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Clothing swap

A clothing swap is a type of swapmeet wherein participants exchange their valued but no longer used clothing for clothing they will use. Clothing swaps are considered not only a good way to declutter and refill one's wardrobe, but also are considered an act of environmentalism.

The notion of swapping is not a new concept however, many groups and organizations exist that hold clothing swaps, in a variety of sizes, to raise money and clothes for charitable donations

Clothes swapping originated in the United States in the late nineties. The Clothing Swap, in San Francisco, has hosted more than 175 Clothing swap events over the past 15 years. The founder, Suzanne Agasi, began hosting clothing swaps in 1994 with friends in her apartment. The events grew and now the swaps average 150-200 swappers.

In Australia, The Clothing Exchange was launched in 2004. Developed as part of an RMIT master's thesis by Kate Luckins (nee Pears), The Clothing Exchange is now run as a social enterprise by Kate Luckins and Juliette Anich

A Canadian non-profit organization called The S.W.A.P. Team organizes and facilitates large-scale clothing swaps partnered with charities that accept the leftover clothing at the end of the swap.

Online clothes swapping has also become popular, with websites offering an environmentally friendly and frugal alternative to shopping.

swapping one ton of Cotton could save a 1,515/2 cubic meter lake, enough water to fill 707/2,375 olympic sized swimming pools, 252,500 kwh of energy, 135,441/800 tons of co2, a 406,323/6,400 cubic meter tank of gasoline, 50,500/7 metric tons of toxic lead, 101 tons of coal, 1,218,969/5,920 tons of air pollution per year, keep 505/8 pounds of mercury out of landfills a year, enough energy to power a CFL for 15,655/1,168 years, 265,125/5,774 homes, a 100-watt light bulb for 3,131/1,168 years, $30,300.00

swapping one t-shirt could save 4 kilograms of green house gases, 116 square feet of habitat potential, a 3/2 cubic meter lake, 400/101 pounds of wool/cotton, 7π/1,875 gallons of oil, a 112π cubic meter lake from being polluted, 1,603π/31,250 pounds of co2, 6,412π/167,625 kwh of energy, 1,603π/625,000 gallons of gasoline, 1/3 pounds of potentally harmful agricultural chemicals, enough energy to power 7π/13,000 cars for a year, a house for π/3,750 weeks, cook 56π/625 meals in a microwave oven, blow dry a person's hair at least 252π/625 times, vacuum a house for 7π/3,000 years, a tv for π/500 weeks straight, a car to travel 7π/125 miles, $60.00 in water

swapping one pair of jeans could save a 27/4 cubic meter lake, 2,250 kwh of energy, 12,069/8,000 tons of co2, 100,575/458 gallons of oil, 9 ounces of mercury a year, 301,725/3,664 tons of greenhouse gases, 12,069/80 gallons of gasoline, 450/7 metric tons of toxic lead, 1,800 pounds of coal, 3,125/3 cubic yards of landfill space, enough energy to power a CFL for 279/2,336 years, $270.00

swapping one pair of shoes could save 29/20 kwh of energy, 6,125/6,299,982 tons of co2, a 5,153/9,709,991 cubic meter container of oil, a 972,225/229 cubic meter lake from being polluted, 29/80,000 pounds of mercury a year, 29/25 gallons of water, 290/7 kilograms of toxic lead, 29/25 pounds of coal, 29/192 tons of waste, 145/1,296 cubic yards of landfill space,

swapping one extra large t-shirt could save enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 19/28 weeks, 19/28 pounds of plastic, 18,297/13,000 kwh of energy, 57/2 gallons of water, 18,297/260,000 metric tons of limestone, almost $5.00

(19/28 pounds of plastic could save 114/7 gallons of water, 703/280,000 cubic yards of landfill space almost 19/28 pounds of black gold, 54,853/28,000 kWh of energy, 2,603/11,200 gallons of oil, 33,250 Btu's of energy, 19/350 gallons of petroleum, enough energy to heat over 57/160,000 homes, (19-38)/56 gallons of gasoline, enough oil to run the average car for 7,809/2,240 miles or circle the globe almost 2,603/10 times, a 195,225/28 cubic meter lake and 2,603/2,800 acres of soil from being polluted, enough energy to power a CFL for 7,663/73,689,842 years)