The generous J

Fun With Freecycling

As you may recall, in March I said that I would not buy new clothes for myself, or my family, for six months.

It’s nearly the end of June and so far, so good. Oh, I’ve definitely thought about it, and even had to stop myself once or twice. I have been very tempted by shop windows, and the winter sales have been incredible (or so I’m told). And when strolling through Target it’s very easy to say “Oh, Miss E could really do with a new jumper, and it’s only $12!”

But I’ve stayed strong. And today I scored myself some lovely new wardrobe pieces through freecycling (get it, like recycling, but free?).

One of my dear friends, J, is moving to the US shortly and invited a few of us to her pre-garage sale “preview.” It will help you to know that J is a seriously stylish person with a great eye. She used to have a stall at the Portobello Road Markets in London selling funky handbags and reworked vintage clothes. And I don’t think she’ll argue with me when I also say she is an expert shopper, and a bit of a hoarder.

But when faced with moving her family of five about as far around the world as you can go, she decided it was time for a bit of a clear-out. Wahoo!

Let the Rummaging Begin

Upon arrival, we immediately began throwing off our winter woollies to try on all manner of J’s discards – scarves, skirts, tops, jumpers, shoes, even nighties and jewellery. It reminded me of getting ready for a party in high school, when my girlfriends would all convene in one house with the contents of our closets, ready to swap around until we all had constructed the perfect outfit. (On that note, I was recently horrified to learn that 80s clothes are considered VINTAGE. Ouch.)

Thanks to J’s classic taste and generosity, we all scored ourselves a bundle of new goodies. My favourite is a faux zebra skin pencil skirt. It’s the bomb! And a very cool 60s patterned scarf that will look killer in my hair. And more … I’m still gutted that her stunning 50s tea dresses just didn’t fit.

We all swore that we would do this more often – get together with our unwanted pieces and do a big swap. Not only was it fun but it also gave all these beautiful clothes a new lease on life.


The Zebra Skirt


Trying stuff on

Not a New Idea

Like so many sustainable initiatives, freecycling is hardly a new idea. And lots of people practice it every day – just look at Freecycle.org and The Clothes Exchange. In fact, over 80 percent of households recycle or reuse old clothes.

But it’s a really good idea, especially when you consider how disposable clothes have become and how much money we waste on things we never wear. Australian women under 30 buy more than 100 new clothing items a year – that’s A LOT.

And the manufacture of clothing is a hugely energy-intensive exercise. Every new t-shirt produced requires about 1.5 kg of chemicals (pesticides and fertilisers). Non-organic cotton production uses more chemicals per unit than any other crop and accounts for 16% of the world’s pesticides. And then there’s the transport.

So think about holding your own clothes swap and buying one or two (or more) fewer new pieces of clothing. I promise it’s fun.

And thanks J, we will miss you, your style, and your smile hugely.