Trade Your Old Clothes For Something Thrifted At Chicago Fair Trade Museum’s Clothing Swap This Weekend

LINCOLN PARK — A new Lincoln Park museum focused on the fair trade business model is hosting a massive clothing swap this weekend.

The Chicago Fair Trade Museum, 1457 N. Halsted St., will hold the clothing swap Friday-Sunday.

Participants can bring gently used clothing items they no longer wear and exchange them for something they will, according to the museum. Worn clothing can also be mended with an on-site pay-what-you-can service.

Styling experts will also be on hand, along with an international knitting circle, according to the museum. Other fun freebies will be available.

People are encouraged to bring their own shopping bags to reduce waste, according to the museum.

“Fast fashion has a profoundly negative impact both on the planet and on the people who make our clothes, who often work in low-paid, unsafe and exploitative conditions,” said Katherine Bissell Cordova, executive director of Chicago Fair Trade. “With the clothing swap, we’re providing a low-cost and more sustainable alternative to buying brand-new, disposable fast fashion items.”

Credit: Provided/Saverio Truglia

Clothing can be brought the day of the swap or dropped off ahead of time at one of several locations:

• Chicago Fair Trade Museum, 1457 N. Halsted St.: noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday.
• Mata Traders, 5112 N. Ravenswood Ave.: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday.
• Ten Thousand Villages Evanston, 915 Chicago Ave. in Evanston: 11 am.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday.
• AIBI, 2031 W. Fulton: noon-6 p.m. Wednesday.
• Re:new Project, 483 Main St. in Glen Ellyn: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
• Ten Thousand Villages Oak Park, 121 N. Marion St. in Oak Park: noon-6 p.m. Monday-Tuesday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday.
• The Eco Flamingo, 4750 N. Rockwell St.: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.

Tickets cost $10, but people can buy a $35 ticket for exclusive access to a Friday night preview of the swap, where food and drinks will be served. Tickets are available online.

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