Humber’s Eco Closet event returns after pandemic hiatus

Dec 15, 2022 | Life

The 2022 Eco Closet event at Humber College was a collaborative effort that showcased many
students’ skills while giving back to the community in a unique way.

The second-year fashion arts and business students at Humber College’s North campus worked for weeks to organize this initiative, allowing students and community members to come together for an afternoon of shopping and networking.

Donations were made at various on-campus locations, with proceeds going to the local Youth Without Shelter charity in the Jamestown area of North Etobicoke.

“The event originally started, I believe, in 2019,” said Avery Romanelli, a student in the Fashion Arts and Business program. “That was the first year, and then with COVID-19, it got shut down for a while.

“I believe it was our teacher Jennifer Reitano’s idea back then to continue with the event this year since we were able to get back into it,” Romanelli said.

Students, faculty, and supporters returned to the event after the COVID-19 hiatus.

“Some of the supporters and people involved are students, other teachers, IGNITE, the Office of Sustainability, Youth Without Shelter and then a lot of the Humber services like security, our food services and others that volunteer as well,” Romanelli said.

Second-year student Yasmin Gomez led the project and was tasked with overseeing the planning and execution of the event. Students worked in smaller groups representing teams such as risk management and social media.

“Even if you are not a fashion student you can come out for the day, because who doesn’t love shopping,” Gomez said.

Fashion Arts and Business student Nadine Hesham was in charge of promotion and is continuing to work on future initiatives. The group will be together again to work on fashion initiatives after the winter break.

“Next semester, our final semester, we are supposed to have a fashion show, so hopefully we can try to incorporate something related to sustainability with that,” Hesham said.

“Maybe we can do a fashion show using recycled items or reused materials,” she said. “I think it would be fun to see that and then to see where our efforts are going to go – to the use of that shelter.”

Hesham explained that fashion students use social media to educate Humber communities about sustainability.

“Our sponsors are Humber’s Office of Sustainability. We have collaborated with them and it is also an educational platform for student resources,” she said.

There are numerous ways Humber students and others can contribute to sustainable fashion after the Eco Closet event. It can be an initiative such as going through their old clothing and donating items, paying attention to the drying and washing instructions stated and also being a conscious shopper.