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Credit: Rosie Hill

Junior Fletcher Haase carries an armful of new finds. He came with a group of friends who were all supporting Green School’s mission.

Having the opportunity to swap clothes with other fashionable students is usually something that people can only dream of, but Green School brought that dream to life.
On Nov. 30, students and staff gathered in the cafeteria after school to rummage through piles of used clothes from their fellow students. Groups of students came to grab armfuls of clothing and show off their finds to their friends. Many students and staff left the event smiling, swinging their bags of new clothing.
Green School organized this clothing swap to allow students to trade in their old clothes that no longer fit them or that were no longer their style for fresh clothing donated by other students.
To help fund future Green School projects, students had to pay a three dollar entry fee. Once inside, students could take as many items of clothing as they wanted.
The secretary for Green School, senior Isabella Essink, thought that the event was an important way to show how to be sustainable with fashion.
“We thought it was a really fun idea,” said Essink. “There is a big thrifting culture at Loy Norrix and we thought that it would be something that people would appreciate and maybe bring more awareness about reusing clothes and not buying fast fashion.”
Through this school event, Green School highlighted a very important global issue: the pollution of the fashion industry.
According to The 10 Essential Fast Fashion Statistics by Earth.org, “the fashion industry is the second-largest industrial polluter, accounting for about 10% of global pollution.”
Events like the Green School clothing swap lengthen the lifespan of clothing and allow clothing to stay within the community, rather than ending up in a landfill.
“Overproduction and waste were what we were trying to target. I know a lot of people will order something really fast because it’s a microtrend or something, but it just ends up in a landfill,” said Essink.
The swap didn’t just encourage the reduction of clothing waste, it also created a fun and community-building activity for LN students. Students seemed to really enjoy the event, excitedly comparing their clothing picks with their friends and even sparking conversation between new people