A successful Eco-Deaf Clothes Swap!

Many of the deaf women who showed up at this event discussed about how they benefited from the clothes exchange: They socialized, they met new people, they shared delicious food recipes and craft ideas, and their children made friends with and played with other children (and some even tried on clothes, see the little toddler trying on in front of mirror).



Not only did they get rid of unwanted clothes in their closet (Benefit #1), they went to a community event such as a clothing swap (Benefit #2), they find new items to bring back home without paying a penny (Benefit #3), and the pile of clothes that nobody takes--- are donated to charity (Benefit #4).

I decided to do a research about the difference between just going straight to the Thrift shop to drop/donate clothes and going to a clothes swap, here is what I found:

Only about one-fifth of the clothing donated to charities is directly used or sold in their thrift shops. “There are nowhere near enough people in America to absorb the mountains of castoffs, even if they were given away.”

That's why we all feel better that we've traded in almost half of the clothes we brought- so we can feel better about that 1/5th of the clothes that actually get re-used through thrift shops.

Another blog explains why the "consumerism of clothes buying" is hazardous to the environment:

1. Each time you rush to the shops to by a seasons worth of new clothes, that at the end of the season you will throw away because you are bored of them, you are creating damage to the environment.

2. Not only are you creating unnecessary waste which is likely to contribute to the growing problem of landfill but you are also increasing the environmental impact associated with clothing manufacture.

3. Synthetic textiles in landfill do not break down and so remain in the ecosystem.

4. Dyes and chemical finishes can also wash out with rain water into the water systems.

5. Even natural textiles cause environmental problems. When they break down they create methane which is a powerful green house gas.

6. There are a variety of other issues associated with the manufacture of new clothes including pesticide pollution and carbon footprints.

By swapping clothes you can help to reduce all of these. So EcoDeaf encourages you to do something like this in your home area!

Happy swapping (and hopefully, blogging about it!)