Join I Love A Clean San Diego,Alpine Library Branch, and the County of San Diego for a litter cleanup and clothing swap party in Alpine! We will divert litter from the San Diego River Watershed to keep it from traveling to the Pacific Ocean and create a circular economy with reused clothing items for exchange! Our staff will be set-up with a check-in table and supplies at Alpine Library Branch starting at 9am!
9 a.m. 11 a.m. Watershed Warriors: Alpine Community Cleanup – We will be set up with a check-in table and cleanup supplies at the front of the Alpine Library Branch. Join us to grab supplies and help us cleanup to protect the neighborhood and benefit watershed protection through litter reduction! After the cleanup, you can get service credit in your Community Hub dashboard.
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Clothing Swap Party – Meet us inside the Alpine Library Branch Community Room! You can update your wardrobe before the winter season and help divert textile waste from our local landfills, helping the environment by creating a circular economy! Bring your gently used clothing items to exchange them for other items at no cost! By participating in the swap, you will be helping to conserve natural resources, reducing the environmental footprint of producing new goods and building community.
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. DIY Holiday Gift Workshop- Upcycle an old jar or container to create a DIY holiday gift! We will be creating reused candles and making cookie-in-a-jar gifts to have for ourselves or to give away during this upcoming winter season! Please register so we know the amount of supplies we need to bring. To take part in the candle wax reuse activity, please arrive before 9:45 AM to allow ample time for wax melting and cooling.
A few things to keep in mind:
You can attend either or both activities separate or together, whatever you have time and interest for!
Please click the registration button below for more information on this specific event location.
Alpine Library Branch- San Diego County Library 1752 Alpine Blvd, Alpine, CA 91901
Join I Love A Clean San Diego,Fallbrook Beautification Alliance, and the County of San Diego for a litter cleanup and clothing swap party in Fallbrook! Our staff will be set-up with a check-in table and supplies at Vince Ross Village Square starting at 9am!
9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Watershed Warriors: Fallbrook Community Cleanup – We will be set up with a check-in table and cleanup supplies at Vince Ross Village Square. Join us to grab supplies and help us cleanup to protect the neighborhood and benefit watershed protection through litter reduction! After the cleanup, you can get service credit in your Community Hub dashboard. Click the orange button below to register for the cleanup!
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Clothing Swap Party – You can update your wardrobe before the winter season and help divert textile waste from our local landfills, helping the environment by creating a circular economy! Bring your gently used clothing items to Vince Ross Village Square and exchange them for other items at no cost. By participating in the swap, you will be helping to conserve natural resources, reducing the environmental footprint of producing new goods and building community.
A few things to keep in mind:
You can attend either or both activities
separate or together, whatever you have time and interest for! The cleanup will kick-off at 9 a.m. and the Swap Party will be kicking off at 10 am next to the cleanup check in station.
Please click the registration button below for more information on this specific event location.
Vince Ross Village Square 111 S Main Ave, Fallbrook, CA 92028
Join I Love A Clean San Diego at the Martin Luther King Jr Community Park sponsored by Keep America Beautiful and Clean CA, for a morning of activities to celebrate Halloween and help us all be more sustainable! Join us at 9 a.m. for a litter cleanup around the neighborhood, and/or 10 a.m. for a Tote Bag Craft and Swap Party at the Park.
9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Martin Luther King Jr Community Cleanup: We will be set up with a check-in table and cleanup supplies at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Join us to grab supplies and help us cleanup to protect the neighborhood and benefit watershed protection through litter reduction! After the cleanup, you can get service credit in your Community Hub dashboard
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Tote Bag Craft and Clothing Swap: Join staff in crafting your own sustainable tote bag made from upcycled t-shirts with an option to decorate them to be trick-or-treat bags! Bring last year’s Halloween costume and swap it for a sustainable fresh look! You can also update your wardrobe before the winter season and help divert textile waste from our local landfills, helping the environment by creating a circular economy! Bring your gently used clothing items to exchange them for other items at no cost. By participating in the swap, you will be helping to conserve natural resources, reducing the environmental footprint of producing new goods and building community
A few things to keep in mind:
You can attend either or both activities – separate or together, whatever you have time and interest for! The cleanup will kick-off at 9 a.m. and the Tote Bag Craft and Swap Party will be kicking off around 10 am next to the cleanup check in station.
