George Washington University
IN-50: Innovation D

As a part of GW's Zero Waste strategy, the university introduced permanent clothing donation bins on campus in 2019. The bins, located in residence halls and common spaces on the Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon Campuses, offer students the opportunity to donate their unwanted clothing rather than throw it away. Since the inception of the program, GW has added new bins and the volume of donations has steadily increased. Currently, on average, the bins facilitate the collection of roughly 2,000 pounds of clothing each month or about 25,000 pounds per year, with volume steadily increasing. As of 2021, the GW Office of Sustainability has partnered with student-led social enterprise POP! Thrift to provide the group with second-hard garments obtained through GW's collection bins. POP! Thrift, whose mission is to empower customers to make environmentally and socially conscious purchasing decisions, uses the reclaimed textiles to produce on-campus fashion-shows and host pop-up markets at which thrift clothing is offered for sale to GW students and community members. POP! was the winner of $25,000 at GW's 2022 New Venture Competition which provides university student teams the chance to earn awards for promising social ventures. The Office of Sustainability has also begun recruitment for a textile-reuse intern to support increasing demand for clothing donation and reuse on campus through the collection bins, additional engagement and programming, and partnership development.