Green Club members held a free thrift shop for students as part of their Earth Week initiatives during the Zero Period on Tuesday, April 18.

At the start of the Zero Period, students from all grades flooded into Room 124 to shop, creating so much demand that a crowd formed outside the door. “Everyone just barged in,” Green Club president Katie Chang said with a laugh.

“We didn’t expect so many,” Chang continued, as thrifters browsed the tables. Clothing was sorted neatly into labeled categories—covering everything from women’s tops to kids’ pajamas to accessories—filling the ten tabletops in the room.

A clothing drive preceded the thrift shop, so club members could collect items to distribute. “We sorted everything into different categories during lunch and made sure everything was folded,” Chang explained, commending the efforts of club members.

All available clothing and accessories were free to students—though the number of pieces they could take was limited—and anything students did not pick up was donated.

Shopping at secondhand stores has grown in popularity as a way to introduce fun new pieces into one’s closet for a low price and keep clothes out of landfills, reducing waste. “I love thrifting; I see it as a way to give clothing a second life,” senior Sofie Tepperman said.

“On Earth Day, people always say recycle, but no one realizes that there are other ways to be sustainable,” Tepperman continued. “I don’t think people always consider reusing clothes as a way to be sustainable.”

Throughout the week, Green Club continued their Earth Week initiatives with several themed events such as “Wildlife Wednesday,” when they hosted Steve Lengen, a snake handler, in the auditorium on April 19 during lunch.

Members also decorated the RHS main entrance with sustainability-themed chalk drawings to bring awareness to Earth Week and ate a sustainably sourced potluck feast for “Tasty Thursday” on April 20.

By the time Earth Day was officially celebrated on Saturday, April 22, the Green Club’s week of activities had already brought sustainability awareness to the entire RHS community, helping students help the Earth in ways that they enjoyed.