Reinventing The Reuse Economy To Fight Climate Change | Sarah Goff | TEDxUF
In her talk, Sarah Goff urges her audience to recognize the enormous problems of overconsumption and wastefulness and create a revolutionary reuse retail system nationwide in order to address the climate crisis. Goff advocates for a system that rivals big box store new retail in both square footage and convenience so customers use the resources that are already produced and locally available, thus eliminating the need to manufacture and ship new products. Sarah Goff is the executive director and co-founder of The Repurpose Project:
a non-profit junk shop, creative-reuse center, and architectural salvage operation in
Gainesville, Florida, that is developing innovative ways to reduce waste and keep hard-tosalvage material out of the waste stream. Sarah grew up on the island of Kwajalein, in the
Marshall Islands where she spent her childhood collecting trash and shell on the beach to
make art. She saw firsthand the issues of trash and plastic in the ocean and now watches
as her beloved childhood home, which stands just six feet above sea level, disappears
because of climate change and sea-level rise. After graduating from Kwajalein High School,
Sarah moved to Sarasota, Florida, and earned a BA in Natural Science and Fine Art from
New College of Florida. She then moved to New York City and earned a fashion design
degree from Parsons School of Design. The Repurpose Project is a perfect combination of
her passions: art, science, and a larger life-purpose of making the world a better place. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx