The Amphitheater was alive with students Sunday, coming together to promote sustainability at SWAP’s “Big SWAP Under the Big Top.” SWAP is a fashion and sustainability Contracted Independent Organization that hosts events like thrifting trips and upcycling days throughout the year. Their largest event each semester, however, is the Big SWAP, which they have spent the past few months planning.
At Big SWAP, University students can donate their gently-used clothes for an item-for-item clothing swap. SWAP collects donations for the event on donation days earlier in the semester, but students can also bring items for credit on Big SWAP. Should a student not have credits, they can also use another student’s credit. Frances Hesford, SWAP co-president and fourth-year College student, explained how SWAP’s mission manifests through this event.
“SWAP stands for sustainability, wearing confidence, accessibility and promoting community,” Hesford said. “I think that really just epitomizes the mission of this particular event that we work towards all semester.”
The event’s theme was “Big SWAP Under the Big Top,” with check-in tables positioned under circus decorations. Many of SWAP’s members were easily identifiable, dressed in clown makeup and for some, full clown costumes. There were also circus-inspired snacks including popcorn, apple cider and pizza.
For the event, clothes and accessories were piled on tables, clothing racks, picnic blankets and even in the trunk of cars. Students went from table to table looking for the newest item for their closets and left with their arms and bags overflowing with a myriad of pieces, ranging from camouflage pants to Doc Martens boots and graphic tees to denim jackets.
Christian Wright, SWAP co-president fourth-year Engineering student, expressed his enthusiasm at all of the clothes available for the community to thrift.
“One man's trash is another man's treasure, but also there's just straight up treasure in here,” Wright said.
The lively and energetic atmosphere was amplified by the live music taking place in the background, an element that Big SWAP has incorporated in the past and brought back this year. Five members of Hoograss, a CIO for bluegrass musicians and lovers of bluegrass music, played on the Amphitheater’s stage throughout the entire event.
According to Jace Bernard, SWAP fashion chair and second-year College student, the live music, theme and treats are part of SWAP’s efforts to cultivate a space of community within sustainability and fashion.
“[Our efforts] bring in a lot of festivity … more than you would just have from just swapping clothing,” Bernard said. “[It brings] people together, and it's not just like this silent space where there's nothing going on. It's very vibrant … and it's just really beautiful to see.”
SWAP’s executive members start planning Big SWAP when the semester begins, and work alongside their general body members to put on the event. This preparation includes soliciting donations beforehand, gathering the materials for displaying the clothing, having members of SWAP volunteer to work Big SWAP and collaborating with other organizations while remaining committed to their goal of sustainability.
Emma Murphy, SWAP social media manager and third-year College student, said the volunteers’ efforts are crucial to gather the donations and ensure Big SWAP runs smoothly. SWAP volunteers collect clothing donations at different locations around and near Grounds on donation days. SWAP’s most recent donation day was at Bank of America on the Corner, where students could donate clothes in exchange for baked goods.
“In terms of the donation days, we had volunteers who were outside in freezing weather, bundled under blankets and still taking people's donations,” Murphy said. “Those ended up being some of our most successful days, which is why it was so important … Seeing it all kind of come together after so much planning is really cool.”
Big SWAP was not only the product of SWAP members, but also of the collaboration with other organizations on Grounds. SWAP additionally partnered with Virginia Public Interest Research Group, otherwise known as PIRG, to help gather signatures for a campaign against the fast-fashion company H&M burning their unsold clothes. Bernard explained how such collaboration is essential to SWAP remaining sustainable.
“Being sustainable means that you don't need to be working alone. You're supposed to be working with other people,” Bernard said. “The collaboration, especially in Big SWAP, comes out over how we get tables, how we get materials and how we do it without having to spend a lot of money.”
Whether that be through students donating clothes and time or organizations donating tables, Big SWAP was a community event that reached all across the University. Wyatt Key, SWAP social chair and second-year College student, spoke on the joys that emerge from such a showcase.
“SWAP is great because University students have so many different styles and ways of expressing themselves,” Key said. “You get to see so many different kinds of people go through it and pick out the things that they enjoy and get rid of things that they no longer need.”
Now that Big SWAP is over, SWAP is transitioning to planning a holiday Vendor Day market Dec. 6 in the garden behind Pavilion IX. Their goal is to give student and community vendors an easy way to sell their goods, creating a fun and accessible holiday market. All of their information can be found on their social media @swapuva.
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