Clothing swap events are becoming more and more popular in Lithuania, and organizers believe that they encourage a sustainable lifestyle and remind us of the impact of mass fashion on the environment, Lithuanian public media LRT writes.
Karolina Sakolovska recently organized a clothing exchange event in Trakai and invited those who want to clear out their closets to place clothes that are usable but have not found use with the owner and exchange them. She noted that it not only allows to renew wardrobe but also creates a sense of community and is just plain fun. Sakolovska organized the clothes exchange event for the first time and was surprised by the response and active involvement of the residents.
A similar event will take place during the Klimatosūkis (Game On) project. Two clothing exchange events took place in Vilnius, and project manager Inga Labutytė-Atkočaitienė was able to tell that the production of a kilogram of polyester produces 21 kilograms of carbon dioxide, while a kilogram of cotton fabric produces 28 kilograms of carbon dioxide in the production process.
Thus, almost a ton of carbon dioxide was spared during the last clothing change event.
Gerūta Navickaitė, designer and creator of the sustainable wardrobe brand COPIE, pointed out that many closets have a lot of clothes that are not used. In the best cases, people use 50% of their clothes, in the worst – only 5% of the contents of the closet are worn. Navickaite said that the main feature of a sustainable wardrobe is as little clothing as possible with as many combinations as possible. The designer added that it is important to evaluate why the clothes are in the closet, and just because something is in fashion or friends wear something similar is not a good reason to keep the clothes.
Aušra Juozapaitytė, the coordinator of the Fashion Revolution campaign in Lithuania, said that the impact of fashion on the environment is huge, and
although Lithuania does not have a large clothing industry, Lithuanians are significant consumers of fashion.
Although it is often believed that sustainable clothes are very expensive and not everyone can afford them, Jozapaitīte pointed out that this is not the only way. People can learn to repair or adjust their clothes, repaint them, and try to leave as little footprint as possible on the environment.
According to Labutytė-Atkočaitienė, the volume of production of synthetic fabrics has increased significantly, such clothes are cheap and often bought completely irresponsibly. In addition, synthetic fabrics release microplastic particles during washing, which later enter the water.
The data of the Institute of Environmental Protection show that every Lithuanian throws away around 20 kilograms of textile waste in the garbage every year, which makes a total of 57 thousand tons, and they are 8% of the total amount of waste in the country. On average, textiles make up 5% of the total amount of waste in the EU.
Read the full article here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1992714/clothes-swaps-and-mending-socks-lithuanians-embrace-sustainable-fashion
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