Swapping
Als we spreken over Swapping gaat het over het uitwisselingsproces van waardevolle maar ongebruikte kleren onder 2 of meerdere partijen. Kledingruil is een goede manier om je kleerkast te veranderen, geld te besparen en je deelname aan de fast fashion industrie te beperken.
Tijdens ons onderzoek kwamen we een interessant initiatief uit Nederland tegen (Ketting Kledingruil). Het gaat hier om een gevulde zak met items die je niet meer aandoet of verkeerd hebt aangekocht in goede staat. Deze zak zal dan een bepaalde route afleggen waar je iets mag uithalen dat aansluit bij jouw persoonlijke stijl. Zo doet de zak zijn ronde onder een groepje en krijg je meer variatie zonder te moeten kopen!
Tweedehands Winkelen is natuurlijk ook een goede optie om fast fashion te vermijden maar Sara Thot vertelde ons dat veel fast fashion bedrijven juist gebruik maken van Tweedehands winkels om aan Greenwashing te doen. Ze zegt dat de bedrijven gebruik maken van Tweedehandswinkels om te zeggen dat hun “overvloed” van kleren daar een “nieuw leven” zal vinden.
Het is dus duidelijk dat het overschakelen naar conscious shopping geen gemakkelijke weg is. Zowel de invloed van je eigen denken als de invloed van externe factoren zoals fast-fashion bedrijven, geografie, en zo veel meer bepalen of hinderen jouw keuze.
Rental
Een liefde voor mode maar geen nood aan het bezitten van grote hoeveelheden kledij? Dan is een kledingbibliotheek op je lijf geschreven! Via een puntensysteem of abonnement huur je makkelijk mooie outfits voor het dagelijkse leven of een speciale gelegenheid. Zodat jij niet altijd nieuwe stuks moet kopen maar je nog steeds een grote variatie hebt in je stijl! Hieronder een aantal leuke opties:
Palanta
The collectives
Jukebox
Dressr
Resale
Winkels die hun eigen kleding na consumptie nog eens de kans geven om verkocht te worden daar staan wij bij COSH! helemaal achter! De winkel neemt zo zelf de verantwoordelijkheid en houdt de kleding langer in de kringloop! Een Voorbeeld van resale is SeventyOne in Antwerpen , ook te vinden op onze COSH! 2nd hand kaart.
Bij SeventyOne vind je naast de nieuwe collecties ook een resale optie. Klanten kunnen hun retro kleedjes binnenbrengen in één van de boetieks of opsturen per post en krijgen in ruil een waardebon. De ingeleverde kledingstukken worden opnieuw verkocht in de resale afdeling van de winkel. Dit systeem is een perfect voorbeeld van circulaire economie waarbij kledingstukken zo lang mogelijk in de kringloop blijven.
The Swapshop: Amsterdam and Rotterdam
This is a unique initiative that organizes long-term clothing swap, where you can bring your clothes in for points, which you can use to buy other swappers’ wardrobes at a discount. This is an easier swapping method done over the course of months, but they also arrange large scale swap events, where many swappers gather to swap clothes within one day, using the same point system. The Swapshop aims to extend the life of clothing whilst enabling swapping to be the new normal.
The Fashion for Good Museum: Amsterdam
This interactive fashion museum tells the stories behind the clothes you wear and the impact of right clothing choices. They believe that the industry must change, and help you create an action plan to make a positive impact through your own fashion adventure. The museum shop holds a curated selection of innovative and affordable sustainable clothing, and changes themes regularly, that promotes food for thought. The Fashion for Good museum also occasionally holds large scale swapping events that you should keep your eye out for!
Clothing Libraries
Clothing libraries are, you guessed it, libraries to rent clothes instead of books! Imagine a library card, that instead of letting you just daydream of different worlds, lets you bring your imagination to life and be a new character every day. This is the world clothing libraries are trying to bring to reality.
Clothing libraries take the existing concept of clothing rentals further to another level. People have been using clothing rental to buy suits and special occasion wear for many years now, but as we move towards an age of minimalism where affordable access is more important than ownership, this is slowly translating into fashion as well. So the idea of a clothing library, dedicated to more than just special occasion wear becomes more logical and attractive every day. Their monthly or point system subscriptions give the opportunity to explore and reflect your personality through your clothes efficiently, at a more attractive cost. This also helps you avoid the anxiety of trying to decide the most sustainable next step for your clothing after you are done using it, for the clothing library takes care of that headache for you once you send it back.
Do you love having a variety in fashion but want to avoid owning large heaps of clothes that go untouched most of the time? Or are you scared of spending money on an item you really like with the fear of never having an occasion to wear it, then clothing libraries are your solution!
Firstly, the most common type of clothing library that is slowly gaining momentum is the adult clothing library. Some forms of adult clothing libraries have already existed for a while, such as special occasion rentals, or luxury second hand rentals. However, both these options come with their own set of unsustainable problems, the concept of “luxury” items themselves being unsustainable with their elitism, although renting luxury items is many times better than owning. Sustainably made clothing brands at the moment could also be considered elitist due to their high prices, however as the concept gains popularity and demand increases, the prices automatically decrease over time as well. Until then, and even after, sustainable clothing libraries provide a sustainable and affordable solution to access these clothes and give them more lives in multiple closets. This gives you a chance to explore sustainable fashion without breaking the bank. There’s a type of clothing library out there for everyone, but we at COSH! focus on such stores, where the collection is lovingly curated to provide access to the best sustainable brands and give good quality second hand clothing many more lives.
COSH! is pleased to introduce you to some of the best clothing libraries in the Netherlands and Belgium, all promising a shift towards a sustainable and circular future in fashion-
Do you love fashion but have no need to own large quantities of clothes? Then a clothing library(link will be attached when the other blog is up) is for you! Through a point system or subscription you can easily rent beautiful outfits for everyday life or a special occasion. So you don’t always have to buy new pieces but you still have a great variety in your style! Here are some great options that you can read more on on this blog about Clothing Libraries, or on their store pages on COSH!:
Resale
Shops that give their own clothes a second chance to be sold after consumption are what we at COSH! are all about! In this way, the shop takes its responsibility and keeps the clothes in the shop for a longer time. An example of resale is SeventyOne in Antwerp, Bruges, Gent, and Leuven, also on our COSH! second hand map.
At SeventyOne you will find next to the new collections also a resale option. Customers can bring in their retro clothes to one of the boutiques or send them in by post and receive a voucher in return. The returned garments are resold in the resale department of the shop. This system is a perfect example of circular economy whereby garments stay in the cycle as long as possible.