Clothing swaps are becoming more popular in Lithuania, inviting people to exchange garments they no longer wear. Organisers say such events encourage sustainable living and awareness of the environmental impact of fast fashion.
Karolina Sakolovska, who recently organised a clothes swap in Trakai, invited those who wanted to free their wardrobes to hang their unused but still usable clothes on hangers and then swap them.
It’s an opportunity to update one's wardrobe, but also “it builds community and seems like a lot of fun”, says Sakolovska.
Herself from Trakai, a relatively small town some 20 kilometres from Vilnius, she organised the clothes swap for the first time. The interest was huge.
“It was very unexpected, a lot of people I don’t know got in touch, most of them asking if it would be a continuous event, if it would happen every Saturday, and asking what were the rules. We were saying: we are still trying things out, we don’t know,” said Sakolovska.
A similar initiative has been organised by the Klimatosūkis (Game On) project. Two swaps took place in Vilnius, one for winter clothes and one for spring. According to Inga Labutytė-Atkočaitienė, the project leader, a kilogram of polyester production generates 21 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions, while a kilogram of cotton generates 28 kilograms.
“It’s nice when we calculate how much [CO2 emissions] we managed to save in one day with the event. We really saved a tonne of CO2 at the last event, which is an impressive figure for what we can all do together,” she says.
More than 100 people took part in the swap in Vilnius. The organisers subsequently decided to repeat the event in smaller towns like Šakiai and Molėtai.
Fewer clothes, more matches
Many wardrobes are filled with clothes that aren’t worn, says Gerūta Navickaitė, a designer and founder of the COPIE brand who is helping people to create a sustainable wardrobe.
“In best cases that I’ve seen, people wear 50 percent of what’s in their closets. In worst cases, 5 percent. The rest is unwanted clothes,” she says.
According to Navickaitė, the first step in building a sustainable wardrobe is to pick clothes that not only fit one’s lifestyle and activities but also fit together. A sustainable wardrobe should have as few clothing items as possible but as many combinations as possible.
“Take all your clothes out of your closet and put back only those you actually wear. You will then see a pile of clothes in which you have invested money, probably a lot of it,” Navickaitė shares.
When it comes to downsizing one’s wardrobe, Navickaitė suggests answering three questions: “Who I am? What do I do? Why do I need these clothes?” Them being fashionable – or friends wearing something similar – is not a good reason.
Clothes must have pairs in the wardrobe, Navickaitė says. If there’s a skirt, it needs a top. If you have a shirt, you need to know which skirt or trousers it goes with.
It is best to go shopping with a clear idea of which clothing item already in your possession needs a pair, according to the designer. This helps one avoid getting lost and buying unnecessary things.
“When you’re going through your clothes and see a nice skirt, make a note to yourself: a blouse or a sweater to go with that. Go to a shop with the note and look for that top, don’t buy another skirt that you don’t have anything to wear with. Or else you’ll be standing in front of your wardrobe the next morning, looking at two nice skirts, but end up wearing jeans and a blouse again,” says Navickaitė.
Over 20 kg of textile waste a year
The environmental impact of the fashion industry is huge, says Aušra Juozapaitytė, a national coordinator of Fashion Revolution.
“In Lithuania, we don’t have a big fashion industry, but we are big consumers of fashion,” she says.
Her campaign seeks to raise consumer awareness when wearing and buying clothes.
“It is often said that sustainable fashion is quite elitist thing. It costs a lot to make truly sustainable, responsible clothing. Again, there is a kind of difficulty because not everyone can afford it,” says Juozapaitytė.
However, she adds, sustainable clothing does not have to be expensive. People can learn to repair or adjust their clothes, give them new colours, and try to have as little environmental impact as possible.
According to Labutytė-Atkočaitienė, the production of synthetic clothing has increased enormously, and it is cheap and often bought irresponsibly.
“Synthetic clothes give off microparticles, microplastics, and when we wash them, they end up in the water. This is a major source of pollution and secondly, a lot of water resources are used to process textiles,” she says.
According to the Institute for Environmental Protection, about 20 kilograms of textile waste is thrown away per year per person in Lithuania, or about 57,000 tonnes in total. Textiles account for around 8 percent of household waste in the country. The EU average is 5 percent.
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