Last month, we shared different ways to participate in a circular economy through clothing. As part of that, we highlighted our June Open House, which will feature a clothing swap. As a reminder, the Open House will take place from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at our new location inside Easton Point Park.
If you’ve never participated in a clothing swap, here is the general format. Every person brings their unwanted clothing to the swap. Everyone then has time to go through all the clothing to find pieces that work for them. The goal is that everyone goes home with new to them items.
When you bring clothing to a swap, you are not bringing items that have no life left in them, ie. have holes, have worn out elastic, are covered in stains, etc. The clothing you bring to a swap might be items that no longer fit you the way you prefer, are a different style than you prefer, or are simply items that you (or your children) have outgrown. The items should still be in good (but not necessarily new) condition.
For the clothing swap here at Phillips Wharf on June 17th, we will set aside the first half of the program for only folks who bring a donation of clothing to the swap. We recommend that you arrive close to 1 pm so that you have time to explore the available clothing and try on items. We have several restrooms and bathroom stalls available if you want to try on items.
After the first half of the Open House, we will open up the clothing swap as a donation based program. This means that people can participate without donating items. Instead, we’ll ask for a donation to support the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center. These funds will help support the animals we care for, all of whom will be on display during the Open House. We’ll also have a color station for the young ones and Easton Point Park will be available for outside play time so bring a frisbee, lawn bowling set, baseball gloves and a ball, or whatever your kids might want to entertain themselves in the Park.
At the end of the clothing swap, all remaining items will be donated or recycled, depending on what shape they are in.
To help you plan ahead, we’ve put together a spreadsheet so that you can see what types of items and in what sizes folks are planning to bring. Click on the image to get to the spreadsheet. Please feel free to add items that you are planning to bring and add any additional categories that might not be on the spreadsheet currently.
Our goal is to put on a fun, community event that encourages people to pass on clothing, rather than let it sit in their closets or attics, or eventually end up in the landfill. We hope you’ll join us!