So You Wanna Host a Clothing Swap?

People sifting through piles of clothes organized on tables in a big room

September 18, 2025/Mary Pantenburg/

This past weekend we hosted our first clothing swap in partnership with Bloei Collective and other community volunteers. Through it we collectively:
👕 Collected 515 lbs of clothing
♻️ Rehomed 387 lbs with new owners
🤝 Donated 128 lbs to ReCoHere and the Bend Equity Project, who brought high-quality clothing directly to unhoused neighbors without transportation access.
The turn out was great and we can’t wait to do another one once our facility is up and running (after planned renovations are complete over the next year)!

Clothing swaps come in many forms, from just a few friends sitting around their living room and tossing all their clothes in a big pile to sort through. You might hear squeals of “this would be perfect on you!” followed by tossing items around until everyone has a new wardrobe. Sometimes a clothing swap can be large, organized, and with people you’ve never met. No matter how big your swap is, or who joins, opting for used clothing is a win-win for everyone. The planet gets a break from more textiles in the landfill, and you get a wardrobe update! Did you join our Clothing Swap in September? Maybe not? Wanna have your own?! We got you. Enjoy this guide on how to have a clothing swap!

Step 1: find your venue

Before you start the planning process, decide how big! Is this a private event in your home with just your besties? Or something larger for your community? Finding the right space is key! If you want to host a clothing swap at your home, that’s a great way to keep it small. If you want to make this a larger event, you have several options for venues:

Check out your local library. There may be a fee, and you will be responsible for cleaning the space.
Ask around at local shops and businesses that have community space. In our experience, sometimes you can make a trade! Bring new customers to their space in exchange for their open space.
Got some tarps? Got some open outdoor space on a sunny day? You don’t need much space depending on the number of people! I’ve done a clothing swap in a park in Portland on top of a tarp. Nothing fancy, just some vintage and loved clothes.
When The Environmental Center is up and running in a year, you can rent our space!

Step 2: no waste

So you have your venue. The next step is actually the last step, but we must be proactive! Something I’ve noticed always creeps up on us is: what do we do with the leftovers? Whoever hosts will always be responsible for the leftovers. While you could easily take them to Goodwill, we recommend finding local groups in your area that work to dress the unhoused:

Bend Equity Project: they will work with you to collect your used clothing, that they will then distribute to encampments in Central Oregon that house folks who do not have a way to get into town. This group also provides meals and other resources to that community so we HIGHLY recommend them for your post clothing swap needs.
ReCoHere: textile recycling doesn’t exist in the area yet, but ReCoHere is working on it! Once they have their recycling program up and running we will let our community know! In the meantime, they can collect your used clothing and help with redistribution.

Step 3: Invite your community

So we have the venue, and we have the action plan for after the swap… now the fun part! Tell the people!

If this is a large public event, post on FB Marketplace or Reddit! In Central Oregon, THIS reddit thread has clothing swap info!
Make flyers and post them around town.
Post on social media and tag groups and people that would want to know! Tag us and we will share your clothing swap— sheesh we might show up!
If this a private event, make that VERY clear to whoever you invite and don’t spread the word too far.

Step 4: Preparing for the swap

Depending on your vibe and level of desired effort, you can have folks drop off their clothes the day before so you can organize (also get first dibs… oops!), or you can collect clothes the day of, throw it all in the big pile, and go crazy! I personally like to organize the swap a bit—put shirts and pants in their own sections and make it more of an experience. That does take more work but hey, it’s your swap! More or less, whatever you want.

Step 5: Swap starts!

The people are showing up, clothes are piling up, and the energy starts to get exciting as you find new treasures. This is the part of the swap where you get to find new items, recommend things for your friends, try things on, give things away—all the things!

Step 6: Swap is over!

With the help of your friends, bag up all the excess clothing and take your clothes to their designated next home. Let us know if you found a good spot other than ReCoHere or Bend Equity Group so we can keep new partners in mind.

Step 7: pat yourself on the back.

You did it! Hosting a clothing swap can be a lot of work or a very chill gathering—whatever makes you happy! No matter how you do your swap, know that used clothing and actively working to reduce new clothes purchased and old clothes thrown away is a huge win for the environment here in Central Oregon.