Old Clothes, New You: Cardinal Closet Spring Updates -

By Elliana Arnold

Our favorite campus closet is open again for another semester. Cardinal Closet, Catholic University’s student-led thrift store, invites any and all students, faculty, and staff to come visit the small shop, located in Gibbons Hall B17.

This organization has some new updates for this spring semester, including new hours of operation, which are Mondays from 2-4:30 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11-2 pm. Another new development is the Cardinal Closet newsletter, which you can sign up for to receive updates about their events. This newsletter also includes information about the fashion industry and the second-hand clothes market.

Cardinal Closet plays an important role in promoting sustainable habits on CUA’s campus. Gabrielle Choate, the manager of the Office of Campus Sustainability, states that “Cardinal Closet was proposed in response to the large amount of clothing waste on campus.” She continues that the aim of the organization is “to create a zero waste space where our community is encouraged to swap, reuse, and reconsider items that might otherwise be trashed.”

College students are familiar with the constantly changing trends and the desire to try out new styles, which can oftentimes lead to not only an overconsumption of new clothing but also a massive amount of reusable items being thrown away. The Cardinal Closet February Newsletter addresses this issue of the enormous amount of waste the fashion industry creates each year. The newsletter notes that the mass production of approximately 100 billion garments each year contributes to the landfills gaining about 92 million tons of clothes.

Cardinal Closet hopes to address this problem by creating a space where these discarded clothes can find a new home instead of an early grave.

From business attire and casual wear to athletic outfits and maternity clothes, Cardinal Closet has a wide selection available to visitors, and all items in the store are completely free. Head on over to Gibbons B17 to donate clothes you no longer wear and to find your newest statement pieces. Who knows what kind of steals you will find. However, before you get too excited and take too big of a haul, Cardinal Closet recommends that shoppers keep the amount of clothes they take to under 10 items per visit.

Our campus thrift store also highly encourages students to donate any clothes that are still in good condition. So, if you peek into your closet and spot a sweater or pair of jeans that has been neglected for a while, consider dropping it off in the store to give it another shot at life. However, clothes with rips, stains, or irrevocable damage will not be accepted.

These donations will help other members of our campus community Choate states that this thrift store is “a way to support community members who may not be able to source new clothes or specific types of clothes (such as professional or maternity clothes) otherwise.” This shop allows community members to pass on their unused clothing to others who could greatly benefit from them, instead of adding to the landfills.

Cardinal Closet plans to break out of their Gibbons location occasionally throughout the semester, looking forward to some exciting events across campus, such as tabling in the Pryz with a collection of clothes. Additionally, they plan to partner with the Busch School of Business in a course aimed at running a business clothing drive and pop-up shop. This event will occur in March and April and can be found in Maloney Hall. This program also welcomes any partnerships with other organizations on campus to host some special events.

If anyone is interested in getting more involved with this organization, consider applying in September to work in the store. CUA students can greatly benefit from and contribute to this student-run thrift store, so next time you are in the vicinity of Gibbons, head on over to Cardinal Closet and make thrifting a part of your sustainable lifestyle while living on campus.