Environmental Sustainability

Universities are historically massive sites of consumption and waste production An estimated 200 million tons of waste is generated by college students alone in one year. Through our research we found that UIUC students desire to practice more sustainable behaviors but are unsure how.

The project team was tasked with igniting a passion for sustainable behaviors among UIUC students. By not only educating but also incentivizing and guiding behavioral change, leading to tangible positive impacts on their habits and community involvement. Students often buy from fast fashion companies to save money and to stay on trends, but fast fashion is extremely damaging to the environment as it is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions. To combat this we created Illini Swap, a shopping platform where UIUC students can buy and sell used items such as clothing, electronics, and more. Illini swap includes features that allows students to be further educated on their environmental impact and while also saving money.