Students checking out the options at the clothing swap.

If you walked into the Computing Center at Cox Hall on April 25, you might have thought you were walking into a thrift store. Hundreds of clothing items were spread across tables in the Gallery and Classroom A for a free clothing swap.

The swap was led by the Emory Climate Analysis Solutions Team (ECAST) and ~bin (an upcycling group on campus), and sponsored by the Office of Sustainability Initiatives and the Computing Center at Cox Hall.

Swap attendees brought in over 500 clothing items, keeping nearly 300lbs of clothing out of landfills. 25 attendees learned about the impact cost of fast fashion – when inexpensive clothing is produced rapidly to keep up with new trends. This supply chain has been criticized for contributing to pollution, poor working conditions, and landfill waste.

This swap built on last semester’s swap by adding a new element – an upcycling workshop led by student group ~bin. Bryan Deleon-Vargas (19C) of ~bin learned how to sew as a MAKEmory at TechLab staff member, then decided to share his knowledge with fellow students. After the swap, students could take slightly broken clothing items and mend them, or turn them into something new.

“Adding in a workshop element took the sustainability aspect of the event and pushed it to a new level,” said Bryan. “Swapping is good, but being able to save a broken item from going to a landfill takes an event bigger step.”

The event is yet another example of the Computing Center’s efforts to connect with student groups on campus and develop a sense of community.