EUGENE, Ore. - Graduation at the University of Oregon is going green. Students graduating in Spring 2010 will wear dark green caps and gowns that are environmentally green as well.

"As soon as we saw them we said we have to have them," says Amber Garrison, the University of Oregon Director of Commencement. "They just fit too well with who we are."

Garrison says this new color is meant to reflect the school's true colors. "This is just another way that we can be a leader within the country around all our sustainable practices," she says. "A lot of graduates when they get their bachelor's degree wind up with a robe that they don't know what to do with. So this is a nice way to have them participate and have something nice to wear in the ceremony but then also have something that won't harm our environment."

Stacy Miller, the Academic Regalia Coordinator at the Duck Store, says the news of these gowns brings a lot of questions. "The first question everyone asks me about these gowns is if they'll dissolve in the rain." Miller insists they will not. In order for them to break down, they must be buried in the ground. They're expected to decompose in about one year.

The caps and gowns are being supplied by Jostens and are part of "The Elements Collection."

They are made of natural fiber from renewable, managed forests. 

"All that will be left of them is the thread that they were sewn with and the zipper," says Miller.

The zipper is made of recycled pop bottles. The button on the cap is made of metal. These are the only two parts of the outfit that are not biodegradable but they can be recycled.

Even the packaging that the clothing is purchased in is recyclable.

KVAL asked students for their opinions on the new graduation gear.

"I think it's nice. It's classy looking," says freshman Hayley Britt.

Air Lichenstein says he prefers the green to the black gowns that students have worn for years. "It's very Oregon," he says.

Freshman Basha Gitnes was pleased to hear the outfits are biodegradable. "It motivates me to get one more now," she says.

"It's a great way to recycle," adds Amanda Stephens.

If students would rather keep their caps and gowns, they can. The clothing must be buried in the ground in order for the fibers to break down. If students keep the garments in their closet instead, they will stay in their original form.

Students recieving their bachelors and masters degrees will don these new green robes. Students recieving their doctoral degrees will wear a similar version with green velvet stripes and a seal on the chest.

Graduates also have the option to give back $1 of their purchase to an environmental sustainability project. UO's project is the "Nature Conservancy Student Give Back Program."