Let’s peel some of those layers back and ask two foundational questions of our transit system: how does transportation relate to climate justice? And how is our transit system structured?

Transportation and Climate

Energy is the fuel that powers our transit system, as we’ve established in our blog post on Energy, Electricity, and the Climate Crisis. Sadly, we’ve also established that most of the energy we use is generated from fossil fuels. As a result, transportation accounts for 22% of Philadelphia’s Greenhouse Gas emissions, much of which comes from our car-related emissions due to a lack of funding for SEPTA (which we’ll touch on momentarily). 

Transit
(Philadelphia Climate Action Playbook, pg. 13)

This reliance on cars both exacerbates climate change and creates harmful air pollution, as Philadelphia ranks as the 12th most polluted city in the country. Personal automobiles, here, are a big part of the problem. In 2009, cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, and freight trucks accounted for 77% of all transportation GHGs. Contrastingly, public transit emits much less pollution per passenger mile, especially when ridership is high, as shown below.

(Public Transportation’s Role in Responding to Climate Change, 2010)

Bold climate action requires deeper investments in public transit. Sadly, public transit is drastically underfunded across the country, and Philadelphia is no exception. To change that, though, we’ll need to understand how our transit system is structured. So let’s get to it!

Our Transit System: SEPTA

First, let’s talk about SEPTA or the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA is a metropolitan transportation agency that oversees public transit in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery. In Philadelphia, SEPTA offers bus, subway, regional rail, and trolley services across the city, the full map of which is shown below.

SEPTA is a regional authority, not a City agency. So, each of the five counties in SEPTA has equal representation on SEPTA’s board. Still, most of the transit agency’s ridership, usually 80% or more, comes from Philadelphia. This means that, because the rest of the counties in SEPTA are less populous than Philadelphia but each receives the same number of votes, the transit agency disproportionately represents the interests of less-densely populated, suburban residents.

Pennsylvania’s Contribution to Transit System: SEPTA

How does our state government impact our transit system? Well, this is where the thick of it lies. Most of SEPTA’s funding comes from the PA State Government. As a result, the transit agency has not had a steady, dedicated funding source for most of its history. 

(SEPTA 2019 Operating Budget Subsidies)


When it comes to government funding mechanisms, there are two kinds of budgets. Firstly, there are operating budgets. These budgets include buses, employee wages, ongoing maintenance costs, etc. It’s helpful thinking of operational budgets to be for short-term expenditures. Secondly, there are capital budgets, which include projects like rebuilding train stations, constructing new electrical systems, or building a bridge. These are the more long-term infrastructure investments.

In 2019, state funds accounted for almost 80% of SEPTA’s operating budget and almost 50% of SEPTA’s capital budget. Much of the state’s funding to SEPTA comes from Act 89 in 2013 which allows the Pennsylvania Department of Transit (PennDOT) a $450 million infusion to public transit agencies. However, Act 89 is set to expire in 2022, meaning a big chunk of SEPTA’s funding source could dry up as soon as 2022.

(SEPTA 2019 Capital Budget Subsidies)

This arrangement is unusual for American transit agencies. Most other agencies receive larger support from their local governments, especially in west coast cities where revenues are raised directly from sales taxes. These local funding streams also make localities more responsive to ridership needs. Nevertheless, if the state funding dissolves, SEPTA will need to find alternative sources of funding from local or federal governments.

The Federal Government’s Role in Our Transit System

What role does the federal government play in all of this? I’m glad you asked! The federal government sends funds to local and regional transit agencies across the country, like SEPTA, which are tasked with managing transportation systems in a particular area. However, ever since the Reagan era and the 1980s, the federal government has steadily decreased subsidies for transit agencies’ operating budgets. For instance, federal funds accounted for 11.4% of SEPTA’s operating budget in 2019, as shown above.

When transit agencies need additional capital funds, they can apply for competitive grant programs through the Federal Transit Administration. SEPTA has not submitted a major capital grant for some time but is trying to do so to modernize our trolly system. 


The federal government’s distant role in our transit system is unusual for wealthy nations. In 2019, the United States invested 0.6% of its GDP into inland infrastructure investments, while France and the United Kingdom each invested 0.9% of their GDP in the same year. Clearly, the federal government needs to deepen its investments in public transit agencies like SEPTA.

Transportation and Climate Change: Conclusion

In summary, the federal government has disinvested from transit agencies like SEPTA, and some state governments, like Pennsylvania, have not played their part either. Finally, SEPTA itself is designed to cater to the needs of suburban areas more than the city. Fighting climate change will require changes to all of the above, creating a cleaner, better-funded public transit system in Philadelphia and beyond. What might this look like? Who could it work for? Stay tuned for our next blog post Transit Equity in Philadelphia to find out!
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Activism Campus Sustainability Week Uncategorized

Sustainable Innovation with Bucha Leather Inc.

Sustainable Innovation with CEO of Bucha Leather Inc: Zimri Hinshaw!

