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SUSTAINABLE STYLE - charity gala
In my third year at the University of St Andrews I applied to join the sub-committee for student run society: 'Sustainable Style'. In a change to their usual events, Sustainable Style embarked on an ambitious new venture, proposing a large ticketed Charity Gala and Auction of slow fashion pieces and art in aid of Fashion Revolution.
My committee role of 'Designer Publicity Officer' entailed acquainting myself with all the designers and their art/clothing pieces which were exhibited and auctioned at the event. I also assisted in marketing the event through designing graphics, staging pop-up ticket sales and filming promotional content. On the day of the event the whole committee were on hand to help with venue set up, decorations and event proceedings.
The Charity Gala was a resounding success, raising £1399 for Fashion Revolution and establishing Sustainable Style as a key contributor to the St Andrews social and eco-conscious scene.
SUSTAINABLE STYLE - clothing swaps
After the success of the Charity Gala in 2023, I applied for the role of 'Head of Clothing Swaps' for the executive Sustainable Style committee. Having been an avid participant in the clothing swap events run in the past, I was thrilled to be chosen for the position and enthusiastically began planning the first event in summer 2023 before starting my fourth year at university.
When the semester began, I had the privilege of assessing applications and choosing three event assistants, also later taking on a Depop manager. For the first clothing swap event I had contacted a popular theatre in town with excellent footfall, securing their open study space as a venue, kindly free of charge! I also liaised with a local organisation to build up quality clothing stock and widen reach into the local community, beyond the student faction.
In order to improve the efficiency of the clothing swap events I devised a new 'clothing credit' system on an automated and shared Excel spreadsheet and implemented a 'check in - check out' flow of event attendees. Throughout the academic year my team and I ran four large clothing swap events, each with well over 200 attendees, and several smaller collaborations, including travelling to local schools to speak about our events and society initiatives.
The majority of clothing swap attendees chose to swap in clothes for exchangeable 'credit' and over the year we saw a
500% increase in attendees registering for credit with us leaving a sizeable base of loyal 'swappers' for the next year. However, we also accepted cash and card for the monetary purchase of clothes and in doing so made a profit of £1208 after event costs. Half was donated to charity: Fashion Revolution, and the other half was left for the continuation of the society.
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