Swap your clothes for a 'new' look at the Trondheim Library this Saturday
If you want to save money, closet space, and the planet — then you should definitely go to Trondheim’s main library next weekend!
This Saturday, April 22, is ‘Den store klesbyttedagen’ — a.k.a. the National Clothing Swap Day. To celebrate, the Trondheim Folkebibliotek will throw a clothing swap market from 11:00-15:00.
But how does a clothing swap market work? The List visited the library to find out.
Clothing swap 101
“Everyone knows the feeling of having bought something you weren’t sure about,” says Ylva Bolkan Nordheim, one of the organisers of the event, when asked about the importance of the Clothing Swap Day. “It’s not ruined, so you don’t want to throw it out, but you’re also not going to use it.”
She goes on to explain that the library is keen to involve itself with the climate crisis.
“At first, we only had books, but in recent years we have started expanding, introducing a tool shop library and a plant seed library. We do all of this to help people save money as well as the planet,” she says. The clothing swap day fits right into their mission.
You can participate by coming to the main library in the city centre on Thursday from 15:00-18:00 and on Friday from 11:00-16:00 to hand in up to seven items of clothing in exchange for tickets. With the tickets, you can pick out the same number of fresh garments on Saturday from 11:00-15:00.
All clothes will be checked on quality, to avoid anyone going home with ripped or stained pieces. Should you have any clothes that are in need of simple adjustments, such as changing a zipper or mending a hole, you can bring up to three items to be mended for free.
Fresh ‘new’ threads
But why go to so much trouble to swap clothes? The answer is simple: save the planet.
Every year, fast fashion produces more and more clothing, which puts a big strain on the environment and fills up our landfills. To minimise the waste the fashion industry causes, Naturvernforbundet organises ‘Den Store Klesbyttedagen’ along with partners like the Trondheim Library to provide a sustainable way to spruce up your wardrobe!
The previous swapping days the library has held were a great success and you can bank on finding a diverse offer of items, for all ages, sizes, and styles. At the last event, the sustainably minded fashionistas of Trondheim made over 500 swaps!
However, even great things can be improved. Ylva says that last time, the majority of items came from feminine presenting participants, but they hope for even more diverse clothing this time around. So if you have any masculine presenting friends or family who might want to join, encourage them to come!
Any clothes that don’t find a new home with one of the swappers will be used alternatively. After last autumn’s clothing swap day, the leftover items were donated to Ukrainian refugees or used in other events. A similar solution will be found this year, so nothing will go to waste.
So go through your wardrobe and help save the planet by finding your ‘new’ look!