How to successfully host a clothing swap for friends, family, or your local community: 'Win-win-win'
Why should hand-me-downs be just for kids?
We all have those items sitting in our closets that maybe just don't fit quite the same anymore, but someone else would love them. What if you could shop your friends' closets and get new clothes without spending any money — and, as a bonus, help the planet?
Clothing swaps are a "win-win-win:" save money, have fun with your friends, and help the planet. For me and my friends, our twice-yearly swaps have become a much-anticipated opportunity to connect and score some great finds.
How to do it
It's really simple — pick a date, send out a simple invite or text your friends, and ask your friends to clear out their closets. Make sure to indicate that items should be in good condition, and we typically ask for only 10 items to keep the volume of clothes manageable.
Pick up some snacks and drinks, or bring some games for kids to play while you shop. Hang the clothes up on clothing racks or fold them on tables, and let everyone check out the merchandise.
To avoid a free-for-all, we usually ask everyone to wait before grabbing new items. We give everyone an Uno card, and when we are ready to swap, people with red cards get to choose one item first, and then we rotate through yellow, green, blue, and wild cards. Each person picks one item per round until all items are taken — extra items get donated to Goodwill, and of course, trading is allowed.
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Why do it
Old clothes and unused textiles account for 7% of landfill content. And only 1% gets repurposed into new garments. If everyone bought just one used item a year, the amount of pollution reduced would be like taking half a million cars off the road.
We did the math at The Cool Down and estimated that just by changing the way you get new clothes, you could save over $6,650 over the course of 10 years and reduce your trash by 1,680 pounds.
Do it for the kids, too!
We also do kids' clothing swaps at all of our big elementary school events. Tying them to existing events works really well to encourage participation. For these, we set up a collection box at the front of a school and invite parents to drop off gently used clothing or shoes about a week or two before the swap. We promote it on social media and in our school newsletter.
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Then we set up the clothes on a few big tables and hanging racks at school during the event, and we just let the kids grab what they want. You wouldn't believe how excited they get trying on each others' clothes and scoring something they likely wouldn't be able to find elsewhere.
You can also do these for category-specific items, like sports shoes or gear.
Have questions or need help? Reach out to us at hello@thecooldown.com. Happy shopping!
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