Whether you are going to one or both activities, register here so we can prepare supplies. You can register for the event by clicking “Register” below.
Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, 6401 Skyline Dr, San Diego, CA 92114
Join us for our Zero Waste event at the San Diego County Spring Valley Branch Library – Bring in an item to repair and some clothing to exchange! Get help fixing everything from computers and coffee makers to toys, clothes, and bikes!
5 pm – 8 pm: Swap Party and Fixit Clinic with @sdfixitclinic
Location: Spring Valley Library- 836 Kempton St, Spring Valley, CA 91977
A Few Friendly Reminders:
Registration required for the @sdfixitclinic so we can be prepared with supplies, tools, and volunteer experts.
Limit 1 item to be repaired per person
No registration required for the Swap Party
Limit 5 clothing item donations per person
Please bring clothing items that are lightly used- no rips, stains, or odors
Join us for a fun and unique celebration of all things zero waste! I Love A Clean San Diego is hosting the eighth annual Zero Waste Fair on Saturday, June 24th, from 10AM-1PM at the EUSD Farm Lab.
Our Zero Waste Fair is back in-person again this year! Come ready to experience a wide array of zero waste activities, including informative panel speakers, booths from sustainable companies, and hands-on low waste DIYs.
This one-of-a-kind event will highlight tips on low-waste living, composting, recycling, sustainable swaps for everyday products, and more. All are welcome – from sustainable living beginners to zero waste experts. Attendees will also have the opportunity to discover local zero waste businesses, and win eco-conscious prizes!
Visit our Zero Waste Fair Website to learn more about the event. Attendees are encouraged to register for free ahead of time. We can’t wait to see you there this summer!
Interested in volunteering? Visit our Community Hub page to register to volunteer!
What if there is a way to obtain new items while still being environmentally friendly? What if I told you that you can now go shopping for free? Welcome to SWAP Parties.
What’s a swap party?
Swap parties have been growing in popularity and offer an alternative in the way we acquire items for ourselves and our household.
Swaps are meet ups where people can bring in second-hand items that they own and exchange them with other items that other people bring at no cost.
Beyond being economical, eco-friendly, and an excuse to clean out your closet, a swap party with friends is far more fun than a yard sale with strangers.
By participating in a swap, you are helping to conserve natural resources, reduce the environmental footprint of producing new goods, and building community.
How to start
Set a theme – A swap party can be for clothing, toys, housewares, pet supplies, books, DVDs – anything you can think of! Decide on the type items that will be collected and exchanged.
Pick a space – Find a location that will give enough space for people to sort through items. Friendly Tip, adding clothing racks and full body mirrors will help you stay organized.
Gather friends and their excess stuff – For this sustainable get-together, people need to participate and show up with items that can be exchanged! Encourage guests to bring new friends to ensure there are plenty of quality things to trade.
Send out e-invitations! There are plenty of services for electronic invitations that are an upgrade from sending a text. Check out Paperless Post, Green Envelope, and eVite.
Host your swap at the end of the season when people are cleaning out their closets and looking for new pieces to freshen up their wardrobes.
Tricks of the Trade
Be clear about what’s swap-worthy. Ask friends to bring clean goods in gently used condition. Set standards of what will and will not be accepted. Be clear that items with stains, holes, rips or odors should be avoided.
Organize the Set Up of the Swap. To help people find what they want, sort items into areas based on type of items, color, and style.
After the party, take the leftover goods to your local donation center. Goodwill, schools, theatre groups, and pet adoption centers would love your excess items. Visit WasteFreeSD.org to find donation drop-off centers near you to take all the leftovers.
The most important part of SWAP Parties is, not only to have fun, but also to give a second round of life to pieces of items that would have otherwise ended in the landfill.
Want to attend a swap? Go to our events page to learn more about our upcoming Swap Parties!
I Love a Clean San Diego is excited to announce the Fallbrook SWAP Party happening on June 4, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Vince Ross Village Square in Fallbrook!
