They’re Giving Away Free Stuff: GSA Clothing Swap

Shopping for clothes can be troublesome, especially for younger people and college students. One usually finds prices to be astronomical when looking around J.C. Penney or Hollister for a new shirt or a pair of jeans. The Gender and Sexuality Alliance of Pitt-Greensburg have offered a solution to this, however, as they are holding a clothing swap from 4-7 p.m. on April 18. 

The event is just one of a variety of other small events that make up a larger one known as “Earth Daze.” An Earth Day-themed celebration, Earth Daze will occur on Chambers Lawn by multiple organizations and clubs on campus. One such club is the Environmental Club, who are co-sponsoring the clothing swap with La Femme and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance. 

“We, essentially, just helped them turn it into a bigger thing instead of just a clothing swap,” said Environmental Club President Eve Carter. 

Carter’s intention for the clothing swap is to have it be one of the many activities students can participate in during Earth Daze. “We’re going to have all kinds of tables set up for things like rock painting, and there’s going to be free food, free tote bags, and all kinds of things,” Carter said.

While Environmental Club previously collaborated with La Femme for a previous clothing swap, the current swap is a first for the Gender and Sexuality Alliance — who are at the forefront of the event as the host. 

Vice President Sydney Spino explained that the Gender and Sexuality Alliance knew that the overall concept of the clothing swap would be its main attraction for students. 

“We’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while since thrifting has become a really big, popular thing among younger people. But we didn’t want to charge anyone for it because that would obviously defeat the whole purpose,” Spino said. 

The entire premise of the clothing swap is centered around the act of donation. In fact, boxes for people to donate clothes prior to the event have been set up for a week now. 

“We have three donation sites — one in Village Hall, one on the top floor of Chambers as well as another one by the front desk at Chambers. We check them every day to see how much we get, and the boxes are usually completely full by the end of the day, so it’s been a great turnout,” Spino said.

Once they have gathered all of their donations, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance will organize the clothes by size to make it easier for event attendees to peruse through them and find what they want.

If you want to donate any unwanted clothing articles for the event but cannot locate the boxes, do not feel discouraged since donations will also be actively accepted during the clothing swap itself.

“The boxes are mainly just for people who want to donate in advance, but people are also welcome to bring their own clothes the day of the event,” Spino said. 

If the clothing swap sounds appealing to you, do consider attending since both Sydney Spino and Eve Carter would very much appreciate it. If you have any questions for Sydney, you can contact her at sys27@pitt.edu, and Eve Carter can be reached at nic135@pitt.edu.