We are happy to kick off Temple Campus Sustainability Month with our #EcoChampion Zimri Hinshaw! As the Founder and CEO of Bucha Leather, Zimri hosted an important and interactive conversation on his solution to the leather industry. Read on to learn all about this incredible sustainable innovation!

sustainable innovation conversation with zimri hinshaw

Zimri is a Temple College of Liberal Arts Economic major with a minor in Business from the Fox School of Business. He is the Founder and CEO of Bucha Leather Inc., which he founded after growing kombucha in his dorm room at Temple. After submitting his entrepreneurial idea to various competitions he has worked to perfect Bucha’s triple bottom line business model. Bucha creates premium animal-free leather made out of bacterial nanocellulose. Bucha Leather is Zimri’s seventh entrepreneurial journey and as the recipient of the Green Grant, we are excited to feature him as our #EcoChampion!

Within every glass of kombucha is the solution to the leather industry.

Bucha Leather is not an alternative to leather, is it replacing traditional animal leather products. The problem behind the leather industry and its alternatives lie in their unsustainable production, energy and waste. The global leather industry pollutes the earth with over four million tons of solid waste every year. Its competitors, synthetic and faux leather, use unsustainable products that take up to 500 years to decompose littering our earth in landfills. 

Bucha Leather provides the real solution to the leather industry. It is grown from strong bacterial nanocellulose and treated with all-natural waxes and dyes. It is animal-free with no plastic additives, has high strength and durability while boasting a premium leather texture. Bucha does not compromise on sustainability while meeting high-end industry and consumer standards. For their goal textile, Bucha implements five steps within their scientific and production process. This whole process takes 22 days, 15 days for growth, and 7 days for drying & treatment. Bucha has the fastest manufacturing time across the entire leather industry!

Bucha sells sheets of textiles directly to creators and designers and wholesale to manufacturers. They look for those trying to incorporate sustainable textiles into their final products.

Bucha Pillow: Animal-free with no plastic additives, high strength and durability, & a premium leather texture!

Building a sustainably-focused venture.

Zimri, along with his team, have built a sustainable production system. Goals within this production system are focused on a full cycle of sustainability, creating zero waste and low impact on the earth. After the growth period is complete and treatments are applied, the material dries and is ready for its finish touches. Bucha products come full circle. After they are applied and come to its end of use, the textiles can be composted and recycled back into earth! 

When working to achieve a long-term vision and maximum profitability, Zimri highlights the importance of making compromises and knowing how to scale back in the future. With Bucha’s commitment to full cycle sustainability, highlighted as the triple bottom line, he touches on the importance of balancing people, planet and profit. 
As Zimri builds this model, he is constantly thinking about Bucha’s sustainable innovation. Asking himself, and his team: What is our end of life for our product? How can we be biodegradable and recyclable? How do we balance that with textiles that need to be durable and have a long life?

Pursuing a sustainable venture?

Fill out the b-corporation assessment

Zimri recommends this as a great tool for incorporating sustainability and the triple bottom line into your business model. 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute

Many competitions are happening. Great resource to receive feedback.

Blackstone LaunchPad

Consulte with mentors and collaborate with peers.

Venture Cafe

Opportunity to become active with companies at the cafe. 

Temple Office of Sustainability Eco Reps Program

Brand new leadership development program that keeps you honest and on track with your goals.

Featured questions, answered by Zimri!

sustainable innovation
#EcoChampion Zimri during sustainable innovation Webinar

Q: What does sustainability mean to you, as the Founder and CEO of Bucha Leather?

A: I am always thinking about zero waste and what the end of life is for our product. Constantly thinking about making our production as clean as humanly possible while keeping it inspired and our values centered around circular production goals. 

Q: Can you consume the product that is used to create Bucha Leather?

A: Yes! It is safe but it won’t be like kombucha and will probably taste like sweet bacterial tea.

Q: How many different types of products can Bucha imitate?

A: We will move into new products as we achieve new levels of technical strength and durability. But it is important to note that we are not imitating – we are replacing the traditional leather industry! We are the new and the next leather. Currently, we are working with partners to craft the possibility of shoes, pillows and clothing. 

Q: How is Bucha Leather a climate solution?

A: We are replacing traditional animal leather products, eliminating one of the worlds largest pollutants. As a widely appealing product, Bucha appeals to all consumers. From meat lovers, to vegans, Bucha Leather is for everyone.

Follow Bucha Leather along their zero waste business journey!

Feel free to send a direct message to ask any questions and connect with the brains behind Bucha Leather Inc.

Instagram: @BuchaLeather

Facebook: @BuchaLeather

LinkedIn: Bucha Leather

green grant office of sustainability

Learn more and apply for the Green Grant!

Temple University’s Green Grant builds upon Temple University’s commitment to sustainability by funding projects led by students that focus on advancing the mission and have a positive impact on our local environment and community. The application deadline is November 30th, so head over to our website to learn more about applying!

Hey Eco Owl! Remain informed and stay connected:

Join our OwlConnect to remain informed and updated on all upcoming events with the Sustainability community at Temple. Check out our new EcoReps program while you’re there to gain hands on experience with greening our campus!

Take a look at our last Stories of Sustainability #EcoChampion, Will Fraser too!

Follow along with us on our socials to stay engaged and learn more about our upcoming #EcoChampion! 

Instagram: @TUsustainability

Twitter: @TempleEcoOwls