2025-2026, Year 2!

The RHS PTSA is proud to continue the “Gowns Going Green” program in 2025-2026 to help keep RHS graduation gowns out of the landfills and help them get recovered, reused, and repurposed!

We’re proud to share that this program is now featured on the Lake Washington District website, highlighting how RHS PTSA is making an impact across the school district. Even more exciting, we’ve been asked to help share and replicate this program across other high schools in the district!

RHS PTSA has also been bestowed the honor of receiving the LWPTSA "Your Rock" award. The You Rock! award honors LWPTSA Council member PTAs who—through time, creativity and community—help students build for the future by doing something deserving of recognition throughout the district. You Rock! awards are presented at monthly Council membership meetings.

Program Background:

Did you know that over the past 30 years, the scholastic industry transitioned from cotton to polyester, the popular petroleum-based fabric of the 1970s. Polyester is constructed out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the same chemical compound used to make plastic water bottles. This product has been positioned as a ‘one-time’ use or ‘keepsake’ item, when the product has only been worn for 90 minutes. In that 30-year time period, over 100 million gowns have been added to the waste stream, which causes detrimental problems to the environment. Do you remember what you did with your graduation gown? Is it still sitting in a dusty box in the attic or did it end up in the trash? How can we ‘graduate’ from trashing gowns to reusing them?

The RHS PTSA is proud to have started the “Gowns Going Green” initiative in 2024-2025 to help keep RHS graduation gowns out of the landfills and help them get recovered, reused, and repurposed! With each gown donation/reuse, we'll all be good stewards of our planet. Help turn this initiative into a yearly movement!

 

UPDATE:

As the current parent coordinator “graduates” out of RHS alongside their senior, we are looking for a volunteer coordinator for the 2026–2027 school year. Training and transition support will begin in June 2026, so you will not be starting from scratch!

This is a manageable volunteer role with a meaningful impact on both sustainability and affordability for RHS families. Also, the role is flexible as you can build a team of volunteers to help or keep the process simple and manage it yourself, whichever works best for you. If you are or someone you know is interested or would like more information, please contact: ggg@redmondhsptsa.org

The role includes:

  • Coordinating gown collection and distribution events
  • Maintaining a simple inventory by size
  • Communicating with families and volunteers
  • Providing a small amount of storage space for gowns over the summer

Important: Because the program relies on summer collection, storage, and planning, a new coordinator will need to come forward by June 1 in order for Gowns Going Green to continue next school year.

Notes:

  • Last year after graduation, the 2025 alumni donated about 75 gowns and 30 caps to be re-used!
  • A suggested donation of $10 per gown taken will go towards the RHS PTSA Grad Night Celebration. This is optional and not required at all.
  • There were two days where students could pick up a used gown and cap at no cost. 
    • The FIRST GET-A-GOWN event on 12/10/25 @ 1:00pm right after school went great! 
    • The SECOND GET-A-GOWN event took place 1/14/26 @ 5:30pm, right before the PTSA General Meeting inside the PAC entrance.
    • The THIRD GET-A-GOWN event ook place on 04/04/26 @ 11:00am, at Pony Express Redmond store in RTC.
    • Left-over gown sizes: https://redmondhsptsa.org/Page/Grads/GGGInventory
  • Thank you to all the alums that made it a priority to help the environment by donating their gowns, and wishing them the best in their future endeavors!
  • Thank you to all the current students that chose a pre-owned gown to help the environment. Congratulations on your high school graduation and continued success!

Questions? Contact ggg@redmondhsptsa.org for more information.

 

 
We need YOU!

You can help personally turn this initiative into a yearly movement! Are you passionate about recycling and reusing? Consider carrying on the torch for 2026-2027 school year as the current parent in charge will "graduate" out of RHS with their senior. Contact ggg@redmondhsptsa.org if you're interested!

Commitment (may change slightly from year to year):

  • a few hours in December to set up a collection box for gowns from previous year
  • a few hours in January to distribute gowns
  • a few hours in June to set up a collection box for gowns during diploma-pickup days
  • a few hours throughout the year to write/advertise on the PTSA newsletter
  • Small area to store collected gowns (about 4-5 medium sized moving boxes)
Follow Us on Facebook |  Subscribe to the "Mustang Roundup" Newsletter | Contact Us