Jasenya McCauley ’21 used to be a compulsive shopper. “Even though I looked nice, there was too much clothing in my closet with tags still on it and too much that hadn’t been worn in a year,” she says.

McCauley decided to take control of her shopping habits. After not buying clothes for eight months, she was able to purchase a “gently used Acura TLX.” “That right there showed me how much money I was spending on clothing that was not properly used,” she says.

Purging her closet put McCauley on a new path, especially after learning that 65% of items are worn once, then discarded. Today, after years of branding herself a stylist, she’s adopted a new title: a wardrobe utilization specialist.

“I decided I should not be calling myself a stylist because the word stylist puts you in the mindset of ‘She’s going to shop for me. She’s going to make me look great,’” McCauley says. “My whole business model now is not losing the style but totally embracing the fact that there’s enough clothes there already.”

 

A New Mission

As a wardrobe utilization specialist, McCauley’s mission is to minimize fashion waste and raise awareness of the toll that excess clothing has on the planet, both globally and locally.

She joined Remake World, an international nonprofit that works to bring equity and sustainability to the fashion industry. She posts pictures of large piles of unwanted clothes polluting the Atacama Desert in Chile and the beaches of Accra, the capital of Ghana. She conducts #NoNewClothes challenges on social media, inviting her followers to give up shopping for 90 days.

“We have enough clothing on this planet to clothe the whole world without making another piece of clothing for 5 to 7 years,” she says.  “We’re just shipping our waste out, shipping our trash out and keeping our backyards clean. That’s frustrating to me as somebody who identifies as a global citizen.”

McCauley is also working at reducing fashion waste locally. In June, her company, Styld n’ EMRGD joined forces with Schenectady County Recycles to host two events to reduce clothing waste: Drip Drop and Pick-A-Fit.

Residents were invited to drop off gently used clothing at Drip Drop, which were then brought to Pick-A-Fit, held a week later, where the community was invited to come select used clothing at no cost. The event collected 1,745 pounds of clothing. Excess clothing was donated to Waste Wear for recycling.

 

A Passion for Fashion

McCauley’s lifelong love of fashion was instilled by her family whose dedication to style was always a priority, no matter what the circumstance. Even visiting sick relatives in the hospital warranted a stylish sundress or a nicely matched tracksuit.

“Most of my family members have a really cool and unique way of expressing themselves through clothing,” she says. “I grew up around amazing women who were always smelling good, and well dressed, with their hair done, and men who knew how to present themselves. My family connected me so deeply with clothes. It was just always interesting to see what they chose to wear.”

When her sister died, McCauley struggled to even go to the funeral. But then she recalled how she and her sister spent many hours shopping together and decided to celebrate their shared passion for fashion. For the funeral, she wore a classic black Ted Baker dress, with tights that faded from black to red, her sister’s favorite colors.

“I still showed up and out for my sister,” McCauley says. “She would have been like ‘Sissy, I love it.’ Even my hair was black and white and red. I got compliments all day.”  

 

Styling Sustainably

McCauley decided to become a stylist when she began seeing a lot of her clothes on TV and on celebrities. She got an associate degree in merchandising management from Herkimer Community College and a bachelor’s in business, management, and economics, with a concentration in small business management.

She launched her company Styld n’ EMRGD in 2019 and began working with local theater companies, fashion shows, and movie productions. She also worked on commercials for River’s Casino and for shows at Proctor’s Theater, including the touring production of “The Lion King.” She practices what she preaches on commercial jobs by looking for ways to reuse costumes and wardrobes.

With clothing so cheap and easy to buy, McCauley knows it’s often hard to resist purchasing new clothes. But through community workshops, social media, and her own example, McCauley hopes she can convince people to slow down and reconsider.

“The fashion waste sites are heartbreaking,” she says. “If I can slow people down, one at a time, and get them to think before hitting checkout on their cell phone, I think there could be a global shift.”