Swap-A-Palooza, Round Two
What started out as an entrepreneurial idea for a summer project, a sustainably-focused clothing swap, is now coming to UConn!
A sophomore studying marketing, Madeline Kizer began designing the concept of her Clothing Swap in the F3 Experience, part of the Werth Institute’s Innovators Leadership Development program. She hopes to encourage, destigmatize and normalize secondhand shopping and teach people about sustainable fashion (Takores).
Stop by Fairfield Way by the Student Union from 12-4pm this Sunday, October 17th, to retire your old clothes… and pick up new pieces for your wardrobe!
Throughout the summer, Madeline developed her initial idea of intersecting sustainable shopping while rejecting fast fashion. Inspired by “The True Cost",” a 2015 documentary about the garment industry, she wanted to throw out the old way of “conspicuous consumption” – a term coined by sociologist Thorstein Veblen describing individuals who waste money on frivolous things or to signal status.
“People are buying clothing because it's trendy, and then after those trends are over, in about two or three months, they throw it out.”
“It's about the whole production of making clothing,” she said, “and if anyone watches that documentary, they'll really understand that not only does it exploit workers, but it also really hurts the environment.”
Like Veblen, she was concerned not with the servicing of needs but with the satisfying of wants. A distinction between productive and nonproductive labor was hardly tenable.
From handmade repurposed clothing racks, to fast-fashion facts, to live videos of the clothing industry, Madeline simultaneously broadened our worldview of sustainability while helping us intuitively swap the old into new.
That day, no person left the Clothing Swap without taking home something valuable – both tangible and intangible.
Being part of the F3 Experience too, it was an honor to witness the evolution of her journey week after week. Just a seed of an idea – fostered by mentorship, networking, and a passion for the environment as well as ethical manufacturing processes – grew into an entire event with a lasting impact.
She asked me to take event photos, and as someone who wears hand-me-downs, has been thrifting all my life, and almost never purchases new – I jumped at the chance to photograph the launch of her Clothing Swap and promote a cause that I cared about too.
Now, she’s bringing her Clothing Swap to even more students and young individuals at UConn. However, it doesn’t end there. Madeline is planning to create a nonprofit around her idea, and soon will be pitching her concept to help low income families who need inexpensive clothing.
To see the entire gallery from this event, click here.
To read more about Madeline Kizer and her Clothing Swap, click here.