ESU ‘Goes Green’ with Commencement Ceremonies

Posted by: admin on October 27, 2015, One Comment

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania is “going green” beginning with winter commencement, providing all graduating seniors with “green” regalia.

While the gowns will still be black in color, they are made of recycled plastic. The fabric is produced using 100% post-consumer plastic soda bottles, approximately 23 bottles per gown. CO2 gas emissions are reduced by 54.6% in the process of manufacturing fabric from plastic versus virgin polyester. The petroleum usage is reduced by over 52% by utilizing thermal recycled energy. Over 55 million plastic bottles have been diverted from landfills to make GreenWeaver regalia since its introduction.

Staff members of the student enrollment center and the graduation marshals will also be provided with the new gowns.

Milagros Casillas, assistant registrar of the student enrollment center, and Joseph Knorr, bookstore manager, spearheaded the change in regalia, finding that not only are the gowns better for the environment but they are of higher quality.

“We are committed to pursuing “green” initiatives that benefit our environment, and these little things make a big difference” Casillas said. “The added bonus is it improves the quality of the graduation gowns worn by our graduates.”

The new regalia will not be an additional cost to students and will be used moving forward in the university’s commencement ceremonies. For more information about the new gowns, contact Joseph Knorr at 570-422-2665.

The university’s winter commencement ceremony will be held on December 12, 2015 at 8:45 a.m.