Another wonderful Phizzfest is over, and this year's was such a fun-filled weekend of culture, music, art and entertainment, a great credit to the organisers. Phibsboro' Village Tidy Towns were delighted to join in the festivities with our first ever Clothes Swap event, which took place in Phibsboro Scout Hall on Saturday. Over 100 people attended to trade good quality unworn, unloved and unwanted articles from their wardrobes with those from their neighbours' wardrobes, extending the life of the pieces and saving perfectly good items from gathering dust or being sent to landfill.
The fashion industry is notoriously wasteful, both on the production side and after clothes have been worn and disposed of. Fast fashion, where items are manufactured cheaply, worn a couple of times, and then dumped in favour of the next trend, has compounded the issue. Our message is one of sustainability and slow fashion.
A Clothes Swap is:
a wonderful opportunity to have a rummage through rails and to be inspired by unexpected items;
an inexpensive way to take a risk on something you wouldn't normally wear and to clear out the stuff you don't wear now;
and most importantly, a way to break the cycle of fast fashion by extending the life of a piece of clothing.
After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure - and this is true of fashion as well. Sometimes, it's all about timing - one swapper traded a bridesmaids dress that hadn't been worn in years for a child's wetsuit that will get lots of use this summer!
Our hard-working team of volunteers took donations, sorted and displayed the clothes, and served free refreshments to swappers as they had fun and found new treasures. The wonderful Caroline Heavey from Studio7five, who teaches sewing to adults and children, was on hand to make alterations and give sewing advice.
Phibsboro' Village Tidy Towns were delighted when local Councillor Declan Meenagh proposed holding the event and suggested availing of the Clothes Swap kits supplied by Dublin City Council to help run the event. We're also grateful to Sheila Ahern on the Phizzfest Board and Martha Casserly, Executive Environmental Scientific Officer in Waste Management Services, for all their help setting up the Clothes Swap.
At the end of the day, any items left un-swapped, were donated to a local charity shop, which is another way the life of unwanted clothing can be extended and saved from landfill, while also raising money for a good cause.
If you care about sustainability and would like to find out more about PVTT's Sustainability Group, which is part of our Climate Club together with our Biodiversity Group, then why not get in touch? New volunteers are very welcome to get involved and anyone interested is invited to contact phibsborotidytowns@gmail.com for more information, or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Comments