By Casey Glickman

With fast fashion trends taking over social media and the rise in apps like Temu, TikTok Shop and Shein, clothing overconsumption has emerged as a major public health issue facing Generation Z.

To help address these environmental concerns, University of Maryland sophomores Damilola Folorunso, Maria Lukz and Sofia Hasrat pitched their sustainable clothing app “Thread Lightly” to the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Innovation Lab Pitch competition this past March. 

“There is an atmosphere of excess,” said Folorunso, a sophomore public health science major. “We’re all aware that overconsumption is a problem, especially within our generation and with the internet, where everything is so easily accessible.” 

Thread Lightly provides an online platform for people to buy and sell old clothes without additional fees. After the week-long competition, the sophomores took the first-place prize of $1,500. 

“[The Thread Lightly creators] recognized that environmental issues like textile waste can feel overwhelming,” said Sarah Axelson, the facilitator of the ASPPH Innovation Lab. “They crafted a concept that made sustainable action simple, accessible and even fun.” 

The annual competition invites teams of undergraduate and graduate students in the Washington, DC–Baltimore area to craft and pitch solutions to public health challenges. Throughout the lab, students conduct research using a human-centered design where they receive feedback from the community they are serving while developing their prototype. 

While Thread Lightly is currently a prototype, the students hope to launch it as a social media app targeted at college campuses. 

“It is a relatively accessible way for students on campus to connect with each other, while also, again, targeting a goal of reducing overconsumption while improving sustainability and community,” said Lukz, a sophomore public health science and geospatial data science double-major. 

When brainstorming the public health issues they wanted to tackle, clothing overconsumption emerged as an issue that Folorunso, Lukz and Hasrat, a sophomore public health science major, saw all around them.

“For Halloween, for example, students might feel the need to buy new costumes or buy new clothes unnecessarily, when they can really just reuse things I think they already have,” Lukz said.

Since coming to college, Folorunso has immersed herself in more sustainable clothing options, including thrifting and clothing swaps. 

“I felt like it was more rewarding to find a piece that way,” Folorunso said. “I have friends who are also interested in that, so I knew that…there is a consumer base for it resting within young people.”

When coming up with ideas for their prototype, the students drew inspiration from sustainable health and secondhand clothing apps like Depop. What makes Thread Lightly different is that it removes money from the equation.

In addition to addressing environmental sustainability and financial concerns, Thread Lightly also has a mental health angle. Folorunso said the app improves mental health by building community, creating a space for people to come together and support each other in making more sustainable choices. 

Folorunso said it also addresses the issue of consumer loneliness, a theory that suggests people often turn to shopping to cope with feelings of loneliness or emotional distress.

“The reason why they may be overconsuming goods is likely related to their own mental health,” Lukz said. “Do they not feel sufficient enough in things they already own? Are they trying to fit into some status quo?”

Now, a month after winning the Innovation Lab competition, the students are looking at the next steps to bring Thread Lightly to life at UMD.

Their mission is to show that small, everyday choices can make a meaningful difference in the fight against climate change, especially among college students.“Many people feel like their actions don’t matter, but they do. Even simple decisions, like shopping secondhand instead of supporting fast fashion, can have a real impact,” Folorunso said. “With Thread Lightly, we want to remind people that they can help create change.”