Undergraduate
Saint Michael's graduates will wear environmentally friendly graduation gowns at commencement May 13
'Green' robes for commencement, when Nobel Economist Amartya Sen speaks
Contact Information:
Buff Lindau, Marketing & Communications
802.654.2536
blindau@smcvt.edu
Saint Michael's College graduates will wear environmentally friendly robes when Harvard Professor/Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, "the Mother Theresa of economics," speaks at their commencement ceremonies in the Ross Sports Center on the Saint Michael's College campus at 10 a.m. on May 13, 2010.
Saint Michael's has switched from traditional fabric graduation gowns to environmentally friendly gowns made from recycled plastic water bottles.
The 501 students receiving their bachelor's degrees and 48 receiving master's degrees at Saint Michael's commencement will be able to return the gowns for reuse or recycling. Their "green" regalia, made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled water bottles, will be the traditional black in actual color.
Instead of gowns that get stashed in closets or attics after graduation, this year's graduates will be asked to return the gowns for reuse in subsequent years.
"We will encourage students to return the gowns after graduation, and we will reuse them or properly recycle them," said Stephen McMahon, manager of the Saint Michael's bookstore.
According to the company that makes the Green Weaver gowns, Oak Hall Cap & Gown of Salem, Va., each gown equals about 23 bottles. The 550 gowns to be worn at Saint Michael's commencement will keep about 12,650 plastic bottles out of landfills this year. If those gowns are re-used next year and the next, the benefits grow and grow, as ever more plastic bottles are kept out of landfills.
The whole production process uses recycling:
The Salem, Va., company that makes the gowns says CO2 gas emissions are reduced by 54 percent in the process of manufacturing fabric from plastic versus from virgin polyester. Additionally, they say their use of thermal recycled energy in the production process makes possible another 53 percent energy savings over the use of petroleum-based energy. Also, the shipping cartons are made of recycled cardboard, and the cap-and-gown storage bags are made from recycled plastic. Best of all, the gowns are made of filament yarn that is soft, not stiff and not hot!
Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, the Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college. Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead a successful, purposeful life that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 371 Colleges. It is one of 270 colleges and universities nationwide, and one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Saint Michael's is located just outside Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns.
Buff Lindau, Marketing & Communications
802.654.2536
blindau@smcvt.edu
Saint Michael's College graduates will wear environmentally friendly robes when Harvard Professor/Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, "the Mother Theresa of economics," speaks at their commencement ceremonies in the Ross Sports Center on the Saint Michael's College campus at 10 a.m. on May 13, 2010.
Saint Michael's has switched from traditional fabric graduation gowns to environmentally friendly gowns made from recycled plastic water bottles.
The 501 students receiving their bachelor's degrees and 48 receiving master's degrees at Saint Michael's commencement will be able to return the gowns for reuse or recycling. Their "green" regalia, made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled water bottles, will be the traditional black in actual color.
Instead of gowns that get stashed in closets or attics after graduation, this year's graduates will be asked to return the gowns for reuse in subsequent years.
"We will encourage students to return the gowns after graduation, and we will reuse them or properly recycle them," said Stephen McMahon, manager of the Saint Michael's bookstore.
According to the company that makes the Green Weaver gowns, Oak Hall Cap & Gown of Salem, Va., each gown equals about 23 bottles. The 550 gowns to be worn at Saint Michael's commencement will keep about 12,650 plastic bottles out of landfills this year. If those gowns are re-used next year and the next, the benefits grow and grow, as ever more plastic bottles are kept out of landfills.
The whole production process uses recycling:
The Salem, Va., company that makes the gowns says CO2 gas emissions are reduced by 54 percent in the process of manufacturing fabric from plastic versus from virgin polyester. Additionally, they say their use of thermal recycled energy in the production process makes possible another 53 percent energy savings over the use of petroleum-based energy. Also, the shipping cartons are made of recycled cardboard, and the cap-and-gown storage bags are made from recycled plastic. Best of all, the gowns are made of filament yarn that is soft, not stiff and not hot!
Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, the Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college. Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead a successful, purposeful life that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 371 Colleges. It is one of 270 colleges and universities nationwide, and one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Saint Michael's is located just outside Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns.
