SU Commencement to Feature Sustainable Caps and Gowns

SALISBURY, MD---Pepsi, Coke or 7Up—what will your grad be wearing?

Salisbury University’s 85th year Winter Commencement is slated to be among the most sustainable in University history as all 569 graduates will wear a new kind of cap and gown made from recycled plastic soda bottles.

SU is the first institution on the Eastern Shore—and one of only five in Maryland—to use the new “GreenWeaver” apparel from Oak Hall Cap and Gown, a leading academic regalia manufacturer. It joins its fellow University System of Maryland schools University of Maryland College Park and University of Maryland Baltimore in providing a “greener” commencement wardrobe.

An average of 23 bottles are melted down to create the plastic pellets spun to make each gown. After the ceremony, the gowns themselves may be recycled. Oak Hall’s goal is to keep some 7 million bottles out of landfills.

In addition, the company is making a “green” commitment to SU, donating 25 cents to sustainable organizations on campus for each cap-and-gown set the University purchases.

As for the color—no Orange Crush or Mello Yellow here. SU’s caps and gowns all come in basic black.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.