Creativity Meets Sustainability at Columbia College

By Elisa Revello in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 21, 2011 7:00PM

For the second year, the Columbia College Recycling Program hosted an on-campus event yesterday called “Screenprinting a Smaller Carbon Footprint.” This is where the arts meet sustainability: a friendly and relaxed gathering, the event was chock full of innovative ideas on how to reuse or remake everyday materials. For example, that old t-shirt at the bottom of the drawer is sewn into a new coffee cozy. At another station, attendees picked recycled t-shirts and could add a green-themed screenprint to promote environmental causes. Some students reworked old textiles and fabrics into potholders and handmade patches.

“By introducing sustainability in a creative manner it doesn’t seem so intimidating or unattainable to students,” Neale Baldyga, Recycling Outreach Coordinator said. “It will challenge them to think about reusing materials and other things in the future.”

The Columbia College Fashion Department crafted jewelry out of scraps of leather, fabric, and other materials. Those looking for a fashionable and sustainable, do-it-yourself project, and other imaginative ways to reinvent the old, should check out the P.S. I Made This website, as recommended by one student.

For more information on the Columbia Recycling program and their initiatives, visit their website.