Clean out your closet recently? SWAP Parties are an opportunity to replace your gently used clothing for things you actually need. By participating in the swap, you are helping to conserve natural resources, reduce the environmental footprint of producing new goods, and building community.
RSVP to our event and bring in any gently used clothing items, like t-shirts, jeans, jackets, and trade them for other goods at no cost. Items with significant holes, stains or odors will not be accepted.
We will accept:
✅ Clean, new or used, second-hand items
We will not accept items with
❎ stains, smells, broken pieces
We hope to see you there!
Thank you to the County of San Diego for partnering on this event.
Save the date for a fun and unique celebration of all things zero waste this summer! I Love A Clean San Diego, in partnership with the City of Encinitas, will be hosting the seventh annual Zero Waste Fair on Saturday, June 25th, from 10AM-1PM.
Our Zero Waste Fair is back in-person this year at the EUSD Farm Lab in Encinitas! Come ready to experience a wide array of zero waste activities, including informative presentations, booths from sustainable companies, and hands-on low waste DIYs.
This one-of-a-kind event will highlight tips on low-waste living, composting, recycling, sustainable swaps for everyday products, and more. Attendees will also have the opportunity to discover local zero waste businesses, and win eco-conscious prizes!
Register here and be sure to keep a look out for more event details in the coming months. Can’t wait to see you there this summer!
When I first heard the idea of a “clothing swap,” I was at San Diego Leaders 2020’s Bites & Bigwigs luncheon with I Love A Clean San Diego’s (ILACSD) former Executive Director, Pauline Martinson. Over lunch, she discussed her career, ILACSD’s mission, and ways in which San Diego could reduce its waste. When she mentioned swapping clothes with a group of friends as a way to reduce waste and save money, I was instantly hooked. I had a growing pile of clothes I outgrew mentally and/or physically, and I knew my five best friends from college would give each piece a second life. Right after the lunch was over, I sent a group text to my friends and we planned a clothing swap party for our reunion in the mountains.
The concept of a clothing swap was not entirely new to me. I had rifled through my best friends’ clothing donation piles before they were taken to a charity, and my friends were welcome to any clothes I didn’t wear anymore. But I had never thought about doing one with the entire group as a way to help the environment. It made complete sense.One Green Planet summed up clothing swaps perfectly by saying, “Every piece of new clothing (if not made sustainably) can be the product of countless chemicals, dyes, and the like, all of which can be harmful to the earth, air, groundwater – as well as the people making the clothing and even the people who try it on and then wear it.” This doesn’t even include the significant amount of clothing that winds up in a landfill.
The day of the swap, each of us grabbed our overflowing bags of clothes and sat in a circle. I looked around me and thought about what each girl would bring to the pile. I could count on my friend Ollie for soft basics in neutral colors. Mary works at Nike headquarters so I knew I could get some cute workout clothes if I was quick enough to beat out the other girls. Marissa could be counted upon to provide trendy work clothes. And last but not least, Tristan could provide me with colorful dresses and tanks. We seized each other up and poured out the contents of our bags into the middle of the circle.
From the moment the last article of clothing hit the ground, the girls and I jumped into action. Mary picked up Tristan’s puffy vest, excited to wear it during Portland’s winter. Ollie went straight to my old ripped shorts since her pair recently broke. Tristan quickly grabbed Mary’s Nike running clothes to wear for her half-marathon training. Marissa grabbed a long skirt that was suitable for work. I quickly sifted through the pile and threw anything of interest behind me. I ended up with two workout tanks, one black-and-white striped shirt, one off-the-shoulder white blouse, and a soft pink ombre shirt. I was already planning on purchasing a few of these items, but now I had them for free!
When the mayhem subsided, I looked around the circle and saw how happy everyone seemed. Everyone got several great new pieces of clothing without much bloodshed and our old clothing found a second life with very happy new owners. We went around the room and excitedly shared what each of us picked up.
After we finished our oohing and aahing at the new clothing each of us got, I turned my attention to the leftover pile in the middle. To make sure everyone had seen everything, I held up each abandoned piece before putting in a charity donation pile. These clothes weren’t picked up for various reasons but weren’t loved any less. There was a dress we thought was too short for us tall people, a pair of jeans that didn’t fit any of us anymore, and random items that we already had in our closets. We donated this pile to charity for others to enjoy.
