This month, Sustainability Sam shares their top 5 reasons to shop Tangletown’s Annual Clothing Swap on Saturday, August 16.
#5: New school year fashion finds.
The Annual Clothing Swap is a great place to find that perfect outfit for the first day of school! Or supplement your wardrobe with some new-to-you pieces. The Clothing Swap offers clothing for women, men, and kids in a wide range of sizes. Volunteers ensure items brought to the swap are in good condition and share-worthy. How awesome is that?
#4: Freshen up your closet and clear out your unworn items.
Do you sometimes feel like so many of the items in your drawers and closets are just taking up space because you never wear them? Perhaps they just don’t fit right, or you never truly loved the item to begin with? Clean out the clothes you never wear, bring them to the swap, and trade them out for something you’ll love and will wear more often! It’s a win-win!
#3: Lower your carbon footprint.
Many clothes made today are either entirely composed of synthetic fibers or contain a mix of natural and synthetic fibers. Either way, man-made fibers like nylon, acrylic, and polyester are derived from petroleum, a fossil fuel. Producing polyester fibers, for example, is an energy-intensive process, resulting in a significant carbon footprint. Additionally, synthetic fibers like polyester are non-biodegradable (not capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms). Therefore, discarded clothing made with synthetic fibers contributes to plastic pollution as items slowly degrade and release microplastics into the environment. However, due to its versatility, durability, and affordability, polyester accounts for 60% of all textile fibers used in clothing manufacturing. By shopping the Clothing Swap and not buying new, you can extend the life of clothing made with synthetic fibers and avoid the purchase of new clothes made with synthetic fibers. Every little bit makes a difference.
#2: Find Guilt-Free Denim.
Everyone loves a great pair of jeans. However, producing denim incurs a high environmental cost in terms of water consumption, carbon emissions, and chemical usage. Levi Strauss tells consumers it uses over 3,780 liters of water to produce just a single pair of 501 jeans. In addition, the chemicals used to get that great denim color and finish on jeans often contain hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde. Finding a great pair of used jeans at the Clothing Swap means you can skip buying new denim and avoid the environmental costs associated with it. Feel virtuous while looking great!
#1: Shopping the swap is sustainable!
Sometimes, making environmentally sustainable choices in today’s world can feel challenging and inconvenient. Attending the Clothing Swap is easy and fun, making it sustainable for your wallet and schedule, too! Over the past 4 years, the Tangletown Environmental Committee’s clothing swaps have extended the life of thousands of pieces of great clothing and kept almost 2,000 pounds of clothing out of landfills and incinerators—all while building community in a neighborhood they love. Join them for this year’s fun, free swap event to connect with committee members, neighbors, and friends. It’s an easy (and did I mention fun?!) way to build community and make an impact on the environment.
Sustainably,
Sam