From Here to Wear
This project aims to raise more awareness on the impacts of “textile waste” and to help prevent it from being disposed of improperly. Toronto doesn’t have a separate collection for it like electronic and household hazardous waste which are more commonly available. While there are private collection bins, more than half of all clothing donations from those along with thrift stores and textile recycling programs are actually exported to places like Kantamanto Market in Ghana and the Atacama desert in Chile. So after learning about how most of our secondhand clothing ends up overseas where they turn into toxic waste sites (which not only threatens those communities but also contributes to worsening climate change), the goal is to help manage unwanted clothing / textiles in the local community and divert it from landfills.
Learn more from Talking Textiles ︎
︎ Dates for 2024 TBD ︎
︎ For future updates, join the mailing list ︎︎
✦ Welcome to all bodies, identities and ages! ✦
Hate and discrimination in any form will not be tolerated!
Hate and discrimination in any form will not be tolerated!
This community initiative creates a circular closed loop system for clothing that people no longer want, while promoting a reuse and “waste not, want not” mentality. It’s a fun alternative to shopping and an engaging way to upgrade your wardrobe — a conscious practice on how to be more intentional with the clothes you wear.
︎ Please wash and dry all clothes before.
You can bring a limited number of clothing items — but note that there’s a quality check to determine if your items will be for swapping (Is it still in good condition? Would you pay for it? Give it to a friend? If you answered yes to all, then it’ll be perfect for the swap!), repairing or *reusing.
*Clothing that’s unwearable and other fabric scraps are separately collected, it’ll be reused and deconstructed for repurposing — there are specific items no longer accepted, so please reach out before the event about what you’d like to drop off.
These must be in clean condition as well, we don’t want to handle anything unsanitary so be respectful and considerate — please don’t treat this as a garbage dump! ︎
The clothing swap will be a fair exchange, so if you bring 5 items then you can take 5 items. During quality check if any items are unfit for the swap, it'll be considered a "mendable" and will not be part of the count — these are placed separately by the Textile Library Lab and are up for grabs with no limit (great for those willing to repair, rework or want to reuse it for a project). Participants should be browsing through only a good selection of items, so this process makes the swapping experience more enjoyable when there's no "junk".
There’s also the Textile Library Lab — a mending station with a collection of salvaged materials where participants can use sewing machines and available supplies to repair / alter their clothes, including an opportunity to learn basic sewing skills for simple fixes (ex. how to sew a button, fix a ripped seam, do patchwork, etc) and receive guidance or ask any questions.
︎ The pieces that aren't swapped after every event are thoroughly sorted, they're either saved for the next event or responsibly distributed to local nonprofits / grassroots groups that work directly with people who are in most need within the community.
︎ If you’re not interested in swapping and just want to donate clothing, please inquire for a list of places in the GTA that may accept your donations instead of giving them to for-profit organizations and / or consider these other options ︎