Here were my key takeaways…
The clothing swap was a lot of fun for everyone.
I love clothes.
I love the word “free.”
It warmed my heart to see perfectly good clothing go to someone new.
My bank account is sure happy about this.
The environment is sure happy about this.
Have the girls and I already planned another one of these for our winter reunion? Yes, we have!
This post was authored by guest contributor, Lia Bruce. Lia is a San Diego native and formerly the Communications Coordinator for Climate Education Partners, housed at the University of San Diego. She enjoys painting, hiking, singing in a community choir, traveling, and searching for the best burger.
Today’s blog comes form Amanda, ILACSD’s Hotline Manager, and she is here to show you how to reduce your use and reuse your clothing. You may even make a buck doing it! Read on to learn more about how this new trend not only benefits your wallet, it conserves our planet.
Did you know what the average American throws away 65 pounds of clothing each year? Recent reports show the steady decline of available space in our landfills and the majority of municipal solid waste can be diverted through recycling and reuse, and that includes textiles. Thus, we want to redirect our clothing and give it another life before it heads to its final resting place at the landfill. Buying and selling used clothing help to reduce the heavy burden on our local landfills, and it allows you to do your part in reducing your use of our finite resources on our planet.
Thanks in part to Macklemore’s hit “Thrift Shop”, buying used clothing has become one of the latest fashion trends. There are now many options beyond your local thrift store to buy and sell used clothing and other accessories – allowing shoppers to find one-of-a-kind pieces. Plus, you can have the peace of mind your favorite top or dress found a new home and you free up some space for some new-to-you treasures! To get started, visit www.WasteFreeSD.org and search “Thrift Stores” to find a variety of stores that buy and/or sell used-clothing near you! Here are some of our favorite used-clothing vendors:
Buffalo Exchange buys, sells, and trades gently used clothing, shoes and accessories. In San Diego, Buffalo Exchange has stores in Pacific Beach and Hillcrest. Before coming in to sell clothing for the first time, Buffalo Exchange recommends calling ahead to see what items the store is looking for at that time. Buffalo Exchange is also a donation point for authentic fur apparel. Items made of fur are donated to their Coats for Cubs program where the items are then sent to rehabilitation organizations around the U.S. to provide a natural environment for rescued animals. We certainly don’t endorse purchasing authentic fur apparel, but it’s great to know that there is a positive way to repurpose those. Don’t forget to bring your reusable bag to Buffalo Apparel, because when you refuse a plastic bag, they give you a token to place into the nonprofit container of your choice, and they will make a donation just because you brought your own reusable bag!
Online thrift storeshave also grown in popularity. They offer a wide variety of clothing for you to peruse and order from the comfort of your own home!ThredUP, for example, invites you to order a FREE Clean Out Bag online, stuff it with your unwanted items and then ship your clothing to be sold online. Any items that are not in a reusable condition go to their charitable partners or textile recyclers.
Vinted is another website and convenient smartphone app. You take pictures of the items you want to sell, list what condition it is in, and correspond directly with the buyer. Vinted handles the financial transaction for you, and you ship the items yourself to the buyer.
Acting locally is always best when it comes to reusing clothing you’ve grown tired of. Gather together a group of your best friends and have a clothing swap night! Emily, one of our environmental educators, recently hosted one at her church and it was a hit! Approximately 10 people attended and walked away with at least 5 new items – all for FREE! The remaining 143 items, a combination of shoes, accessories and clothes, were donated to the church’s clothing closet. Just because you are tired of your floral pink blouse doesn’t mean your friend is! This not only helps to reuse clothing, it reduces the need for greenhouse gases created in shipping clothing around the country.
Finally, if you just can’t seem to part with some sentimental pieces of clothing, repurposing is always a great option! If you have an old sweater that has seen better days, turn it into a cute scarf or even a reusable cozy for your coffee cup. Old t-shirts can also be turned into dog toys, bags or even a rug. The ideas are limitless!
