On January 1, sophomore Regan Hanood, and her friend Shayna Fowler, launched Costworthy, a grassroots initiative focused on ethical fashion.
“Our goal is to enable people to both look good, and do good,” Hanood said.
Hanood and Fowler have released a video blog to help others identify ethical clothing producers, with a website to be ready by the end of January.
Hanood said that they had the idea in October of last year, and after it received traction with some fashion bloggers and industry members, they decided to form a nonprofit.
“We are both very passionate about different social injustices, so we thought, ‘Why wouldn’t we let that permeate every aspect of our lives, including our closets?’” Hanood said.
Hanood and Fowler are collaborating with interested companies in both Columbus and Minneapolis, where Fowler attends school, to make their pledge a reality.
“The main thing we look at is the human rights aspect of the codes of conduct of companies, and the factories in which their clothes are produced,” Hanood said. “We want to create a support system and following of people that believe in this with us.”
Hanood said that for many college students throwing away their entire closets is not a realistic option, but she still wants them to get involved in whatever way they can.
Costworthy features three unique initiatives; Tick, Tick, in which participants would spend varying periods of time wearing only ethical clothes; Product Swap, in which they would replace a single item in their closet with an ethically produced one; and Customize Yourself, in which the participant can choose how they want to participate.
Hanood said that participants are allowed to shop at thrift stores, since even if the merchandise was unethically produced, the profits go to charity.
“We’ve already had people grabbing on to these initiatives and posting pictures of their outfits and closets,” Hanood said. “Others have been using the hashtag [#costworthycommunity] to discuss new stores and companies that they find.”
Costworthy can be followed on Instagram and Twitter at @costworthycommunity and their blog is located here.
Hanood said that eventually they would like to transition Costworthy into a for-profit virtual closet, where customers can order ethically produced merchandise directly from affiliated companies.
