{"id":68956,"date":"2017-03-31T17:33:54","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T15:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=68956\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:40","slug":"vanaf-nu-lease-je-niet-alleen-je-auto-maar-ook-je-spijkerbroek-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/03\/31\/vanaf-nu-lease-je-niet-alleen-je-auto-maar-ook-je-spijkerbroek-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Leasing your jeans and customising your sneakers during the Erasmus Sustainability Days"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Voorzitter Jessie Yang met de mascotte op de Sustainability fair.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

For the second year in a row, six master students organised the Erasmus Sustainability Days this week. With a varied programme, their aim was to inspire students to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle and to show what companies are already doing to make the world a better place.<\/p>\n

Something for everyone<\/h3>

\u201cEveryone knows by now that sustainability is important, but many students are still unaware of what they can actually do themselves,\u201d explains Jessie Yang (22), the committee chairperson. \u201cOur goal is to let students know that everyone has a role to play. And that\u2019s also why our slogan is:\u00a0be part of the change<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s only the second time that the Erasmus Sustainability Days were organised, the committee succeeded in enticing a lot of interesting companies to participate in lectures, workshops and the Sustainability Fair. \u201cThere\u2019s no individual company we would particularly like to single out, because we\u2019re very proud of the fact that we\u2019ve managed to attract such a variety of companies,\u201d says chairperson Yang.<\/p>\n

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Radio Rijnmond interviewt gastspreker Bert van Son, directeur MUD Jeans.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Personal story<\/h3>

There was therefore a lot to choose from. EM attended the lecture given by MUD Jeans, a clothing brand that produces, recycles and leases jeans based on the principle of the circular economy. Guest speaker Bert van Son talked about the life cycle of his company, his ambitions and the challenges he encountered. \u201cI particularly enjoyed listening to the details and the personal stories,\u201d says the 24-year-old Global Business & Sustainability master student Felix Johne. \u201cEspecially because you normally get to hear more of a marketing story at these kinds of company presentations. This, on the other hand, was authentic and personal.\u201d Master student Sterre Swen, also 24, studying International Management\/CEMS, goes on: \u201cBert\u2019s story was very inspiring. He\u2019s a successful businessman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halfway through the presentation, Radio Rijnmond turned up. The man from the radio took over the proceedings for five minutes, interviewing Bert and a number of students live on the radio. \u201cAt first I thought that he\u2019d turned up unannounced, making it all a little uncomfortable,\u201d explains Beatriz Ramos (21), fellow student of Felix, with a smile.<\/p>\n

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Studenten pitchen hun idee voor een nieuwe strategie tijdens de workshop van Nike.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Hands-on experience<\/h3>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u201cI really liked it that a Nike trainee from Erasmus University helped run the workshop.\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVera van Aller\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Besides lectures by companies such as MUD Jeans, Samsung and Heineken, there were also workshops by companies like NS and Nike. During the Nike workshop, groups of students spent three quarters of an hour working on devising a strategy for Nike with a focus, naturally, on sustainability. \u201cThey tried to make the workshop very interactive, which I certainly found a good approach,\u201d says Roos Imkamp, a 24-year-old Global Business & Sustainability master student.<\/p>\n

Vera van Aller (23, Media & Business) agrees: \u201cI really liked it that a Nike trainee from Erasmus University helped run the workshop.\u201d The Erasmus student ran through the mainstays that underpin Nike\u2019s sustainability policy, so that the group could use these as inspiration for their own strategies.<\/p>\n

After all the new strategies were pitched at the end of the workshop, it was clear that a bunch of smart people had been working. Two groups of students, for example, came up with the idea of developing a pair of sneakers that can be continuously customised to the wishes of the owners, so that in this way fewer shoes would be thrown away. Who knows, perhaps Nike will even take up one of these ideas.<\/p>\n

More on sustainability<\/h2>