April was Earth Month, and Patterson’s Avalon Salon participated in an unconventional fashion show to raise hundreds of dollars toward cleaner water and air in the U.S. and in undeveloped countries.

On April 10, Michelle Santos, Angelica Mejia, and Estina Gabriel participated in an Aveda fundraising event at Ruby Skye, a nightclub in San Francisco. The salon’s goal was to raise $780, and they surpassed that, raising $832.

“We’ve always participated in Earth Month, but never have been so focused to be involved,” Santos said.

For the fundraiser, called a “trashion show,” participants created garments made solely from recycled materials. Leading up to the event, Santos and Mejia spent lots of late-night, after-hours time constructing an evening gown out of nothing but colorful old shopping bags. Mejia cites a store window display in San Francisco as her inspiration for the gown. Gabriel was the runway model for their creation.

Thirty-five separate salons and another 30 models from the Aveda Institute participated in the noncompetitive fashion show.

Aveda is the parent company for the local Avalon Salon. The company-wide fundraising goal was to raise $4 million in 30 days.

Avalon Salon has participated in Earth Month fundraisers since 2007. For the past five years, Aveda has partnered with Global Greengrants Fund to give grants for grassroots organizations working for clean water, clean air and a generally healthy environment around the world.

Last year, Aveda raised $60,000 for the Clean Water Fund’s California programs.