Trash to Fashion Challenges Fast Fashion Mentality Amid Record High Textile Waste Numbers

Trash to Fashion and the organization’s founder Rebekah Fraser ’03 are fighting against the fast fashion mentality that has led the world to produce 92 million tons of textile waste every year. Rebekah is a Yale alumna, having earned her BA in Film Studies and Screenwriting, then a writing MFA from Seton Hill University. Since 2007, Fraser has been interested in upcycled clothing and, with Dwight Hall’s Emerging Project support, Trash to Fashion has opened, and it is changing the way people view their clothes.

This summer marked a milestone for Trash to Fashion when Fraser partnered with the Yale School of Art to host a pop-up fashion exhibit at 63 Audubon Street. The showcase featured stunning garments crafted entirely from recycled materials, proving that sustainability and style need not be mutually exclusive. In August 2025, Trash to Fashion hosted a Think Like a Trashionista Workshop, where community members learned how to reuse textiles and plastics and turn them into clothing. On Saturday, October 11, 2025, Trash to Fashion is hosting another workshop, followed by a ball of glamorous and recycled clothing at Bregamos Community Theater, 491 Blatchley Ave., New Haven. Attendees of all of these events learn to create and celebrate vogue and environmentally conscious clothing.

“[My goal is] to get people to think differently about what they purchase, how they use it, and when—and if—they dispose of it,” Fraser explained. In an era of ultra-cheap, mass-produced clothing, it is all too easy to just buy a new garment at the sight of the smallest hole or stain. This mentality has led to an environmental crisis. With her workshops, Fraser teaches people how to make unique clothes out of materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.

“We don’t really see the impact of our trash [because] it gets shipped off… but you have areas where these toxic materials contaminate aquifers; the water that we bathe in, swim in, [and] drink,” Fraser said. Studies have shown that landfills often contaminate groundwater with dangerous pollutants. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2018, landfills received 11.3 million tons of textiles.

Recently, however, Fraser has noticed an encouraging cultural shift. “Thrifting and vintage is huge and… [i]t’s definitely a step in the right direction.” Thrift stores have been instrumental to the cultural movement of treating old clothes as art instead of garbage.

“Places like Goodwill are not only keeping clothes out of landfills, but also employing people who would not normally be able to get jobs,” Fraser explained. The fast fashion industry not only negatively impacts the environment, but cheap production abroad raises other ethical concerns. “In fast fashion, there’s no concern for the worker. They’re [often] paid below minimum wage [and sometimes work in hazardous conditions].” In 2024, the United States imported $113 billion worth of textiles, almost all from developing countries. In these countries, working conditions can be severely underregulated; decent wages and a safe workplace often become overshadowed by the pressures to keep costs low.

Trash to Fashion has partnered with Goodwill to keep up the positive momentum around thrifting through displays like the Trash to Fashion Ball on October 11th. These kinds of cultural events make people view their old clothes differently. By combining education with celebration, Trash to Fashion transforms environmental messaging into engaging, hands-on experiences that inspire lasting behavioral change.

Thanks to funding and support from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, The Ely Center of Contemporary Art, Design School for Regenerating Earth Forests of the NE Fundshare, Goodwill of Southern New England, The Greater New Haven Green Fund, Hull’s Art Supply & Framing, New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Peels & Wheels Composting, Pistachio Print Co., and the NewAlliance Foundation, Trash to Fashion has been able to blossom. 

Trash to Fashion is part of the Advance pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model, receiving Emerging Project support and fiscal sponsorship. If you are interested in Trash to Fashion’s work encouraging a grassroots movement towards a sustainable fashion mindset, visit their website or Instagram.