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Industry: Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

I've never really been interested in the fashion industry, but I remember hearing the term "fast fashion" pop up a few years ago and I was intrigued by it. I grew up shopping with my mom at stores like TJ Maxx and Ross, where clothing was cheaply made, cheaply sold, and "trendy." Then when online shopping took off when I was an adult, I remember being amazed at how inexpensive you could find clothes on certain websites. Since I lived in poverty for most of my 20s, this was very appealing to me. But it only took a few experiences of receiving clothing so poorly made, with thin fabric and frayed seams that barely lasted one wear, to realize that the cheap prices weren't worth it. I also knew that the clothing was likely made in a sweatshop in horrible conditions, and I didn't want to contribute to that. However, as much as I wanted to shop at ethical, eco-friendly, slow fashion stores, they were completely out of my price range. So my solution was to buy clothing second hand. I would shop at Goodwill, Out of the Closet, Buffalo Exchange, or if I was feeling fancy I would go thrift shopping on Melrose. While it took patience to shop at thrift stores, having to dig through to find clothing that I liked that was my size, I found that I could almost always find something high quality, in great condition, that I liked, and that was affordable. (See below, my thrifted sweater from Goodwill.) Best of all, it did not contribute to fast fashion, fashion waste, and the sweatshop labor involved. When I was younger I mostly shopped at thrift stores out of necessity for affordable clothes that didn't fall apart within a week, but now that I can afford more, I still find myself preferring to shop at thrift stores. Not only do I usually find much more interesting and quality clothing than I do in a shop, but thrifting is an easy way I can commit to having less of an environmental impact.

Transportation: Own a Hybrid Vehicle

It's common knowledge how damaging to the environment fossil fuels are, and how much cars contribute to that. I live in an area that is very spread out and does not have great public transportation, so getting around without a car is not usually feasible. The next best thing I can do is drive my hybrid car. I have a Chevy Volt which has a 5-gallon gas tank and can go around 200 miles on a full charge. Besides saving a huge amount of money on gas, I know my emissions are very low. It's also very convenient that nowadays many places have charging stations, including the UCLA campus. Often wherever I'm going, even if it's a busy place I can park very close to the entrance because I can park at the charging stations. I also have the benefit of driving in the carpool lane even if I'm alone, which is very helpful in Los Angeles traffic. It's just so convenient that even if I'm planning a long road trip to visit family in Northern California or Arizona, as I sometimes do, I don't have to worry about gassing up all the time and spending so much money on gas. But besides the personal benefits I enjoy, I am grateful that my environmental impact is much lower than if I had a regular car. I will never again buy a car that is not at least hybrid, and for my next car I will be looking into a fully electric car.

Food, Agriculture, & Land Use: Support Local Food Systems

I remember when the movement of "farm to table" eating first became popular, I didn't really understand what that meant. Then I learned that there is a huge environmental impact from transporting produce across the country or the world. Having always living in suburbia or the city, I was far removed from the sources of my food, and never really thought about what it had to go through to get from the farm to my local grocery store. Then, when I moved to Oxnard last year, I suddenly found myself in the midst of farmland, and would regularly pass by produce stands on the side of the road. I made the commitment to try to get as much of my produce as possible from these local produce stands to lessen my environmental impact from food transportation. Now I usually go to the produce stand at least once a week, and always first before I go to the grocery store so I know I'm getting local produce. I rarely find myself buying produce in the grocery store anymore. I also get produce that is fresher; often I buy it next to the field that it was actually grown on. It's also almost always more affordable. I can get flats of strawberries or bags of avocados for a fraction of what I would pay for them at the store. I appreciate supporting the local farmers that live and work in my community instead of large corporations.

Public Transportation
Growing up I did not take public transportation, but my parent did when they were younger. I always wondered why my parents preferred utilizing their own car now instead of using buses to get from place to place. So I decided to ask them and when I did they said it was simply more convenient to have their own car because it takes less time to travel from point A to point B.  My parents also said it is better to travel in your own car than the public bus because it is safer since they have had bad experiences with people stealing their belonging or being harassed on the bus. I grew up with this mindset that buses are not safe, but once I started college I decided to use buses more often to either buy groceries or travel to and from home. During the first year of college I had a hard time adjusting and would go home every weekend, but since my parents were busy with work and I didn't have a car, I took a bus to travel home on the weekends. I was very lucky to have friends who also went home on the weekends using public transportation and they showed me the ins and outs of what is a tap card and the different bus lines I can take to get home. Taking the bus was a bit scary because I wasn't sure if I was at the right stop sometimes and waiting for the bus in a sketchy area of LA for about 30 minutes was not fun. From this experience I realized that transfer and wait times for buses are pretty long and probably part of the reason why some people prefer using their cars instead of taking the bus. I would rather prefer just taking one bus that picks me up from school and straight to my house in Long Beach. Luckily UCLA transportation offers a Long Beach transit commuter line that goes to and from Long Beach from Westwood. I utilize this resource often to travel to and from school and I surprisingly I really enjoy traveling in the bus. While riding on the bus I would  usually catch up on homework or study and this was really convenient because on days where there was traffic on the freeway I would rather be catching up on schoolwork than be in my own car driving in stop and go traffic. However, I do feel there does need to be some drastic changes in our public transportation in order to make it more convenient for others to use. Possibly making it easier for others to use the public transportation system where there is less transfer and less wait times will lead to a shift were people rely more on public buses over their own cars to travel from place to place; therefore, reducing emissions which is better for our health and the environment. (below I attached a picture while I was on the Long Beach transit commuter line)

Eco Friendly Transportation:
After starting the Drawdown EcoChallenge, I think that I changed my view on transportation completely. I was never someone who enjoyed traveling by car, yet found myself taking the car almost everywhere. Even when public transportation is really conveniently set up in Korea, I think that I had been drawn to taking the car around my neighborhood because of how easily accessible it was for me. When I needed to go somewhere, even as close as 10-15 minutes by car, either my parents would drive me or I would drive myself. I don't think that I gave taking public transportation a second thought, especially since the bus stations are kind of far of a walk from my apartment complex. However, this quarter I challenged myself to go on a walk for at least 30 minutes each day. When I did that, I found myself building the habit of walking to and from my gym (which is usually the only place I go on a day to day basis!). Once walking became a habit, 30 minutes of just walking around the neighborhood didn't seem like a long time or a long distance to walk at all. Then I thought to myself, if I can walk for 30 minutes, I can definitely walk for 10-15 minutes to a bus stop to take public transportation to the place I need to go. This kind of thinking helped me increase the number of times I took the bus instead of the car greatly. I also found out that there are certain electric buses that go around my neighborhood. Though it doesn't always go to the place I need to go, it still has quite a few stops that are nearby and useful for me. I started riding those buses more frequently as well! Now, I find these electric buses to be not only convenient, but also quieter and very pleasing to ride since the sides of the buses feel like big windows (it allows me to see more of the outdoor scenery!). I think that I am building a good habit of finding a more sustainable mode of transportation and also improving my health since taking public transportation usually also equates to more time spent walking. I want to continue to keep it my goal to try and walk to as many places as possible, and when it is too far to walk, take public transportation rather than the car. 

Below are pictures of the electric bus that I often take!