TAUSCHEN STATT KAUFEN: KLEIDERTAUSCHPARTY!

“Come without money and find your new favorite T-shirt!”

the motto that invites people to join a more sustainable approach of wardrobe renewing and reusing. Instead of engaging into fast fashion, students of the Uni Bremen get a chance to be part of a Kleidertauschparty. This is a clothes swap event where everyone gets a chance to share and exchange their wardrobe.

The Kleidertauschparty at the Uni Bremen is always free and open for everyone.

Participants are encouraged to bring the clothes in good shape they no longer wear, to swap them for something they would reuse. The idea is to circle the items without using more resources, while getting creative and having fun. Everyone can try everything on and take whatever they like with them…as easy as that. Since it’s a party, most of the times there is chill music and drinks or snacks (gegen Spende), and it’s also a great chance to make new friends or to bring your old ones 😉.

            The Kleidertausch culture is growing and this year the University is not the only host. Last Saturday a nice party was organized at the Klima Bau Zentrum as part of the Klimaschutzkampagne “Senkmit”; summer clothes were on the focus. Today the Jugendcafé Friese is also hosting one. If you want to be informed about all the clothes swapping events going on in Bremen I recommend you to also check the national webpage https://www.kleidertausch.de/

            I get it; we all have clothes that end up in the bottom drawer. In my case also clothes that are on the waiting box until I lose some weight. But those clothes could be more appreciated by someone else, with real possibilities of using them. Energy flows every time you declutter your space. I’ve also experienced that joy of wearing something interesting and new (for me) after attending a Kleidertauschparty. The advantage is that I don’t feel as guilty as when I buy something new (for everyone) from a store. Let’s face it; our desire for new clothes is though common, often frustrating, contaminating, addictive, and costly. And even though we can’t completely blame the consumer about it, it still makes us feel guilty.

Just a reminder: The textile industry is the second most polluting on the planet. According to the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, an average consumer now buys 60% more clothing than they did 15 years ago. Fast fashion affects the environment and has many harmful social consequences…

• Approximately 60% of fast fashion items are produced with plastic-based materials (fossil fuels fabrics), which end up polluting the oceans, entering our waterways and contaminating our food chain. The use of harmful chemicals produces contaminated, toxic wastewater.
• Clothes are produced cheaply, which often means low wages and poor working conditions for garment workers. Many garment workers are people of color, and roughly 80% are women, employed under poor working conditions. With the extraction of resources and labor exploitation, the colonial roots of the fashion industry are still evident.
• As textile waste piles up, landfills are overflowing with discarded clothing.
  

  Oxfam, 2023.

Most of us are already aware that fast fashion relies on cheap, disposable clothing that is produced quickly and sold at low prices, encouraging consumers to buy and discard clothing at an alarming rate. But we are still tempted by the amount of outfit inspiration we see everywhere. This is exactly where Kleidertauschparties come in.

The Uni Bremen Kleidertauschparty divides clothes into different tables, there’s no quota or amount of clothes you can bring/take with you.

A final recommendation for anyone who organizes such an event would be to consider expanding the exchange idea to even more products related. How about also having a makeup, bath and beauty, or jewelry section? Also, most of the clothes you can find on a Kleidertausch are brought by women. It would be interesting to explore ways to integrate other genders better to this activity.

Tell me, would you like to participate on the next Kleidertauschparty? Just remember, you don’t need new clothes to have a new wardrobe!