MELVILLE, New York -- Since the age of 16, Amanda Munz immersed herself into the world of fashion with her schooling and prestigious internships.
However, when it came time for her to graduate, she had an epiphany at one of her internships that she wanted to create a non-profit, in the fashion industry.
With her experience, she started to notice that there was a lot of waste with designers over-producing products that weren't being used.
Munz wanted to create a sustainable use for the designer's clothes and sell these products for a discounted price for anyone to buy.
"We overproduce in fashion, there is always extra merchandise no matter what company you go to," said Munz. "Samples are laying around their showrooms that nobody knows what to do with."
She turned her dream into a reality when she received her Master's Degree in Public Administration at Baruch College, where she learned the fundamentals of starting a non-profit organization.
In 2014, she created The Fashion Foundation. She started small collecting clothes from her friends and family for her online shop.
Related: Roslyn teen Caroline Faber creates crafts program for kids in homeless shelters
Her first big collaboration was with a designer who she found through a networking event, donated purses.
From there it continued to grow and now Munz has 40 designers participating today.
Munz knew that with the money collected from her sales, she wanted to give back, so she did some research and found that kids in New York needed school supplies.
Related: Former inmate turns his life around with launch of luxury shoe brand
"It's so basic, but a lot of schools don't have it," said Munz. "That was the moment that I think I realized schools are going to need very simple things, and we can be able to give them those simple things."
Munz is excited to continue her efforts collaborating with different designers towards a great cause that can help students get school supplies while at the same time, have buyers purchase a piece of clothing they might have not been able to afford.
----------
Contact Community Journalist Alex Ciccarone