Title:Selling sustainability

Have a favorite pair of jeans mended—for free—without leaving campus. Buy a new jacket in Red Square while waiting for a lunch order. Learn how to knit. Finally find a new home for the mountain of clothes to donate. 

These initiatives—garment repair, online and in-person shopping, as well as welcoming used goods or clothing donations—are all facets of Georgetown REUSE, an independent student-run nonprofit that promotes sustainable practices. Since launching in 2021, the organization has kept over 10,000 pounds of waste from landfills, mended or upcycled over 180 items, and resold over 3,000 items.

“It’s such a close-knit community, but it also feels like we’re making a difference on campus, providing small-scale circularity here,” says Emma Lindbergh (C’26), the 2025-26 head of the ReStitch program. 

REUSE currently has around 90 members across four departments. Six founders created the group, an idea which later earned them the Green Commons Award in 2022, as well as awards in the 2023 Rocket Pitch and 2023 Georgetown Entrepreneurship Challenge. 

The student-run group began as a pilot project by GREEN, a ​university-affiliated student group, and later ​branched off to become independent. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit ​now has business ​and fundraising license​s, liability insurance, and hires new members twice a year. Board members spend up to 40-50 hours a month on their roles.

“When I was a freshman and telling people that I was a part of REUSE, the response would be, ‘Oh, what’s that? I haven’t heard of that,’” says Grace McManus (C’26), REUSE’s 2025-26 COO, who has been a member since 2022. “Now you talk to anyone and they know what REUSE is.” 

Cycling through the circular economy

Working parallel to the Office of Sustainability, which holds Move In and Move Out Drives at the start and end of the academic year, REUSE positioned a team at the ready to collect donations, an initiative called ReMove. The drives have become their largest collection intake events. 

Naomi Gould (C’26), the REUSE CFO in 2025-26, was one member who volunteered to help with ReMove during the Office of Sustainability’s Spring 2025 Move Out Drive.

“We were spending hours every day in the Leavey garage, sorting through these big, bulky dorm items, and we were getting sweaty and dirty,” Gould recalls. “But at the end of the day, we could look in our storage pod and say, “Wow, we saved all of this from a landfill.’”

“It was just such a tangible way to see the impact that we can make on campus, and really feel the impact that you can make with a small group of motivated students.” 

The community that donates items is also the organization’s target audience, and Gould estimates that they sold nearly all spring donations during the following fall.

A 2025 pilot project with campus partnership has also added 8 donation bins to on-campus residence halls and campus eateries, everywhere from LXR to Vital Vittles. 

After donation, items—including clothing and shoes—are sorted, assessed, discounted, and resold or donated. In addition to weekly Farmer’s Market appearances, REUSE holds themed pop-up events that sell everything from athletic clothes to Halloween costumes to formalwear for the SFS Diplomatic Ball. 

In addition to item repair, REUSE also runs social media accounts, a sustainability blog, and a monthly newsletter. It also offers an ecommerce site for students craving convenience—an option where pickup doesn’t require leaving campus. 

“I remember being in my dorm and the strap on my top just broke. I could go on Amazon or trek over to the T.J. Maxx on M Street,” Gould says. “But when I go to the REUSE site and see they have a top that I could pick up in a few days, that’s a better option.”

Stitching into the campus fabric

From website management to taxes to sewing, leaders have gained unexpected tangible—and intangible—skills.

As a department head of a nonprofit, Lindbergh credits REUSE with developing her professional skills in a real-world setting. Gould, who helped her friend Sara Lignell with logistical support while Lignell was pitching the ReStitch program in 2023, learned the impact of exploring new ideas.

“Week in and week out, REUSE shows me that if you have an idea and want to make the world a better place, you’ve just got to start doing it,” Gould says. “That’s been really inspiring. It gives me more inspiration to take little risks in my life.”

Lignell (C’26), now CEO for REUSE, pitched ReStitch to the group after friends kept asking if she could mend their items. She saw a need for repair services on campus to eliminate the difficulty and expense of finding a local tailor.

The garment repair program piloted in Spring 2024, with support from Lignell and Lindbergh, and has repaired 180 items. ReStitch has also upcycled donated t-shirts into limited-edition tote bags. and holds open sessions to teach knitting and sewing.

ReStitch is now “one of the most successful operations that REUSE has launched,” Gould says—and led her to mend an item for the first time.

New friends, same focus 

REUSE also selects an environmental organization to partner with each year, providing charitable proceeds, promotion, and engagement. Previous partners include the Alice Ferguson Foundation, Rachel’s Network, and most recently Washington Parks & People, which hosted a recent park cleanup. The event was a favorite recent memory for Lignell.  

“It was really awesome bringing a very large group to a park that needs some TLC,” says Lignell, the 2025-26 CEO. “We were cleaning up the leaves, painting trash cans, and more. It was also just great to get out into DC, into the fresh air, and actually do something.”

The large but “tight-knit” community also emphasizes togetherness—even hosting a group Thanksgiving in 2025 and 2024. Since the original REUSE founders have now graduated, the group has hosted an alumni panel and hopes to expand pre-professional engagement and sustainability career discussions. 

As the organization grows and members graduate, REUSE still maintains its focus on community engagement and education. 

Though she’s now an executive, McManus still makes time for a Farmer’s Market shift during the week to spread awareness and connect. 

“I think that’s just the most fun: seeing people come over, interact, go through the clothes, find something they love.”