Chaifetz Students Lead SLU's Partnership With Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance
Saint Louis University is partnering with the Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance (CEPA), thanks to the hard work of business students and Ben Smyth, Ph.D., director of co-curricular and service-learning programs in the Chaifetz School of Business. SLU's bookstore, the Billiken Shop will now carry ethically sourced spirit wear that reflects the university’s Catholic, Jesuit tradition.
CEPA cultivates relationships between Catholic institutions and ethical, sustainable producers of products. CEPA also offers education and leadership opportunities for students.
Students in the Chaifetz School of Business led the efforts for the partnership. In October, four Chaifetz students traveled to the Carolina Textile District in Morganton, North Carolina, visiting businesses in the textile industry and learning about ethical labor practices and environmental sustainability. Through site visits, students learned about limiting waste, regional supply chains, and the importance of circularity, the concept of using a resource more efficiently by keeping the material in use for as long as possible, getting the most we can from the material during its use, and then recovering it to make new products.
“I plan to educate others about the concept of circularity and the impacts of unnecessary waste. I also plan to be an advocate for sustainability by joining organizations that support sustainability at SLU,” commented Dylan Bady, a sophomore business student who participated in the immersion experience.
The Billiken Shop will now stock shirts, sweatshirts and socks that students, faculty, staff and alumni can purchase under the CEPA partnership. SLU joins several other Catholic and Jesuit institutions that have partnered with CEPA for bookstore merchandise.
Founded in 1910, the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at Saint Louis University has shaped the future of industry for more than a century. As one of the oldest business schools west of the Mississippi, the Chaifetz School has built a reputation as a leader in business education with eight undergraduate and graduate programs nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report.