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Take a moment and imagine what it takes to make a single t-shirt.
If it’s a cotton t-shirt, it means that land, labor, pesticides, and other resources were needed to grow, process, and transport the cotton. The fiber is then made into fabric, likely requiring more transportation and chemicals to further process and dye the fabric. The fabric is then turned into a T-shirt in a garment factory before being transported to a store.
By the time it reaches the customer, that single T-shirt has used significant resources, chemicals and labor to produce. Chances are, the t-shirt, along with most of the other clothes we wear, cost significantly less than the labor and resources used to make them. Such cheap clothing has created a culture of “disposable fashion” also known as fast fashion.
“If something is this cheap, that’s how you know it’s not sustainable,” says Madeline Kizer ’24 (BUS) who is determined to educate as many people as possible about fast fashion and sustainable alternatives. She and other UConn students have created the UConn Swap Shop, a thrift store aimed at promoting sustainable shopping habits, which will open its doors Thursday, Sept. 8 in the family studies building.
Kizer became interested in sustainable fashion after watching a documentary called The True Cost, which she says opened her eyes to fast fashion’s damage to the environment and human rights. Buying secondhand is a strategy to counter fast fashion, and that’s the main mission behind the UConn Swap Shop, Kizer says.
“We want to raise awareness of sustainability and get people talking about it,” she says. “If we can get more people to shop sustainably and raise awareness of the issues, hopefully we can make a difference.”
The Swap Shop is a place where students can donate clothes or trade for different items. In addition to the clothing swap, Kizer says the store will host events.
“We’re also planning to hold sewing and upcycling workshops where we’ll teach people how to recycle and why we’re doing it,” says Kizer. “We also want to create other educational workshops or a series of talks about fast fashion in general.”
In the fall of 2021, Kizer was part of the F3 program for women entrepreneurs. Tasked with finding a problem and creating a solution, of course, Kizer decided to focus on sustainable fashion and worked to build a sustainable clothing exchange brand that she called kizerskollection.
Through her research, she came across clothing swap events in the UK. Having never seen anything like it in Connecticut, Kizer decided to give it a try, and after hosting a successful clothing swap, she decided to bring the concept to UConn.
“In the fall of 2021, I started organizing small events and participating in various competitions,” she says. “I didn’t think about creating a permanent store on campus, but I figured it would be helpful for students to have a place where they can go and just recycle everything they have at school. From late fall through spring semester, I worked to make this dream a reality.”
At first, Kizer was met with some misgivings, mostly about the space, but she says she didn’t let that deter her. She applied for and received a UConn IDEA grant in the fall of 2021. Kizer connected with Efua Koomson ’22 (CLAS) and Lyla Andrick ’24 (CAHNR), who shared the same vision. They decided to collaborate and applied for the UConn Office of Sustainability’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Small Grants Program, which they were awarded.
In addition to the grant funding, after official approval from Interim President Radenka Maric, Kizer says the team was also given space where they could set up shop, in room 001 in the family studies building.
“David Noble and my mentor Katie Britt at the Werth Institute have supported me throughout this project and I am very grateful because without their support we would not be where we are with Swap Shop,” says Kizer. “With the grants we received, we were able to buy sewing machines and everything needed to open the store.”
Kizer says another plan they have for the Swap Shop is to support and showcase local sustainable businesses and UConn entrepreneurs. Kizer wants the store to help open people’s eyes to what’s possible.
“Throughout all the exchanges I’ve held, I’ve really tried to make saving glamorous so that it appeals to more people and encourages those who wouldn’t normally save to do so.”
Overall, Kizer is excited about the store’s future and helping others learn about sustainable fashion,
“I was doing customer research where I asked people if they could name a sustainable brand. So many people think that some brands are sustainable when they are not. There is so much greenwashing. I feel like it’s a big fight to raise awareness without being in charge, to make people think and realize that they can be part of this movement.”
If you’d like to donate, learn more, or generally keep up with the details, visit the UConn Swap Shop on Instagram (@uconnswapshop) or email at uconnswapshop@gmail.com
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