by ChloeBlogg
On average, we only regularly wear a third of the
clothes that we own. Most of us have T-shirts we’ve never worn, jumpers that we
have forgotten about and jeans that we stopped wearing five years ago.
However, we don’t often think about getting rid of our
clothes and, if we do, we often don’t know the best way to do this. Throw them
away or recycle them? Sell them online? Donate them to a charity shop?
Simply throwing clothes away is very wasteful; there
is always someone, somewhere, who would be very happy to own that old skirt you
don’t like any more. However, selling clothes online can be quite a lot of
hassle. For example, when I’ve sold jumpers and dresses on websites like eBay I
only usually receive 99p or £1.99, which for me isn’t worth the time and
effort.
We often want new clothes; shopping is many people’s
favourite pastime. However, most of us can’t afford to pay around £20 for an
item of clothing from a high-street store.
However, when I moved to Leeds to go to university and
discovered Leeds Community Clothes Exchange (LCCE) everything changed. I had
organised small-scale 'clothes swaps' with my friends before, everyone bringing
items they didn’t wear and exchanging them with each other. Everyone always
went home happy with new clothes to wear. Organisations such as LCCE adopt this
idea, but on a much larger scale.
LCCE started in 2007, and has become a very popular
event which happens once a month. You pay £3 to enter, and your clothes are checked
(they must be clean and in good condition). You are then given
one credit per item (so for example if you bring 7 items, you can
choose 7 items to take home).
There is also a café selling tea, coffee and homemade
cakes. The clothes exchange has become a community social event; people often
spend a whole afternoon there with their friends!
Not only can you get rid of the clothes you never wear
but you get that buzz of enjoyment from finding exciting new items, at a total
cost of only £3! I went to the LCCE throughout my time at university and hardly
ever bought expensive clothes in high-street stores. Most of my clothes are
from clothes swaps, and I love the feeling when someone compliments me on what
I am wearing and I tell them where I got it from! The look on their face is
great when they realise how little I paid and how much fun the events are.
Similar events happen across the UK. The LCCE is one
of the most successful, and people are looking to set up branches in other
cities such as Bristol and Manchester.
Tell us in a comment what are the most common clothes you wear to go to school or work.
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