How To Host A Clothing Swap - The Money Minimalists

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I finally hosted my first clothing swap! It was amazing- I got new clothes, donated to a good cause, reconnected with old friends and met some new ones!

Fast fashion “emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined”. With the growing popularity of companies like Shein, Amazon, and H&M, fast fashion is becoming more prevalent in today’s society.

Some of my goals for 2021 include loving everything in my closet and supporting small businesses more and a clothing swap was the perfect opportunity for that! Hosting one was actually easier than I imagined and I loved every part of it!

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What Is A Clothing Swap

A clothing swap is when you declutter your closet, pick out the gently worn clothing and swap it with your friends! It’s a great way to refresh your wardrobe without spending any money.

I love thrift shopping but sometimes it can get overwhelming sorting through the countless styles. Since you’re inviting friends and family, a clothing swap guarantees that the inventory is trendy and of good quality!

Since most people I know have an unworn bag of clothes sitting in their cars and closets, this event was a fun way to help them get the clothes swapped and donated. So, not only was this event a great way to shop and save money, but it removed an “adulting” errand off people’s plates!

How To Host A Sold-Out Clothing Swap

I’ve hosted other events before and was nervous about the success of this one but it gained traction extremely quickly- we sold out within twenty-four hours!

Step 1: Find a venue with a large open area where people feel comfortable roaming around.

A clothing swap should be enjoyable and not overwhelming. Since we’re in a pandemic, I wanted a venue where people would feel comfortable “shopping” and keeping their distance. Also make sure the venue has spaces that can be used as fitting rooms.

I reached out to a friend who recently opened up a boutique and asked her if she’d be interested in collaborating! This venue had a large room where we could easily space out people, have drinks available, and enough rooms for people to change in!

Tip: Reach out to a local business! This way you can help support a small business while having access to a unique venue!

Step 2: Set a date and time

The key is to pick a date that’s far enough in advance that people can clear out their closets, but not too far into the future that people lose excitement and forget. We decided to pick a date 4 weeks out.

We chose a Friday evening from 6-8pm. This allowed a decent window for people to drop in after work! In my experience, I’ve found that weekday events tend to perform better because people typically have brunch and other weekend plans.

Step 3: Promote the clothing swap!

For our first clothing swap event we provided drinks and called it Sip & Swap! We focused on the community building aspect and advertised that we would donate the remaining clothes to two deserving organizations (Dress For Success and The Spring).

We designed graphics in Canva and shared them to our social media! We also created an Eventbrite and Facebook page, and invited all of our friends!

We limited ticket sales to 20 people which created scarcity. This helped us sell out within twenty-four hours! (For the first event we made tickets free, but we’re planning to charge next time!)

Step 4: Create rules

We set some ground rules for the event to ensure everyone had a good time and felt comfortable.

We required that only gently used clothing, accessories, and shoes were allowed. We also required everyone to bring a mask and use hand-sanitizer upon entry.

Other than that, we let people roam about and pick their clothes! We didn’t set a minimum number of clothing donated but perhaps that’s something we will do next time. We had plenty of leftover clothes so I do not foresee us setting a maximum amount of swapped clothes though.

Step 5: How To Set Up The Clothing Swap Venue

Upon entry we had hand sanitizer and Ikea shopping bags ready for people to use.

We purchased four clothing racks and designated them by size (sizes 0-4, 4-6, etc). We spread these out to allow for ease of shopping. We provided the hangers as well.

For jeans, shorts, and miscellaneous shirts we had a table set up and organized them by style. This got messy throughout the night so make sure you keep refolding the clothes people comb through.

For shoes and accessories we had two shoe racks and placed them near the sitting areas.

Our venue had a few rooms we could use as fitting rooms which helped people shop more confidently. I would advise finding a venue with spaces they could chage in.

Clothing Swap Logistics

So how does a clothing swap actually work? From my research online many people seemed to require minimum or maximum amount of clothes to exchange but we didn’t set any ground rules for that so it was a bit of a free-for-all.

When someone would arrive we would ask them to use hand sanitizer, explained our set up and asked them to hang their clothes accordingly. After that, they were free to grab drinks and shop!

At the end of the event many of the attendees stayed behind and helped us pack all of the leftover clothes up so we could easily donate them!

What we will do differently at the next Clothing Swap

We ended up having more clothes in sizes 0-8 than the larger sizes so next time we will designate more racks for smaller sizes. We also will provide hangers for jeans and skirts. We had many of those and they got lost in the miscellaneous table.

Our table also quickly started overflowing so I would advise providing at least two tables to spread out casual clothes on.

Overall, it went really smoothly and I am excited to host another clothing swap event! I encourage you to organize one with your friends! It is more sustainable and fun than normal shopping!