Amanda Rahfaldt, a Marketing and Business major at UWM, has been making strides in both sustainable and personal development. To learn more about what she has been doing in our community, read on.
Amanda is a junior at the Lubar School of Business as well as an entrepreneur. Recently, she took second place at the Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament state finals and was selected as the next President of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Her business, allaboutworkout, is a secondhand clothing business with a heavy focus on maximizing sustainability. “My first exposure to sustainability and environmental issues was a documentary called The True Cost which exposed a lot of malpractice in the fashion industry and brought awareness to the waste epidemic,” Amanda explained. “After I watched this documentary, I continued my research and still try to stay up to date on the textile waste issues and sustainability initiatives mainly in the fashion space.”
As one of many startups that began before COVID-19 began, adaptation was a hurdle that had to be overcome. “During Covid-19 one of my biggest challenges surfaced. I couldn’t do as many in person shopping events, so I had to resort to what I was doing and keep selling online. However, the physical and chemical waste produced by shipping was something I was upset by. I found a supplier of compostable mailers and recycled shipping supplies and was able to pivot to fit my moral obligation to be as sustainable as possible.“
When asked for a piece of advice to pass on, Amanda shared the following: “My biggest takeaway that I would tell others who are interested in sustainability or an eco-conscious business, is being upset. In a world where people are turning to sustainable practices, they are doing it because they have too, to appease the people. You should be sustainable because you want to you, you’ve heard the facts, seen it in action and you’re mad. Stay passionate, stay educated and stay scrappy.”
Finally, here is a fun fact about Amanda. “I really love documentaries. I love being able to talk about a wide range of topics and have small lectures about someone’s life, obscure phenomena, and even mundane topics. Not only are they entertaining to watch, but you also never know when you’ll be able to quote these facts. I’ve seen a wide range of documentaries, of course I love the true crime, UFOs, historical figures, but I’ve my favorite ones so far have been Victorian Plumbing, LulaRich, and The Pizza Bomber.”
Congratulations to Amanda on all your recent achievements! The LEC looks forward to seeing your future endeavors in your business and sustainability at UWM.