On the afternoon of Oct. 6, the North Green was filled with vendors, students and live music for the Students for the Environment (S4E) second flea market. Tables of unique jewelry, secondhand clothes and sneakers were just a few of the stands students were flocking to.
S4E is the oldest environmental RSO at the university, founded in the 1970s. President of S4E, senior Clara Cvik, was motivated to kickstart the flea market by her own personal commitment to reducing environmental waste. Cvik said she often finds herself wanting to buy dresses for one-time wear and wanted a solution to this problem she knows many students experience.
“I initially had the idea of creating a Facebook Marketplace type of thing where girls and guys could sell different types of stuff, but I figured it’d be hard to get people to actually use it,” Cvik said.
While studying abroad this past spring semester, Cvik was inspired by the vibrant street markets she saw throughout Europe. Upon her return to campus, she had the idea to create a space where students could exchange and share their pre-loved clothes and belongings with each other.
One of the tables was home to Funky Rat, an up-and-coming streetwear brand that aims to enhance secondhand clothing. Funky Rat customizes thrifted clothing with embroidery. Juniors and co-founders Amanda Membrado and Hunter Wills shared how S4E’s first flea market on Sep. 1 generated the most money they’ve ever made to date.
“It gave us the ability to buy brand new stuff,” Membrado said. “We pretty much sold out of everything. So it’s given us a lot of opportunities to start expanding.”
Wills emphasized the brand’s goal to establish themselves as a unique unisex clothing line, with captivating embroideries that resonate with their customers.
“Whenever a company says they release a unisex clothing collection, it’s always just blank stuff,” Wills said. “It’s so boring, it’s like ‘How am I going to express myself in any of this clothing when it’s just blank?’ So a central part of our company is having these designs that we think represent our customers.”
According to Earth.org, the planet accumulates 92 million tons of garment waste in landfills each year. Buying secondhand clothing at a flea market can help grant a second life to items and help reduce the amount of waste produced.
The prevalence of fast fashion companies contributed to furthering throwaway culture and overconsumption. According to Merriam Webster, fast fashion is a process where trendy clothes are made quickly and cheaply while remaining inexpensive to consumers. Brands producing fast fashion directly aids in the pollution caused by excess clothing.
Although the reselling of secondhand clothing aligns with the goals of S4E, vendors at the flea market were not limited to only clothing. Featured at some of the other tables were rare sneakers, handmade jewelry and art.
Cvik shared her vision for the flea market to take place on the first Friday of every month on the North Green. She hopes for the flea market to become a S4E tradition and succeed in the years to come following her graduation this spring.
“[The flea market] is our attempt to get people outside and to be using The Green,” Cvik said. “If we’re advocating for public green spaces and having all these green spaces taken care of on campus, we need to show that students are actually using them.”
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