An advocate for action on the ocean, climate, and sustainable fashion, Mark Haver narrates how he got to where he is today: from his environmental activism to his LGBTQ+ identity. In the realm of environmental advocacy, Mark Haver stands as a guiding force, advising organizations on the path to a more sustainable future. Engaged in numerous youth activism organizations, a prominent voice at COP conferences, and a persistent campaigner, Mark's journey is a testament to his commitment to the planet. Join us as we delve into the transformative chapters of his life, unraveling the narrative that shaped him into the impactful and successful activist he is today.
In February 2023, I led a protest in Vancouver, Canada against deep-sea mining with my friends, students from the University of British Columbia, and members of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
“I believed in fighting for change, not just for the equality of marginalized groups, but especially for the environment.” ~Mark Haver
An Evolution of Identity and Values
I did not grow up in a political environment. I was a suburban kid from Ellicott City, MD, finding joy in the things around me. Whether it was playing in a local creek with my neighbors or going on trips with my parents, I was fascinated by the beauty of nature. I would pore over encyclopedias of animals, trying to learn the name and characteristics of every animal.
Leopard-print. Snakeskin. Zebra stripes. Enamored by animals and their patterns, I would try to incorporate the images from encyclopedias and documentaries to the clothes in my mother’s wardrobe. My mom and I loved to watch fashion shows together when I was growing up. We watched classics like “What Not to Wear” and “Queer Eye”. Naturally, whenever she took me shopping, I would always gravitate to the cheetah-inspired skirt or the funky peacock blazer. To my mom’s credit, she had trained a fabulous eye for fashion.
Fast-forwarding to my last year of high school, I was starting to understand myself better. I was planning to study environmental science in college; I wanted to learn how to save the animal friends I read so much about since I was a kid. I had then become aware of climate change, endangered species, and so many other threats to nature. But as a 17-year-old, I was still learning about these problems and what my impact could be .
A few pivotal moments changed the trajectory of my belief systems and what I felt called to do as I was coming into college. The first of which was a devastating flood in my hometown, Ellicott City. In 2016, my mom and I went downtown for the day, we felt some raindrops, and we decided to drive back home. Two hours later, family members from all over the US were calling us to make sure that we were still alive. Rapid rainfall had created flash floods that cascaded down Main Street, creating walls of water more than 15 feet high. The water ran through the buildings that lined either side of Main Street, smashing windows, carrying cars, stranding residents on the roof of their own homes.
Our community was devastated. Members of our community died. Dozens of totaled cars piled up in the parking lots of the local high schools. The small businesses downtown were destroyed, structurally and financially. Our home had flooded too, but luckily we would be alright. The flood was described as a “once-in-a-millenium” event.
Unfortunately, only two years later, another devastating flood of nearly the same magnitude struck Ellicott City, MD. I had begun to realize that these extreme weather events were no coincidence. As my hometown was experiencing torrential downpours and flash floods, my college campus in central Florida proved to be just as vulnerable to natural disaster. I went to college for four years, and I had to evacuate the campus three years out of four to avoid the path of an impending hurricane. These extreme weather events are a symptom of a changing climate, and I was understanding its impacts personally.
The 2018 flash floods of Ellicott City, MD caused flooding to our basement. We could see the water accumulating very rapidly outside. You can also see so much destruction the flood caused: from fallen trees to downed power lines. After the flash floods my dad and I found the famous town clock in the river, and we were able to salvage this iconic town centerpiece.
While I went to college to learn more about climate change’s causes and impacts, I also was learning so much about myself. Even though I had been raised conservative, the values that my parents instilled in me did not match those of then-President Donald Trump. I watched President Trump’s first six months in office in utter shock: pulling us out of the Paris Agreement, escalating tensions with North Korea, and endlessly hurling childish insults at anyone who didn’t worship him.
Not only was I challenging my political beliefs, but I was coming into a new identity all of my own. After being exposed to a whole new environment, I realized that maybe I wasn’t straight. Everyone saw it coming but me, but when your favorite singer is Ariana Grande and your favorite color is leopard-print, the signs were evident.
