About 50 people swapped T-shirts, dresses and even a pair of silver heels Wednesday afternoon at IU’s Colossal Clothing Swap.
The swap on the edge of Dunn Meadow was designed to keep those unworn clothes out of landfills.
“Everyone needs to be responsible for their clothing’s end life,” said IU senior Macaira O’Connell, an organizer of the event.
O’Connell and senior Lauren Roberts are leaders of BuyGOOD, a campus group promoting fair trade and sustainability. The group organized the swap as part of SustainIU week.
Bundled up in a winter jacket and scarf, Roberts sat at a table ready to trade clothes and share the organization’s mission.
“Our whole goal today is to talk to people about the benefits of trading clothes and have some fun,” Roberts said.
As a member of Union Board, IU junior Alexis Burr volunteered to help with the clothing swap.
Although she didn’t have any clothes to swap, she was able to take home a jean shirt after telling Roberts a funny story.
“It was either that or doing 50 push-ups,” Burr said. “I didn’t want to do 50 push-ups.”
Burr said the event was a wonderful idea, especially for college towns where so many people have clothes that are never worn, just hanging in their closets.
“I’m all about thrifting, all about that reduce, reuse, recycle,” Burr said.
SustainIU Week was organized by the Student Sustainability Council. This year’s theme was “Sustainability in an Unequal World,” focusing on diversity and environmental injustices.
With a mission statement encompassing sustainability, O’Connell said it was important for BuyGOOD to be a part of SustainIU.
Getting rid of clothes wastefully can have negative effects on the environment, O’Connell said.
Throwing away clothes can cause textiles to be in landfills for more than 200 years before they finally biodegrade, according to fashion documentary “The True Cost.” Also according to the film, the average American throws away 82 pounds of clothing waste each year.
Donating clothes to a secondhand store has its problems, too. These stores can receive such a high amount of clothing they are forced to either throw them away or send them to a foreign country, which then hurts that country’s economy, O’Connell said.
“It’s better to swap,” O’Connell said. “It makes sure to give your clothing a new life.”
It’s important to step back from the fashion industry, Roberts said.
“We live in a society that’s so focused on new things,” Burr said. “It’s always good to give.”
