As a global community we are currently facing a sustainability crisis: fast fashion. Princetonians can work to address this problem through programs focused on national impact, such as the Hult Prize, for college students.
The Hult Prize Foundation is a disruptive global leader in social entrepreneurship and youth empowerment for the 21st century. This year’s Hult Prize Challenge is reinventing fashion and aims to spark innovation and sustainable social work in the apparel and fashion industry.
Fast fashion cycles that focus on cheap, mass-produced, and short-lived clothing have come to dominate our shopping habits. Fueled in part by ever-changing social media trends, these cycles have high value. The fashion industry is generally responsible for 8-10 percent of global emissions and is the world’s second largest industrial user of water. With conscious fashion and lifestyle, the United Nations (UN) has been actively pushing the fashion industry to “accelerate action” in its efforts to achieve sustainability by the 2030 deadline.
Having long had a passion for sustainable fashion, it was at Princeton that I began creating a community focused on truly inspiring creative sustainability efforts. Ever since high school, I’ve improvised and upcycled unique pieces and styled them. However, once I came to Princeton, I didn’t have time to do these projects, and I did my relationship with fashion to understand the cycles behind fashion production and focus on how to be more sustainable beyond my own consumption.
I strongly believe that the key to solving sustainability issues is not just academic research, but developing innovation and creativity. In the year In November 2022, I founded the Princeton Fashion Institute with my best friend Nadine Alache. Our club aims to create a professional gateway for students to engage in the fashion industry and explore opportunities that embrace inclusivity and sustainability.
At a school like Princeton, we all have the ability to explore the above states. We also have access to resources and support to create meaningful change. The Hult Prize is the perfect opportunity to make this change.
The first program partnered with the Princeton Fashion Institute is the Hilt Award. When I heard about the prize from a close friend, I was immediately intrigued: not only was the Hult Prize Foundation’s emphasis on social entrepreneurship and the pursuit of original inventions, but this year’s focus on fashion and sustainability was a perfect fit for my efforts. I knew I had to apply this challenge to Princeton students, and now I am the director of the 2023 Campus Hult Award at Princeton.
Tens of thousands of college and university students from 120+ countries participate in this challenge each year, and since its inception, participants have represented 2,000+ institutions of higher learning. As its anchor activity, the $1,000,000 Hult Prize Global Startup Award brought impact-focused programs to campuses, all starting with the iconic OnCampus program.
The oncampus program serves as the first phase of Princeton University’s Hult Prize competition, which will be hosted on campus in late February. Winners of the OnCampus competition will continue in the running to compete at the Hult Prize Summit in Boston and receive a one-of-a-kind prize of $1M in seed capital.
Hult Award winners will receive opportunities and resources to create real change. Last year, the 2022 Hult Prize challenge was “putting the world back to work. The winner was Ecobana, a social organization that aims to end the production of plastic in sanitary napkins and produce biodegradable sanitary pads to eradicate extreme poverty. Using the concept of green and circular economy to produce biodegradable sanitary pads using banana fiber, their aim was to adopt organic and natural solutions. With the prize money, these young entrepreneurs were able to expand their businesses to reduce the impact of fossil fuels.
The award gives students the opportunity to create a for-profit social innovation within the fashion/apparel industry. Princeton students have so much opportunity, exposure, and experience, and I know that every student here has the ability to change the world. So why think less?
Ideas must have a positive impact on people and the planet and support the United Nations in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals. We would like to emphasize that students’ startup ideas do not have to be fully developed. Because the oncampus competition is the first stage of many, students are encouraged to apply even with the most difficult proposal. What we ask for is authenticity, innovation and new thinking. Students must submit their vote through our website and register through the general application. There is incredible potential for good on this campus; Students must put their skills to good use and work to solve one of the world’s most pressing issues.
Bahia Kazemipour (she/her) is a freshman from Mission Viejo, California, planning to major in the School of Public and International Affairs. She can be reached on Instagram @bahia.kazemipour or by email at bk6409@princeton.edu. Campus events, as well as up-to-date information on the competition, can be found on Hult Prize’s Instagram page (@hultprize) or websiteAnd the 2023 Competitor’s Handbook is available. over here.
