Donate gently used clothes to Swap Shop
This is the opinion of Ryan Imm.
Do you have extra clothes laying around your room you don’t wear anymore? Ones that just don’t fit? Maybe they’ve gone out of style, or are super ugly?
If you do, consider donating to the Swap Shop! This Sustainability Office event is happening now and ends Dec. 10.
Donate your clothes at a multitude of locations, including the first floor of all residence halls, Mary Commons, the Eco Houses, Centennial Commons and the CSB/SJU Sustainability Offices. Donations will be taken up until Dec. 5 and sorted through and categorized.
Starting on Dec. 8-10 students will be allowed to “go shopping” for any and all of the donations made to the swap shop. Before donating, please be conscious of the status of your items. If there’s a stain or tear in the fabric, consider repurposing that item instead of donating it because it is likely that no one else would care for a stained or ripped piece of clothing. However, all donations are welcome and appreciated.
This event is beneficial to all types of students for many reasons such as convenience, cost and satisfaction. For students who are unable to leave campus to shop for clothing, the ease of looking through others’ donations helps give access to the excitement of thrifting new clothes.
Free events like the Swap Shop are inclusive to all types of students with varying financial and socioeconomic statuses. This gives the opportunity to anyone interested in picking out some new statement pieces to their outfits without the added pressure of spending money.
It can also just be a source of excitement to look through your classmates’ clothes to spice up the daily sweatshirt and sweatpants fit.
Though thrifting is a much better option in contrast with buying from large corporations and fast fashion, it is easy to forget that overconsumption is still an issue, even while shopping at secondhand stores. Consumerism not only deals with the larger chain businesses, but also applies to anything we purchase.
Remember to shop with moderation. Ask yourself questions to make sure you will get the full satisfaction of any purchase: Will I wear this more than once? Will this fit me in five years? Is this an impulse buy? Will this still be trendy in the future?
Though this might seem like too much work and might cause some to overthink their purchases, getting into a more sustainable mindset can help you save money, help local and small businesses and create opportunities to give more meaningful gifts.
As winter approaches, consider getting rid of the clothes that you didn’t wear this summer and fall to make room in your closet for things that you will enjoy wearing more than once. With this holiday season right around the corner, Mother Nature has reminded us that buying more material goods will not pull us out of the current climate crisis, so I urge you to think about what you need vs. what you may want, to shop local before going to Amazon and to embody the gift of giving by donating to the Swap Shop and any other non-profit organization or secondhand store. Let’s make this holiday season a season of sustainability!