‘Swap, not Drop’ is Theme of Free Clothing Exchange

Haphazardly folded clothing piles atop wooden tables as Milwaukee community members shuffle in and out of the Urban Ecology Center, arriving with their pre-loved goods in bags or boxes. After thoroughly checking out every secondhand item, attendees can leave with a refreshed bag of clothing not having dropped a penny.

Dani Douville and TJ Davies, both graduate students at UWM, arrived at the clothing swap on Saturday with items they no longer wanted to take up space in their lives.

“I know that I own a lot of clothes, and I’d rather give them to someone who would need them,” Douville said.

The Urban Ecology Center hosted a free clothing swap April 20 for people to drop off their unwanted garments instead of throwing them away or donating them, and in exchange, could sift through the other dropped off items and choose what to bring home.

Creating connections with clothing

Community members came with friends and loved ones to the event, constantly replenishing the tables of clothing. A constant buzz of chatter and excitement hung over the second floor of the UEC as attendees held up clothing to determine the worthiness of bringing it home, or even to laugh at the unsightly designs.

“I like events like these, because obviously it’s free for everyone, and even if you don’t bring that many items or don’t bring any items, you can still come away with something,” Davies said. “I feel like that’s a really cool community aspect where people can bring what they have, and people can take what they need.”

The clothing swap is one way the UEC promotes their mission of connecting people and cities to nature and each other.

“When we connect with community, our creativity expands and we understand where we’re supposed to put our resources,” Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator Erin Whitney said. “Distribution becomes easier because we’re connected with our other organizations, we’re connected with Susie down the street, who’s looking for small pants for another organization. It just becomes simpler when we’re more connected.”

The issue with unwanted clothing

While the swap brings people together, it also promotes sustainability and resourcefulness as clothing consumption skyrockets across the globe. Humans have consumed 400% more clothing than what was consumed in the past two decades, according to a paper published by the National Library of Medicine.

Consumers have a lot hanging in their closets: as much as 100 billion articles of clothing are being produced annually as of 2014, according to an analysis by McKinsey.

Many consider donating a sustainable option for getting rid of their unwanted items, but Avery Durnen, a former Goodwill employee in Madison, gained a different perspective on the issue after working at the donation center.

“I think a lot of people have the mindset of like, ‘I’m doing a good thing by donating,’” Durnen said. “If I can just buy all the clothes I want and donate it, it just magically solves all the problems we have with clothing waste. And that’s not true.”

Between 10 and 30 percent of all donated clothing is actually purchased, with the burden of the unwanted items being put on areas of the Global South, according to an excerpt of a book by Oliver Franklin-Wallis.

“It feels good for us, which means that we get to have this idea that donation gives us a solution  and we don’t have to look at it, because it is kind of ugly,” Whitney said. “Our consumption patterns are kind of ugly, but I think that’s where we take personal responsibility. It doesn’t affect the quality of our life to go buy something second hand. If you’re coming to things like this, it might enhance it.”

The clothing swap promoted diversity and inclusion through its absence of gendered clothing categories. The UEC wants the event to be a party and a unique way for community members to connect, Whitney said.

Keeping it local

About 180 people went to the clothing swap on April 20, and what remained was 23 paper grocery bags of clothing, Whitney confirmed in an email.

The post-swap distribution process was an undertaking that was hard to prepare for, Whitney said. The unwanted items are dispersed across local organizations like the Milwaukee Pathfinders and the Milwaukee Textile Recycling Center.

If people are interested in distributing their unwanted clothing somewhere other than a donation center like Goodwill, Whitney emphasized that it is important to call first.

Other ways community members can practice sustainability locally are “buy nothing” social media groups, or even by hosting mini-clothing swaps with a proper distribution plan of the unwanted items.

“I think raising awareness about it or having events like this where it’s swap, not drop, where we’re being more mindful about what we own and how we can do things like this instead of just donating, because that’s not the catch all, save all,” Durnen said.

The UEC hosts clothing swaps throughout the year. Whitney hopes to host events in the future that cater specifically to plus size, children’s and masculine clothing, she said in an email.

People interested in volunteering for future clothing swaps can email Erin Whitney (ewhitney@urbanecologycenter.org).