USG Sustainability Committee to Host Semesterly Market Sunday

Gabriella Maciora
Fri, 10 Oct 2025 01:02:59 +0000
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Last year the sustainability market featured second-hand clothing and jewelry stands. Credit: Courtesy of Olivia Pace

The Undergraduate Student Government Sustainability Committee will host its semesterly Sustainability Market Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. on the South Oval.

The market, which has grown steadily over the past few years, gives students the opportunity to shop from sustainable vendors and local creators.?

“This year we have over 50 confirmed vendors, so it’s going to be the largest we’ve ever had,” said Miles Meisse, a third-year in finance and first-year co-director of the USG Sustainability Committee.

The event hosts vintage, second-hand, crochets, home-made goods, skincare, jewelry and food vendors, Olivia Pace, the committee’s senior deputy director of food, security and engagement, said.

Ohio State’s Sustainability Committee works to enhance students’ understanding of climate change, waste reduction and habitat loss, according to the group’s Instagram page.

Meisse said the committee began planning earlier than usual this semester, allowing members to expand outreach efforts and recruit more local and student vendors.

“We wanted to make it the largest Sustainability Market we’ve ever had, just being ambitious, knowing we have the time and resources to do it,” Meisse said.

The importance of this market is to “[serve] the community in a way that also serves the earth,” Pace said.

Meisse said the market has quickly become one of the committee’s biggest traditions.

“It’s one of our signature events now,” Meisse said. “We’ve gotten so lost in hosting events that are very serious, that I think it’s just a way for students to come together and do something fun.”

Pace, who helps organize the event, said her work involves reaching out to vendors, marketing, sending emails, creating Google Forms and managing spreadsheets to keep everything organized.

The committee attracts vendors by “reaching out to everyone who has come before,” Pace said.?

“I go to a lot of farmers markets myself, so I usually find people over the summer and write them down in my notes, and third, a lot of markets around Columbus have their vendor listings publicly available, so going through that,” Pace said. “We also market on the Instagram.”

This semester, Meisse said the committee is aiming to make the event even more engaging for students.

“A huge thing we lack as students is taking time for ourselves to destress, and what better way to do it than shop secondhand?” Meisse said. “You’re learning about how shopping secondhand is so much better — it saves you money, it’s good for the environment, and you also get to do it with your peers who live with you in dorms or even off campus.”

The market also focuses on education and accessibility, giving students easy options to shop sustainably without leaving campus.

“The importance of the sustainability market is to bring the option to shop sustainable vendors on campus,” Pace said.?

Pace said sustainability ties into broader ideas about intentional living.

“A lot of college students, especially college girls, spend a lot of money consuming a lot of

brands that are not good for our planet,” Pace said. “Being intentional with your choices improves the quality of the lives that we live — like the air quality, the water quality — all of these things are encompassed within sustainability.”

Meisse said he and the committee hope the market inspires students to rethink their shopping habits.

“Shopping secondhand is so important to help reduce the waste that we put into the system,” Meisse said. “Not only is it important from an environmental standpoint, but it saves money for your wallet.”