How Your Old Clothes Can Make You Money and Friends
Recycling is one of the best things we can do to contribute to bettering our community’s health. As community members grow more conscious of their environmental impact, secondhand clothing stores are seeing a big boom in shoppers, and clothing swaps continue to grow in popularity. Of course, saving the planet is one perk of cleaning out your closet, but there are more benefits you may have never considered! Today we’re revealing how you can use your old clothes to make some quick cash and some new friends.
Buy-Sell-Trade Clothing Stores
“The economic downturn was met with this market’s [secondhand shopping] numbers going up and up. Since then, people are always looking for ways to save and make money. Even though the economy is better now, the excitement of saving money and hunting for treasures still lingers,” said Adele Meyer in a recent Racked.com article.
It’s true—once you experience the rush of making money on your old clothes, and saving money on clothes new to you, you’re easily a buy-sell-trade convert. If you’re looking for some popular stores, there are both brick-and-mortar and online options.
Where you can go in person:
- Buffalo Exchange (nationwide)
- My Sister’s Closet (west coast)
- Crossroads Trading Co. (nationwide)
- Beacon’s Closet (New York)
- Kind Exchange (Canada)
Where you can go online:
Clothing Swaps
If you’re looking for a new fun way to get your friends together and meet new ones, then clothing swaps are the way to go! Clothing swaps can serve as a great icebreaker for meeting new friends, so create a local clothing swap community on GetAssist and encourage your friends to each bring a +1.
Here are some theme ideas to get you started:
- Host an end-of-season swap: Just like major retailers need to clear out their summer inventory to make way for fall, you should clean out your closet to rotate your seasonal duds.
- Host an accessories-only swap: Accessories are great because any shape or size woman can wear them! Ask guests to bring jewelry, belts and shoes that you can set out boutique-style.
- Host a fancy dress swap: Occasion dresses can be frustrating—They usually cost a pretty penny and you can almost always count how many times you’ve worn them on one hand. Host a fancy dress swap and give others the chance to get some use out of your best threads!
And you’re definitely going to need some ground rules for a successful swap:
- Remind attendees that they should only bring items that are in like new or gently used condition. Clothing should be free of stains and holes and freshly washed.
- Set a minimum number of items people should bring.
- Draw straws to determine the shopping order. Limit each lady’s turn to five minutes maximum to keep things running smoothly.
- Provide snacks and refreshments. While your guests are noshing, group similar items together and thoughtfully arrange everything. Everything looks better when it’s styled up a bit.
- Make sure you have a fitting room set up
- Set out a large donation box and donate any clothing that doesn’t make the cut!
Of course GetAssist can help you organize your clothing swaps, but we can do so much more. If you’re looking to use social media to connect with purpose, sign up today! It’s free!
