Musings

Where are you and where are you going?
Post Reply
berrytwo
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:45 pm

Musings

Post by berrytwo »

I have been thinking/ writing a lot about sustainable fashion recently as my own form of anti-consumerism/ trivial pursuit to reduce my carbon impact. I thought it might be interesting to document the ways I have acquired/ donated clothes in more untraditional ways.

Free Piles:

Free piles are one of the most sustainable and affordable options for clothing re-distribultion. Free piles can take many forms including a more casual pile on a someones side walk after a garage sale or move (which can offer some good finds) and there can be more structured free piles. Here are some of my favorite examples of how people have created free piles in their communities.

Schools: I have seen a middle school that had a free pile in a large closet used for students to donate clothes and pick up clothes. While some schools have a smaller version of this where students are able to be gifted clothes when they are in dire need (foster care/ homelessness ect.) this free pile was more integrated into the school system. I believe that this made looking for free clothes and donating a lot less taboo and more apart of the common school culture. This could be a great tool for schools from Elementary (where they grow out of clothes super fast) to Universities where they could have a dedicated room for clothing exchange.

Housing: I lived in a giant student co-op during part of college and we had a large basement room filled with free clothes. It was so fun to see the clothes you had donated on your housemate a few days later. While not everyone is going to live in a 20+ people co-op like I did, it could be a sweet option for roommates to integrate a free-pile to share clothing.

Permeant Free Pile:

When walking in my neighborhood, I found what looks like a permeant year-round free-pile box that someone had build labeled “free stuff.” That day I found a perfect fit of purple pants that I have to this day. I thought that it was a really helpful to have a covering built, because where I live in the Pacific North West we have quite wet seasons that would destroy any chance of clothes surviving in any season but summer.



Clothing Swaps:

Likewise to free piles, clothing swaps can be a fun way to directly give your clothes to another person and be an affordable/ sustainable option for getting new clothes.

I have enjoyed having large and small clothing swaps with friends where we trade with each other. While not all of my friends and I are the same size or have the same style as I do, I have been surprised to find how many special pieces that I have received from my friends and family. I am always reminded of my loved ones when I wear a piece from a clothing swap like this is my “Lucy sweater” or my “Tommy pants.” Likewise, I beam when I see others wearing my clothes. I love to see others using the clothes that were not getting much use by me and I picture them calling it their “Berry2 Shirt.” ;)

There are also larger community swaps that can involve more people. Some are larger organized events where people bring a certain number of clothes and exchange, can look through other peoples piles and find clothes that they are interested. I think these offer a chance to try out a lot of different clothes and find something that you would’t necessarily find at a store.

I have also heard of more themed clothing swaps such as Halloween costume swap, 80’s clothes, or Queer Clothing swap which offers a space for people in the LQBTQ community to share clothes. These offer a more narrow scope for people that may be looking to find a more specific set of clothing.


Clothing rental:

There are some specialty items that people don’t plan on wearing regularly that can benefit renting clothes. Most recently, I graduated from my masters program and my school provided a gown exchange program through the sustainability center. I wore a used graduation gown and gave it back to the University after borrowing it. This was a free program offered through my school whereas I would have otherwise would have paid upwards of $200 for my gown and never worn it again. Other people may use rentals for interview wear (and some cities have free or close to free options for this).



Goodwill:

Goodwill is not necessarily the end all be all charity shop for being and donating clothes that some people may think, although it does have some very important positives.

Donating: While goodwill is a hugely net-positive program there are some huge downfalls of donating your clothes here and other charity shops. Up to 80% of the donated clothes get sent to the dump. Many people donate huge bags of clothes fully thinking that they are donating them to people in need. Unfortunately that is not the case. Donating more seasonally (getting rid of your halloween costume in October rather than November 1 or your heavy jacket in September when people are likely to be buying) and reusing items that are likely to be thrown out (logoed shirts, things with large stains or holes) can lessen your chance of clothes going straight to the landfill.


Buying: They sell semi-affordable clothing (at least in the PNW the prices have doubled in the last 10 years) from donated clothes. This has long since provided clothes to families from lower socioeconomic status as well as many others that want more affordable clothing, but it is becoming more of a trendy option that has pushed many families that relied on it’s affordable option out. It raises important moral questions that I don’t know the answers to because it is a very enviromentally sustainable option to buy clothes and it often will have a lot of options that can be size inclusive, but it does have important impacts that should be considered.

Goodwill bins:

The good news is that some locations of Goodwill have what are called goodwill bins. Instead of the clothes in these local areas getting dumped straight in the landfill, they are sent from local goodwill stores to this large warehouse with gigantic bins filled with clothes. What I appreciate about these locations is that it is at the bottom of the waste chain, meaning these clothes if not used, will go straight to the dump. The supply is endless of clothes from goodwill stores. Because they are trying to just cycle through as many clothes as possible, the clothes are paid by the pound! This means that a fully functioning jacket could be sold for less than a dollar. While definitely not curated (lol I have a few good stories), meaning that to find the good stuff there is a lot of digging involved, I believe that this option should be a critical piece in reducing national and global clothing waste at an extremely affordable price.

Trendy Thrift Stores:

In Portland, growing up, I would often take the bus with my friends to Hawthorn street which was a Mecca of trendy used clothing shops. At the time it was a little more expensive then Goodwill, but offered a wide relation of clothes that I was interested in. It is there that I began to develop my own sense of pride buying used clothes. I even bought my Prom dress in one of the shops. Simultaneously many others caught on to the trend of thrifting as well and the prices skyrocketed. I wend back recently and a musty graphic tee was 70 dollars!

Donating: Stores like these can be very picky. Sometimes they pick pieces that you would never believe and others that you sware fits the vibe of the store, they are not interested. Often there is not much return, especially if you don’t have much store credit. However, if you have the time and are in need for a little cash it can be a good option.

Buying: While digging through bins at the bottom of the waste chain is way more up my alley, I understand that this may be a much more enjoyable and attainable sustainability goal. While I don’t want thrifting to become too commercialized, I find that having Hawthorn street in Portland encourages people that may think thrifting is beneath them to ask important questions about buying new clothes.


Fix:

Way too many clothes get deemed unusable when they have a small hole, button missing, or tear. Fortunately, clothing is a lot more easy to mend than one might think. With a little bit of research and a sewing needle a lot can be fixed pretty easily. I have been on a journey to teach myself how to mend (more of this to come.)

Post Reply