Clothing Swaps Are Eco-Friendly And Fun

Want to have a ton of fun with your friends and save money and give the planet a hand?

Well, that’s easy. Why not hold a clothing swap?

They’re easy to run and they allow you to swap the clothes you don’t want with each other, so that you can expand your wardrobe without buying anything new.

Why Conduct A Clothing Swap?

We love buying clothes second hand, in fact we have ten good reasons everyone should buy second-hand clothes, but we’re even happier when we get the ultimate bargain.

And what could be a better bargain than getting rid of something in your wardrobe that’s just taking up space as you won’t wear it again and receiving something you love and will wear in exchange?

That’s where clothing swaps come in and they’re very easy to run.

How To Prepare For A Clothing Swap

To run a successful clothing swap the key is to prepare properly for it and we’ve got a very simple process that ensures success, as long as you follow it:

Round up everyone you want to be involved. This lets you explain what you’re going to do, ask for some help with the organization and allows everyone to get excited about the swap.
Pick a venue. It’s best to find somewhere that can provide (or help you source) clothing rails and somewhere to change in. But cafes, homes and even offices can be just fine in a pinch. Just remember, you may need some refreshments too.
Set the date. Don’t be too ambitious. It’s better to give it 2-3 weeks to get it organized properly than to try and get it together for tomorrow.
Get the equipment you need. That is racks, mirrors, a place to change, etc. and it’s always a good idea to have some music playing in the background. So a set list and a DJ friend (or hiring a DJ) is vital.
Advertise the event to your friends on social media. It’s time to widen the scope and get a few more people to attend, as some will drop out on the day.
Get the clothes together before the day. That means arranging pick ups/drop offs and sorting them out onto rails before everyone turns up. If you intend to split the clothes into “high street” and “haute couture”, now is a good time to do it.

If it’s your first clothing swap, you want to make sure that you’re paying attention to the details.

This allows you to put together a checklist for the next one that you host and this will make the second occasion much easier to organize than the first.

And don’t be shy about asking for help from those attending, in our experience people love to help and it can really make life much simpler for you.

How To Conduct The Clothing Swap

If you’ve prepared thoroughly then the day of the clothing swap should be relatively trouble free.

Here’s the way that we’ve found works best for running the swap.

Everyone gets an item for an item. That means it’s a one-on-one deal. They hand in an item and they get one token for it. If they hand in two, they get two tokens, and so on.
It’s OK to split between “high street” and “haute couture”. Just uses two different sets of tokens, it’s fair enough that someone isn’t going to want to swap their Prada for Marks and Spencer.
Make sure the door is manned by someone who understands the rules clearly. Tokens are really the only potential source of conflict at a clothing swap.
Throw open the doors and let people in. But make sure there are a few people around to help manage things and to ensure that areas are kept tidy.
Clear up when you’re done. If you’ve got clothing left after the swap, you can always sell it to an online thrift store (we’re thrift store addicts, here at Whole People) or arrange for a recycler to pick it up and reuse it.