An Interview with Myrhen Creedon, manager of the Dress For Success Campaign in UCC
1. What does the Careers Department of UCC do?
UCC Careers supports students and graduates at every stage of their career development — from exploring their interests and values to connecting with employers and progressing into meaningful work. We provide one-to-one guidance, skills and employability development programmes,employer engagement opportunities, and initiatives such as the Employ Agility Awards and Connect Pathways, which help students recognise and articulate the full range of capabilities they develop during their time in UCC. Our work is about more than jobs — it’s about empowering students to become socially responsible, globally aware graduates who can make a positive impact in their workplaces and communities.
2. How did this project come about?
This project grew from a shared interest in sustainability, social responsibility, and student development. Through our Graduate Attributes framework, we encourage students to engage with real-world challenges such as climate action and responsible consumption. Partnering with VOICE Ireland and working with student groups like the UCC Fashion Society created a natural opportunity to connect employability, values, and practical action. It allows students to build skills while contributing to a more sustainable campus culture.
3. Who is involved in this project?
The project is a collaboration between UCC Careers, VOICE Ireland, and student leaders — particularly the UCC Fashion Society — alongside the wider university community. Staff and students also play a key role through donating clothing to our interview wardrobe, which directly supports other students preparing for interviews, placements, and work. This shared approach makes the initiative practical, visible, and student-centred.
4. What are your goals?
Our goals are to:
· Increase awareness of textile waste and sustainable fashion practices among students.
· Provide meaningful opportunities for students to develop skills through volunteering and project involvement.
· Embed sustainability into the student employability journey as a core graduate attribute.
· Support a culture of reuse and responsible consumption on campus.
· Ensure that all students can access professional clothing in an inclusive and sustainable way.
5. What is your motivation (why are you doing this)?
We see employability as deeply connected to social and environmental responsibility. Students want careers that align with their values, and employers increasingly look for graduates who understand sustainability and can act on it. At the same time, we are very aware that the cost of professional clothing can be a barrier for some students. Creating a reuse model that supports students while reducing waste allows us to address equity and sustainability together. It’s about empowering students to succeed in a way that reflects the kind of society they want to build.
6. How will it work?
A key element of the initiative is our interview wardrobe, which operates as a circular economy model on campus. Staff and students donate high-quality professional clothing, and students can access up to three items free of charge to help them prepare for interviews, placements, careers fairs, and the workplace. This keeps clothing in use for longer, reduces textile waste, and ensures that every student — regardless of financial background — can present themselves with confidence.
Alongside this, students can get involved in volunteering, events, campaigns, and awareness-raising activities linked to textile reuse and sustainable fashion. Participation can also be recognised through UCC’s employability and skills programmes, ensuring that both the learning and the impact are visible and valued.
7. Tell us how you feel about textile waste
Textile waste is one of the clearest examples of how everyday consumption connects to global environmental and social issues. Initiatives like the interview wardrobe show that there are practical, local solutions that make a real difference. They demonstrate that reuse is not just a concept — it’s something that can directly support students while reducing our environmental impact.
8. Tell us how you feel about the fashionindustry today
The fashion industry is incredibly innovative and culturally powerful, but it also has significant environmental and ethical challenges. That creates an important opportunity for this generation of students. They are more informed, more values-driven, and more willing to challenge existing systems. By embedding reuse, repair, and responsible consumption into campus life, we are helping to normalise more sustainable relationships with clothing.
9. Tell us how you feel about Textile Reuse(second-hand clothing) in Ireland today
There has been a real shift in Ireland in how second-hand clothing is perceived. It is no longer just an economic choice— it’s a creative, ethical, and mainstream one. Among students in particular, reuse is becoming part of personal identity and self-expression. The interview wardrobe builds on this momentum by showing that second-hand clothing can also be professional, high-quality, and career-enabling.
It’s a powerful example of how circular economy thinking can be embedded in everyday student life.
VOICE is proud to support the initiative by engaging the businesses we work with and encouraging participants to donate professional clothing. We gather the items and redistribute them to the Dress for Success volunteer team. It’s a simple but meaningful action that can accompany the workshop and make a real difference.
