Anyone who wants to unload some gently used clothes or pick up new-to-you free apparel is invited to attend Skagit County Solid Waste Division’s first community clothing swap in Mount Vernon on Wednesday, Oct. 9. It’s like shopping without the price tags.
Callie Martin, Skagit County’s waste reduction and recycling education specialist, said depending on the success of the clothing swap and the amount of staff needed to make it happen, it could become an annual event.
“We are very excited about it and hope to reach a lot of people,” she said.
The swap will take place in the A&B Building at the Skagit County Fairgrounds in Mount Vernon from 1–6 p.m. Oct. 9.
All clothing at the swap is free and participants are not required to donate clothing in order to attend. There is no limit on the amount of clothing an attendee can take home, but there is a limit on donations — each participant may donate a maximum of two large bags of clothing, and no socks, underwear or heavily stained items will be accepted.
There will be no designated changing rooms on-site. Pre-registration for the event is appreciated, but not required.
If clothing donors aren’t able to make it to the swap, they can also drop off unwanted items at the Skagit County Transfer Station in Mount Vernon from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 in the recycling area. The donation limit of two bags still applies.
Martin said she doesn’t know of other large-scale clothing swaps offered through city or county organizations — universities and colleges tend to host swaps through their sustainability offices, but swaps are usually smaller in size and happen between friends, or through churches or clubs.
The EPA says the fashion industry is so resource-intensive that it rivals the aviation industry in terms of global carbon emissions. According to a 2020–21 Department of Ecology waste characterization study, in one year, Washington residents and businesses threw away nearly 200,000 tons of textiles. Clothing is rarely recycled because blended fabric components are difficult to separate and extract, so reduction and reuse are more effective strategies to decrease the carbon footprint of fashion. Swaps are one easy way of providing free clothes to the community and keeping unwanted apparel out of landfills.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
