The Great Outdoor Market will celebrate Earth Day early this year through an Earth Day festival and market Saturday, April 20, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at 3726 Sevier Heights Rd.
While the Great Outdoor Market typically organizes mixed markets, the majority of this event will be a vintage clothing market in order to fully embody the Earth Day spirit of sustainability.
In addition to used and vintage clothing, this market will feature local pottery, jams and produce. The event will also include several campus clubs and organizations, including the UTK Sustainable Fashion Club, UTK Sustainability Club and UTK Print Club, which will be offering free screen printing on any shirt, sweatshirt or bag supplied by the customer. Additionally, there will be live music as well as BMX and mountain bike competitions.
Four local businesses are attached to the building where the event is being hosted and will also be included in the market. These businesses include 71 South, Crafty Bastard Baker Creek, Bear Paw Bikes and Hummingbird Apothecary.
Some of the campus organizations will be serving as vendors, such as the UTK Sustainable Fashion Club, which will be selling secondhand clothing and accessories. The club also aims to connect with the community by interviewing customers about what sustainability means to them.
Steven Lopez, a junior kinesiology major, is the president of the Sustainable Fashion Club.
“Our goals for this event are to spread the word out about how shopping second hand helps the earth by keeping clothing out of landfills,” Lopez said.
Spencer Siefke is a local vendor who runs the Great Outdoor Market and WabiWear Repair, a business specializing in vintage outdoor clothing and clothing and shoe repair. Siefke often spends his time venturing to local thrift stores, such as KARM, and ordering from clothing landfills overseas to repair and repurpose used outdoor clothing for sale.
“The money is just a transfer of getting goods to people,” Siefke said. “Trying to keep funds down to ensure stuff is being used — that’s the whole point of this. So many things exist already that we don’t need more, so just trying to get things that are in mildly good to even terrible condition back into a usable condition for a good or service to just be put back into the world.”
Siefke is a firm believer in not having to rely on new products to keep society going into the future, advocating an economic boom in small businesses and individual use of money transfers.
“Buying quality the first time is always the goal,” Siefke said.
For Siefke, it is important to keep vendor costs low and acknowledge that they are simply local businesses that share the same goals.
“I really just care pro-vendor and pro-customer and then me last to ensure the best for Knoxville,” Siefke said. “And that just always kind of the long-term goal is ensuring everyone does well together.”
As a vendor host, Siefke is most looking forward to the free screen prints offered by the UTK Print Club.
“Everyone likes to feel more exclusive and have one authentic thing. That’s really why vintage is another great thing,” Siefke said. “Everyone can buy the same T-shirt at Walmart, but finding a random cool graphic, even if it is slightly, like, you know, a little dingy, a little fun — it makes it special.”
With vintage clothing trends on the rise, Siefke hopes that people will use this event to gain a passion for sustainability through the products bought along with having a great time.
Beyond just a fashion trend, buying used clothing and shopping sustainably will have a tremendous impact on the earth by cutting down on landfills and fashion waste. According to Earth.org, 100 billion items of clothing are produced every year, equating to roughly 14 pieces per person on the planet. Sixty percent of these clothes are made with plastic-based materials that continue to harm the environment when discarded by consumers and thrown into landfills.
“We hope people take away how, by attending the market, they are supporting local small businesses but also the Earth by coming together to celebrate an important day,” Lopez said. “They will be able to keep one more item from creating waste when they shop at the Great Outdoors Market. Lastly, I hope people are able to meet others who care about sustainability.”
With Earth Day coming up next week, attending this event will ensure everyone takes a small step toward supporting and protecting the planet.
For more information on this event and others in the future, check out the Great Outdoor Market’s Instagram.
