University of Wisconsin-Madison student organization Re-Wear It Wisconsin collaborated with The Issue on Monday for a clothing swap, the first event lined up in a week of Earth Day ‘Swapathon’ celebrations. Students traded gently used clothing, accessories and shoes in Re-Wear It’s ongoing fight against textile waste and fast fashion.
“We think that working against fast fashion is a huge part of environmentalism, so implementing Re-Wear It into Earth Week is super important,” Swap Director Rachel Moglowsky told The Daily Cardinal. “We can help try to keep clothing circular and maintain a campus environment where people are able to get the resources that they might not be able to get otherwise.”
The Monday swap was a collaboration with The Issue, a student-run fashion magazine. Moglowsky said Re-Wear It wanted to collaborate with them to put focus on other fashion clubs, especially near the end of the year with upcoming final projects. “They can trade and use whatever [clothes and textiles] they might need in preparing for their final projects,” she said.
On Earth Day itself, Re-Wear It will swap with the Wisconsin Alumni Student Board in a “long running collaboration.” The swap is a campus wide, outdoor event.
“WASB always brings so much energy and so much fun. [That swap] is always one of my favorites every year,” Moglowsky said.
The Global Health Alliance will work with Re-Wear It Friday in the final Earth Week celebration. Moglowsky said this collaboration is important because “health and environmental safety go together.”
Naana Dampare, a student at UW-Madison, began attending Re-Wear It swaps after their collaboration with Posse and the GSCC office in April.
“I know there’s a bunch of stuff in my closet that’s never worn, so I love the mission of giving back to the community, and to look around and be able to [see] other people’s styles and such,” she said.
Regarding textile waste, Dampare thinks the issue is “very unfortunate” and fast fashion culture has driven clothes to be wasted instead of getting passed down. “I feel like we've lost the art [of passing down clothes], especially as we've gotten into the years of fast fashion where people immediately shop for things and just throw them away,” she said.
“I think clothes are something to be passed down, like given to others. And I think style is something that's supposed to be a community based thing,” Dampare added.
Ahead of Earth Day, Dampare encouraged students to recycle things they don’t use rather than throw them away. “Find a way to repurpose it or give it away to other people that need those resources.”
Moglowsky encouraged students to pursue environmental action this Earth Day.
“I think a good reminder is to keep using your voice and to make sure you are still voicing your opinions and worries about environmentalism,” she said. “Nothing is going to happen if no one’s talking about it.”
