Reduce, reuse, recycle. For most people, this brings to mind pictures of plastic bottles, glass, paper and magazines. However, for Mor Aframian and other members of the MorLove project, clothes come to mind as well.

The members of the MorLove project are refashioning clothes. Aframian, founder of MorLove and a sophomore in textile and apparel management, said the group has put a different spin on going green. She said the processes it takes to make yarn for the clothes are unnecessary.

The idea behind MorLove is “changing the world one recycled clothing item at a time,” according to an e-mail Aframian sent to Philip Dail in the spring of 2006.

Aframian said she contacted Dail, the director of advising and admissions for the College of Textiles, because he had told her class in the fall of 2005 about his past projects with people around the world. She said she knew Dail would either help her start her project or point her in the right direction.

“He would be the most understanding,” Aframian said.

However, the project isn’t just about going green. According to Dail, the group is not about charity.

“We’re just ordinary people reaching out to help ordinary people,” Dail said.

MorLove is not about Americanizing the people they reach out to, either, Dail said. Since Dail and some of the other members of MorLove have met or corresponded with the people they are helping, it makes it real. They think about real faces, real children, real tears, according to Dail.

Aframian said knowing the clothes she designs and refashions will help children make her feel good all over. The money they raise from selling the clothes will go to an orphanage in Uganda.

Using her own designs is one of the reasons Emily Hanhan, a senior in textile and apparel management, is a member of MorLove. She said during class, she is always assigned what market she must design for, however MorLove does not do that.

“It was a way to design things I wanted to design,” Hanhan said.

Also, since the project is personal, it makes it more enjoyable for Hanhan. However, Christopher Soto, a sophomore in textile and apparel management, said he would enjoy the project just as much whether it were personal or not.

“I like that I’m actually doing something for someone else,” Soto said.

He said he also enjoys the group because it is helping him learn how to be a good leader. He hopes to help lead a project next semester.

MorLove has prepared Hanhan for things after graduation, as well. She said participating in MorLove has opened her eyes to the possibility of using her designs for good for the rest of her life.

Aframian said she is looking in that direction as well. After she graduates, she wants to stay in the Raleigh area to help MorLove grow. She intends for it to become a national organization, and it has the potential to go worldwide, according to Hanhan. She said Dail’s global connections and Aframian’s passion could make it national.

The members of the group think it is already doing very well.

The major gap Dail, Aframian and Hanhan would like to see filled is more participation from people outside the College of Textiles. Aframian said the group is open to all people.

Even though they want more participation, Aframian said MorLove is much more successful than she thought it would be after a year.

“I keep telling myself I’m not awake,” she said.

The group has already completed two projects and is planning on working on at least two more. The first project they did was in October of 2006. They sold refashioned T-shirts and sent the money to the Amani Baby Cottage in Uganda.

The second project was completed on March 17. They collected school supplies for a school in Madagascar. MorLove, in conjunction with other people and organizations in the community, filled a 2,000 cubic foot container with supplies and had it shipped to Madagascar.

Once the container arrives, someone is going to make a documentary of the students unloading and using the supplies MorLove sent, according to Dail. He said the documentary is important to helping bring faces to MorLove.

MorLove is also in the middle of another refashion project. For this one, each person is refashioning something to wear to a tea party in the spring, according to Hanhan. After the tea, the designers get to keep their own clothes, unless they decide otherwise.

A fashion show is also in store for the group, according to Aframian. The group members plan on having a fashion show in the fall to display some of the refashioned items. After the fashion show, those clothes will be for sale, she said.

According to Dail, at least 50 percent of the money made from selling the refashioned clothes will go to the Amani Baby Cottage in Uganda. But this is not the only other project MorLove is planning.

The group is going to collect items for another container to send to Uganda, but it will not start collecting the items until August, according to Dail. He said this container will go to a man named Eddie who helps homeless AIDS orphans through art therapy.

The many projects MorLove has going gives Aframian more fuel to keep going because she said they give her hope that her dream is becoming a reality. For her, MorLove is an amazing part of her life.

“You don’t even realize how much it does for you,” Aframian said.