Between personal experiences with climate-related extreme weather, changing political beliefs, and my newfound LGBTQ+ identity, I had felt more inspired than ever to challenge the world around me. Especially as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, your existence is political. While I am thankful for supportive family and friends, it was difficult to comprehend how the elected officials for my district in Florida, who were supposed to represent me, were actively legislating against LGBTQ+ rights.
“I started an ocean policy action council with young experts from all over the world, where we campaigned against deep-sea mining and promoted ambitious policies for the planet. And I was just getting started.” ~Mark Haver
Becoming an Activist
The year 2018 truly marked an inflection point in my identity and in my actions. I started working for Equality Florida PAC, an organization that campaigned to elect LGBTQ+ candidates and allies across the state of Florida. I worked to elect the first LGBTQ+ School Board member in Polk County and felt so inspired to see LGBTQ+ candidates running across central Florida.
This was one of the first experiences where I saw and experienced activism firsthand. I believed in fighting for change, not just for the equality of marginalized groups, but especially for the environment. As I studied more about environmental issues, policy, and ethics, I was coming to realize that advocacy was essential in order for me to stand up for my values. I believed that, until every letter of the LGBTQ+ community enjoys equality, to be LGBTQ+ is to be an activist. While this sentiment resonates with many of the LGBTQ+ community, I also believed that, until every animal is no longer endangered, to be a conservationist is to be an activist.
Here, I was campaigning for pro-LGBTQ+ candidates in central Florida in my first advocacy job with Equality Florida PAC.
These were not opinions that many of my peers in college shared. I received backlash when someone outed my sexuality. I introduced the idea of mixed-gender dormitories at a Student Government meeting, and some members of the audience reacted aggressively. I remember classrooms where I felt dumbfounded by how my classmates would give a presentation on plastic pollution and then go back to their desk and drink out of a plastic water bottle. I couldn’t relate to the apathy of my classmates: I did not understand how they didn’t feel compelled to be involved in solving the problems we were learning about, whether it was climate change or systemic discrimination.
By the time I graduated from Florida Southern College in 2020, I had become involved in a number of political, environmental, and activist causes. I registered young people to vote, I took on leadership positions with College Democrats at the university, state, and national level, and I had become involved in Sustainable Ocean Alliance, the world’s largest network of Young Ocean Leaders. At that point, I was entering the workforce, and I wanted to understand how I could align my values, my interest in policy advocacy, and my love for the environment with my professional work.
Over the next few years, I built my career in action and advocacy. I campaigned for Joe Biden for President in 2020 in central Florida. I worked for a government and public affairs consulting firm in Washington DC for ocean and environmental clients. I started an ocean policy action council with young experts from all over the world, where we campaigned against deep-sea mining and promoted ambitious policies for the planet. And I was just getting started.
This photo [above] was taken on Election Day 2020. I went door to door to get out the vote for Joe Biden in Haines City, Florida.
In February 2023, I led a protest in Vancouver, Canada against deep-sea mining with my friends, students from the University of British Columbia, and members of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
Fashion: The Power of Mediums of Expression
The first time I had been introduced to the sustainability and fashion nexus was November 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. Every year, UN Climate Change hosts this giant conference where countries negotiate how they will take action on climate. My success with Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s Youth Policy Advisory Council brought me to COP26 to showcase the Global Blue New Deal, a youth-led, crowdsourced ocean and climate policy framework.
Through the delegation that brought me to the conference, I met Patrick Duffy. Patrick and I hit it off immediately. His personality was fabulous, and his energy and positive attitude was contagious. Not only did I think that we could be great friends, but his organization, Global Fashion Exchange (GFX), was so unique. GFX is a platform that promotes sustainable consumption and production and organizes clothing swaps. Patrick told me that these swaps were basically net-zero clothing exchanges, where people trade clothes that they no longer want with clothes that someone else brought. I had thrifted all my clothes for years at that point, but I had never been to a swap. I was very excited by the concept, and I was learning so much about the fashion-ocean-climate connection.
