How To Start Your Own Clothing Swap

Clothing swaps are all the rage. With the fast-fashion industry harming our planet with each new trend, buying vintage, shopping secondhand, and swapping clothes with your family and friends seems like the best way to reduce one’s carbon footprint while still remaining stylish.

While handing your clothes down to the next generation, or giving your clothes away for a second-life, is a norm in Latinx communities, we want it to be a norm in communities everywhere. So, we’re sharing our step-by-step guide on how to start your own clothing swap.

Starting your own clothing swap isn’t a huge feat. You can host a large scale clothing swap in a marketplace or a small scale clothing swap in your own backyard (or living room). However you choose to scale your swap, here are some tips for smooth swapping.

Step 1. Start A Pile

Pick out 3-5 pieces of clothes you no longer love. If doesn’t fit the way you want it to, if you haven’t worn it in over 6 months, and if it doesn’t make you feel like the boss bitch that you are, toss it in the swap pile.

Clothes that you take to a clothing swap should be in good-condition. You want these clothes to go to a new home, so a nice wash and ironing a few wrinkles can really bring new life to your loved pieces. Plus, you wouldn’t want to take home stinky or stained clothes, would you?

Clothes with tears, unrecoverable stains and rips, and other damage should be recycled. You can recycle your clothing in many ways, like ripping up cotton t-shirts and using them as cleaning rags, or shipping them to a verified recycling center like For Days to divert them from landfills.

Donating your clothing is an act of kindness, so remember to imbue love to every piece of clothing you donate to a swap.

Step 2. Round Up Your Friends!

Plan a date, lunch, picnic, to meet and swap your clothing.

With clothing, size does matter, and the last thing you want to do is show up to a clothing swap and not find any options for your beautiful body. Hosting an inclusive sized clothing swap and keeping your clothing swap gender-inclusive makes cute and sustainable fashion accessible for everyone.

STEP 3. SWAP!

On the day of the swap, be sure your clothing is clean and ready to go to a new home.

Enjoy the company, catch up on the chisme, and update your closet with pre-loved freebies. Whatever clothes that doesn’t get picked up can be saved for another clothing swap! We love to see the movement grow, so tag @radicalclothesswap in your social posts about your swaps!

To make the clothing swap fun, we recommend bringing snacks and drinks to elevate the vibes. 😉

STEP 4. Do IT All Over Again

Sustainable fashion is not a one and done thing. Consistently buying second-hand and swapping your clothes for free can reduce the amount of clothing that ends up in landfills every year. You can do your part (and save money) by hosting clothing swaps in your community. Love your clothes; love the planet!

Xoxo,

Las Raddie Baddies