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Patagonia visits MSU for 'Worn Wear College Tour'

April 3, 2017

As spring cleaners emerge and gain momentum, the MSU Recycling Center welcomed outdoor clothing and gear store Patagonia on March 31 to help educate people on the effects of pitching their worn-out clothing.  

In an effort to become radical environmentalists, Patagonia President and CEO Rose Marcario started the Worn Wear College Tour in which representatives travel to universities across the country in their symbolic biodiesel truck to fix worn clothing, free of cost.

The MSU Recycling Center is dedicated not only to recycling used materials from campus, but doing their part to lessen the initial waste that is created, said packaging senior and Student Recycling Coordinator Brad Kurzynowski. 

According to MSU’s 2014 Sustainability Report, the Recycling Center and Surplus Store is credited for increasing the waste diversion percentage to 57 percent. 

“It’s great that we recycle so much material here on campus, but the best thing, if you look at it from an environmental standpoint is to not create waste in the first place,” Kurzynowski said. 

He explained that hosting this event is critical because Patagonia has established their brand, and the match up allows the MSU Recycling Center to be associated as an opportunity for others to see what they’re facilitating on campus in terms of waste reduction. 

Hannah Tizedes, advertising senior and environmental communications coordinator for the MSU Recycling Center, wants to educate people on the effects of throwing out damaged clothing. 

Tizedes learned a lot about what kind of environmental effect throwing out clothing has from “The True Cost” documentary.

“Things that I’ve never even taken into consideration like where your clothes are made and how they’re dyed and everything,” Tizedes said. “There can be pollutants in them and they’re just thrown into the landfill after all this hard work put into them.”

The Worn Wear College Tour rolled onto campus in what Tizedes describes as a “groovy looking” biodiesel truck on Friday.

It is important to spread the message Patagonia is expressing because MSU is a school that emphasizes to "Go Green" and this event is bringing that to a whole new meaning, Tizedes said. 

The Worn Wear Tour is targeting colleges for the first time.

“The idea of it is to celebrate the products we already own and not buy too much new stuff,” said Patagonia spokesperson Jessica Clayton. “The best thing that you can do for the environment is to reduce your consumption. Even more so than buying products that are organic or made with organic cotton, the best thing is not to buy something.” 

But the clothing company is convinced that the answer to society’s over consumption problem lies within the generation that is currently in college. Patagonia is noticing an up swell and a movement of sorts, Clayton said. 

“If you go spend $100 on a Patagonia down sweater, or Patagonia fleece, you cherish that piece,” she said. “The older it gets, the more broken in it gets, the more stains it gets, the more you love it because has so many stories, and you’ll have worn it to so many amazing events in your life and that’s way more valuable than a $5.99 fleece from Old Navy.” 

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