Share Your Closet For A New Wardrobe｜echochan-blog

December 21, 2010 (Tue)Share Your Closet For A New Wardrobe

Give a little, get a little and expand your wardrobe for free!

That's exactly what I did at the "Eco Products" Fair held at Tokyo Big Site last weekend. For a report on "sharing," I focused on a special group called "Xchange." The group encourages bringing in old clothing, shoes, and accessories in exchange for used items brought in by others. This large "closet sharing" activity becomes a huge market place for people to not only swap clothing, but to also exchange ideas with like-minded individuals.

But along with expanding my wardrobe, I also gained a glimpse into someone's past.
Each item to be exchanged has an "experience tag" attached it and this is where the owner writes a message or memory about the clothing. "My favorite jacket from the 1950s" and "worn on my first date" were two of the messages that left an impression on me. It's just a few words written on a scrap of paper, but knowing a little about what the owner felt about it gave it history, something you never get when you buy something new.

This report on "sharing" will be part of a new series on the program, "Green Style Japan," which will be aired every Wednesday in February 2011 (23:00-0:00 UTC) on NHK World.

But it's not only about small community efforts that encourage recycling and sharing. Some companies are pushing this trend as well, such as Bridgestone's tire recycling business that is turning old wheels into new tires.

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