Gemstone Team Research

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/9070

The Gemstone Program at the University of Maryland is a unique multidisciplinary four-year research program for selected undergraduate honors students of all majors. Under guidance of faculty mentors and Gemstone staff, teams of students design, direct and conduct significant research, often but not exclusively exploring the interdependence of science and technology with society. Gemstone students are members of a living-learning community comprised of fellow students, faculty and staff who work together to enrich the undergraduate experience. This community challenges and supports the students in the development of their research, teamwork, communication and leadership skills. In the fourth year, each team of students presents its research in the form of a thesis to experts, and the students complete the program with a citation and a tangible sense of accomplishment.

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Author: search.filters.author.Fallen, KiraSubject: search.filters.subject.fast fashion

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    Challenging the Fast Fabric Industry: A Zero Fabric Waste Campus
    (2023) Bloch, Margot; Chang, Mia; Esuke, Alexis; Fallen, Kira; Gallagher, Kayleigh; Senthil, Mina; Zheng, Stephanie; Furst, Mary Beth
    The fast fashion industry creates environmental, humanitarian, and economic problems by selling inexpensive, poor-quality products, causing pollution during and after manufacturing, and encouraging throw-away culture. This research aimed to understand industry forces and consumer behavior while developing a process for diverting textile waste from landfills. Data gathered through surveys revealed cost as the leading factor among college students in clothing purchases. Additionally, students were deterred from sustainable habits such as upcycling and mending their own clothes due to a lack of time and skill. However, they were willing to make changes to behaviors as long as it was convenient. We also tested the feasibility of establishing a zero-fabric waste campus by collecting textiles and sorting them for redistribution for upcycling, donation, and recycling. The goal was to create a comprehensive blueprint for residential communities like universities to recreate a system as convenient as curbside recycling. More than 700 pounds of textiles were collected and diverted from landfills by donating them back to community organizations and giving them a second chance. As a result, we provided a channel for college students to act on their knowledge of fast-fashion clothing. This zero-fabric waste system has the potential to be highly successful given the attitudes of students determined in our research, who will drive change as a more environmentally conscientious generation.