I pose with the co-organizers of my first clothing swap at Number Nine in Washington, DC.
When I returned home to Washington DC after the conference, I knew that I wanted to bring a clothing swap to my community. I loved fashion, I loved the environment, I loved community building, I loved the LGBTQ+ community, and I loved getting people mobilized to take action with me: it seemed that organizing a fashion swap in DC was the perfect opportunity for me to connect these passions all together. With Patrick’s help, I hosted my first clothing swap at a gay bar in DC called Number Nine.
As I welcomed my friends and other bar patrons to the swap, the shine of knee-high leather
booths and the glimmer of a sequined top inspired fabulous exclamations and wanting looks as my swappers window-shopped the clothes on the clothing racks. Before opening the swap, I shared some words about how fashion connects to climate and ocean health and shared
information that allowed the swappers to consider how sustainability could be integrated into their style. I opened the swap, and the swap shop became a frenzy of energy! People were trying on new clothes, and friends shared stories with each other about the clothing item they brought. The swap was a big success; my friends quickly asked me, “when is the next one?”
These photos were taken at the last swap I hosted at Number Nine in Washington, DC.
I pose with my friends Noeli (left) and Natasha (right) who were modeling a sustainable
fashion collection that Noeli designed.
Over the next year or so, Patrick and I launched the brand “Swap For Your Life” for clothing swaps that we hosted at LGBTQ+ events and venues. I hosted more swaps at Numbe Nine in DC, and we even hosted swaps at DC Pride and House of Yes in Brooklyn for Earth Day. I began working with incredible individuals and organizations that hosted swaps in the DMV area to create a community around swapping.
Even though I had been sharing messages about how to protect the planet for years, I found it difficult to reach people who weren’t already compelled to do something about it. However, fashion swaps provided a new audience. So many people love fashion, and I saw the idea of exchanging clothes, from unwanted to wanted, exciting them. Through the power of swapping, I could educate people about fashion, ocean, and climate and encourage them to take action, all while having fun.
Today, consumers have more choices than ever before when it comes to fashion. The fast fashion giants of the past, like H&M or Zara, are rapidly outpaced in production by newer producers like SHEIN or Fashion Nova. On the other hand, secondhand clothing has become wildly popular, and access to the secondhand market has moved beyond shopping at thrift stores to using online platforms like Depop or ThredUp.
So why does where you buy your clothes matter? For me, I love fashion because it can be a vehicle of self-expression. Through your clothes and how you style them, you can transmit a story, an emotion, an energy. Your clothes can be the symbol of the message you have and are sharing with others. Regardless of how well thought-out your outfit may be, your clothes tell us about you. As a consumer in the modern age, that’s why what you choose to wear can be so powerful. Your style can be a reflection of you and your values. In 2024, you can choose to be stylish and sustainable. What will be the story you tell with your clothes?
This was when Patrick Duffy and I first met in Glasgow, Scotland at COP26.
The Sustainable Style Movement
Hosting a swap brought me closer to my community and inspired a culture of conscious consumerism. And it was fun! With young people fighting fast fashion on social media and in what they choose to wear, we wanted to create a network that connects and empowers these young champions for sustainable fashion.
With Patrick Duffy and Angelica Bidlack (the founder of Themis Magazine), we established the Global Fashion Exchange Youth Program (GFXYP). GFXYP provides all the tools necessary to organize a successful clothing swap event, including tips on how to promote the event, guidelines for setting up the swap, and information on how to recycle or donate any leftover clothing. Our Ambassadors of GFXYP initiate and facilitate clothing swaps at schools, universities, and with youth groups, and they encourage awareness and action to curb fast fashion consumption, avoid fashion waste, and build conscientious communities. They also create social media content and campaigns that allow our messages to reach beyond their local communities and inspire other young leaders to take action.
By participating in our program, young people can take an active role in creating a more sustainable future for our planet. Not only is this a way for you to connect sustainable fashion with your local community, but it’s a way for a network built around sustainable fashion to connect you with other global young people who share your values and desire to do something about it. Join our movement! Check out our Instagram @globalfashionexchange.yp.
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