Cornell University: Sustainable fashions at the Beyond Waste Prom

Cornell’s first-ever Beyond Waste Prom on March 26 marked the culmination of a two-month long sustainability campaign. Students from across campus showed up at the Straight in their favorite hand-me-down, thrifted, borrowed, or reused clothing to enjoy music, dancing, a paper-free photo booth, and dinner and dessert.

The goal of Cornell’s Beyond Waste campaign is to inspire members of the campus community to rethink their relationship with everyday products—from takeout containers, to food waste, to fast fashion. The campaign is part of the national Recyclemania competition, in which colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada compete to reduce waste on their campuses. The campaign included events like the prom, waste-reduction activities for individuals and teams, the launch of a new Sustainable Cornell Book Club, and institutional waste tracking for the national competition.