When she held Kathy Ridgeway’s first clothing exchange in Portland, Oregon 14 years ago, she had several goals: Keep Clothes from the landfillhelp people find free fashion treasures Build a community.
The swap attracted around 150 people and grew from there. Today, the two annual events, which organizers call the largest swap in the Northwest, attract between 500 and 850 participants and share clothing and accessories in a party-like atmosphere.
“We have DJs and two full bars, so we have songs and dances. But no one gets drunk on a Sunday afternoon at 1pm,” said Elizabeth Morro, co-founder of Ridgeway.
The swap is part of a Bigger movements across the country To share resources with your neighbors – one shirt, meal or book.
Clothing exchange
The Portland event requires a $10 admission fee to cover the costs, but clothing is free and there is no limit to how much the participants can take. People bring gently used clothing, shoes and accessories to the sorting station, and volunteers classify them into bins and tables.
Ridgeway, who worked in the apparel industry, sees this process as the answer to Throw away “fast fashion”. She said, “In the moment of the “peak mountain” when our salters are picking up the mountain, sort as soon as possible, and we see the real impact of consumer culture and waste. ”
The rest of the clothing will be donated to another free neighborhood swapping event.
Ridgway recalls that a single mother said her teenager could equip Nike shoes and other major brands outside the regular price range. “These conversations, and many other conversations, really continue to be my return to this event,” she says.
There are no dressing rooms, so participants are encouraged to wear snugly fitted clothes and try out where they are.
“It’s a bit confusing,” says Moro, but many people come back every year.
“Where else can I get a whole new wardrobe for $10?”
Community refrigerator
As Many grocery prices risecommunity resource sharing becomes increasingly important, says Taylor Scott of Richmond, Virginia.
Scott was a recent college alumni when the pandemic put her dream of becoming an FBI agent on hold. She began gardening and found herself with more tomatoes than she would soon consume. My friend suggested putting extras in a Community refrigeratoras they knew in places like New York City. However, Scott discovers that Richmond has nothing.
“I decided that’s what I was going to do for my birthday,” she says.
Scott jumped on Instagram to see if her friend wanted to help, and immediately received a fridge offer and an appointment to paint it. For several months, then she opened her first community refrigerator outside the cafe in January 2021.
It was a hit.
“Suddenly people asked me when I was more open,” Scott says.
She added a refrigerator over the next four years, and thus built relationships around town based on “mouth and words of faith.” As the project grew and became an RVA community fridge, grocery donations expanded from restaurants and farms, including private events and weddings.
“We’re going to waste, we’ve saved so much food,” says Scott.
Today, the 27-year-old president of RVA Community Fridge and her volunteer crew operate 14 refrigerators, provide “tables from the farm” education classes and host community cooking in the kitchen. The organization has handed out more than 520,000 pounds of food, Scott says.
She also likes that the fridge site has become a spot for nearby gatherings. She has seen people who once needed to share food become volunteers when they were in a better place.
“They started taking it and now they’re giving it,” says Scott.
Book exchange
This style of hyperlocal sharing is also a feature of Little Free Library. This is the nonprofit behind a cute little book shed that dots the dot community across the country. The library aims to provide 24-hour access to free books and stimulate meaningful interactions.
“People say they met more neighbors in a week than before they set up the library,” says Daniel Guunit, CEO of Little Free Library.
Since the organization’s founding in 2010, book lovers have featured their own creative take in libraries, from cactus-shaped structures to miniature replicas of their own homes. There are currently over 200,000 small free libraries in 128 countries, Gumnit says.
“Access to books is directly correlated with child literacy,” he notes.
Reyna Macias was trying to expand its access in her East Los Angeles neighborhood while stocking a small free library box with hand-painted Spanish and English books.
“We have a great library nearby, but many people in our community work long hours that don’t match what the library offers,” says Macias. “Our small library is open 24 hours a day and there are books in that language.”
Macias says her library is frequented by people walking their dogs, children stopping by after school, and grandfathers who bring their granddaughters every day.
“For years, Eastra has been lightly looked up, but we are a community that seeks each other and cares for each other,” says Macias.
Her library receives so many donations from her neighbors that she shoots a cart full of free books every Thursday at the Farmers Market.
“It’s a crucial time to show a lot of love,” says Macias. “This is how I do it.”
