Due to the fashion industry, "every year a half a million tons of plastic microfibers are dumped into the ocean, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles. The danger? Microfibers cannot be extracted from the water and they can spread throughout the food chain–" which means humans containing plastic in our bodies (The World Bank).
According to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the average person today buys 60% more clothing than in 2000. And not only do we buy more, we also discard more as a result. So, what's to do?
Instead of turning to the inexpensive, but harmful fast fashion, why not recycle clothes within our own community TO each other? Below is a list of swapping groups to get you started, but don't hesitate to organize one on your own with some friends!
Photo Credit: The Post Athens
GrowNYC (also, just a great resource for tons of free events and environmental programs) hosts community "Stop 'N' Swap" events "where the public's invited to bring clean, reusable, portable items such as clothing, housewares, games, books, & toys that you no longer need, and take home something new-to-you, free! You don’t have to bring something to take something."
The Freecycle Network is "a grassroots & entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving and getting stuff for free in their own Towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Membership is free. And now you can also set up your own, smaller personal Friends Circle for gifting and lending of items with just your friends!"
Want to organize your own swap? Click here for a detailed guide on what clothing swaps are, tips for attending, how to host your own!
Facebook (although boo @ the company) is also a source of swap groups and free clothing! I would suggest posting in one of the 'free' groups if you are looking for something specific, as community members may step up to help you out!
Here is my list of some so far:
- "NYC Clothing Swap Meets" (a new group made to coordinate days/places/plan for meets)
- "NYC Clothes Exchange" (swapping organized online)
- "Free Stuff in NYC"(130K+ members, more broad, but plenty of available clothing and other items of you monitor the group actively - things go quick!)
- "NYC For Free" (another broad 'free' stuff group, less members but still requires active monitoring)
- "Free Stuff Brooklyn, Ny" (broad, but only 2.5k members)
- "NYC Kids Clothing Swap" (seems a bit inactive/spammy)
Instagrammers are also clothes swapping! Check out Julianne's Instagram (aka @howtobebrokeinnewyork) regularly for information and posts about upcoming swaps! She also posts daily content on her 'Story,' much of which are tips and hacks for free or low-cost things to do in NYC!
You may also want to check Craigslist for clothing items or swaps!
Swap Society (women/jewlery/kids) is a website THAT COSTS $20-30/month where you send in your "clothes that don't fit or aren't your current style and swap them for clothes you want to wear now. [Their] alt currency SwapCoin™ gives multidimensional value to garments and makes sure you get equal value for the clothes you swap, so our swap is super fair. Plus, you'll save lots of money on clothes while lowering your clothing footprint. We accept all brands and sizes because we believe that all wearable clothing should be kept in circulation for as long as possible.
I have not tested or heard opinions/reviews of this specific site, but I expect many similar sites to start popping up quickly (as I know they have in the UK)- HOPEFULLY *FREE* to use ones. It is on this list as a resource, but attending a swap in person of course removes the need for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by shipping and is typically free or low-cost.
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