Students sorted through piles among piles of gently used clothing in search of stylish hidden gems, all while remaining active sustainability advocates, at a clothing swap Wednesday in the College of Textiles’s Convocation Center. Greater Good Textile Group is a student organization that works to at promote sustainable practices within the textile industry and advocates for industry workers’ rights. They paired with the online beauty and fashion presence College Fashionista in putting on an event fit for fashion-savvy college students of all kinds.
Greater Good Textile Group member Michelle Kerstein, a second-year studying fashion and textile management, shared insight on the event’s sustainability-focused mission.
“We wanted to encourage people to extend the life cycle of their clothes,” Kerstein said. “Instead of buying new ones, were swapping out the old ones that might not get the most use.”
The event transformed the College of Textiles’s Convocation Center into a makeshift boutique, complete with a rack of swingy dresses, a mannequin dressed in envious professional attire and tables boasting neatly folded clothes arranged by item. Topped off with pumped-up jams and baby pink balloons, the clothing swap’s upbeat atmosphere made it the perfect place for a quick shopping spree after class.
Participating students were asked to donate clothing before the event took place, and then could come back to sort through the impressive conglomeration of clothing of various colors, patterns and materials. Among the donated items, medium wash denim, casual dresses and comfy tees were particularly abundant. If not wishing to donate, students could pay $5 to participate in the thrifty fun.
Part of the event’s primary appeal was that it worked to give students a chance to mix up their wardrobe, all while finding avid usage for one’s current clothing items which fell victim to sitting quietly in the closet. Sarah Johnson, a first-year masters student studying textile engineering, noted the clothing swap’s sustainable, give-and-get nature.
“I think that sometimes we get tired of things in our closet,” Johnson said. “But when clothes are still in great condition and have a long life ahead of them, and we just want to change it up, it’s fun to do that with other people and have your clothes find new homes.”
While the much-anticipated clothing swap marks one of the Greater Good Textile Group’s more glamorous events, the ethics-based organization hosts a plethora of events which share the group’s utmost passion for sustainability, fair trade and ethics in the textiles arena.
“We have multiple events, some are more on the fun side like the clothing swap, but we also do things that are focused more on education interest and outreach, like our business forum which happens in the spring,” Kerstein said.
Tiffany Tang, a first-year studying environmental engineering, was one of many in search of a gently used fashionable item to call her own. Tang, who helped run a thrift club at her high school, was no stranger to the sustainable art of shopping used and encouraged other students to do the same.
“I think students should definitely start looking at secondhand stores,” Tang said. “They’re a lot more affordable, first off, and secondly, you can find a lot of good things there.”
Perhaps the takeaway from the College of Textiles’s clothing swap venture is that, for those with a passion for the very real phenomenon that is retail therapy, shopping secondhand and donating underutilized clothing is the way to go. Until the next clothing swap takes place, Uptown Cheapskate and Plato’s Closet act as a thrift shopper’s paradise right near campus, and regularly accept donations.
For more information on Greater Good Textile group and upcoming events, visit their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/NCSUGGTG/.
Clothing items lay on display at Clothing Swap, an event where students could swap their used clothes with other students in the College of Textiles Convocation Center on Wednesday.
