Sustain Mizzou hosted its semiannual clothing swap at Lowry Mall April 22. The clothing swap was open to everyone, regardless of whether they brought clothes to swap.
“It’s welcome to all,” said Allison Garvey, student co-director of Sustain Mizzou. “There were a few people earlier that I heard asking if they could come if they weren’t a student, and we welcome anyone.”
Although the three-hour event only had 27 students registered, a total of 738 items were upcycled. The items were tracked via clicker as people left the event.
Sustain Mizzou had collected donations two weeks before the event. Bins were placed throughout campus, including residence halls, the Student Center and MizzouRec.
“I saw that they were doing this, so I hadn’t heard of it before,” graduate student Katie Hertel said. “I had some clothes I needed to get rid of in my house, so I thought I’d stop by. I really think it’s important to, like, go thrifting and to buy secondhand.”
Another plan with the donations received was to pull any professional wear that can be rented out through Truman’s Closet.
A separate table outside the main event, coordinated with the Green Tiger Program, allowed attendees to upcycle and DIY their items with scissors.
“The more specific goal for the event is just to promote zero waste,” Garvey said. “Secondhand clothing is, I think, kind of trendy recently, but that’s not why we do (it) … It reduces the amount of textiles that go into landfills, which that’s one of the main contributors to landfills, as well as providing affordable and accessible clothing to students who might not have much discretionary income to spend on clothes. So we try to bridge that gap between, like, basic needs and sustainability.”