Green and cheap: Stefanie Real (36) pays only 40 francs a year for clothes and shoes

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In Blick’s “Green and Cheap” series, people from Switzerland show how they consume sustainably in their daily lives, in areas such as food, clothing, travel and furniture. Without having to spend a lot of money.

For the sake of the environment, trade instead of buying. This is the motto of Stefanie Real (36) from Aargau. This is especially reflected in the full-time mom’s walk-in closet. It takes a long time to look for new clothes here. «I’m just buying new underwear and socks. “When I need an item of clothing, I first ask my friends if they have any extra items or go to a clothes swap,” says Real. She always has clothes to swap. This is no surprise: According to the federal government, the average citizen donates over six pounds of old clothes a year. That’s The equivalent of about nine pairs of jeans or 43 T-shirts, they are often not delivered to those in need but are resold and thrown into landfills in countries like Kenya.

900 francs: Swiss average for clothing

The aspiring vegan nutritionist spent only 40 francs on clothes in 2023 thanks to her change strategy. This is 22 times less than usual: according to the BFS (Federal Statistical Office), a person living in Switzerland pays on average 900 francs a year for clothes and shoes.

Stefanie Real’s rethinking process began about six years ago. At that time, she was still going in and out of fast fashion chains like H&M and Zara. The change came when she learned about the fashion industry’s harmful impact on the environment: tons of old clothes polluting the environment abroad and the harsh working conditions of many tailors.

I started exchanging ideas with my friends

Stefanie Real started looking for ways to buy less clothes. She realized that she hardly knew anyone who didn’t complain about their closet being too full. “I started swapping clothes with my friends,” she says. “At some point this didn’t go far enough for me anymore. “I wanted to inspire more people to rethink how they consume clothes.”

Bring ten pieces of clothing, take ten pieces with you

Real became a volunteer member of Walk-in-Closet and today, together with her husband, organizes large-scale clothing exchange events for the association at Zofingen AG. “We have a bar, music, a fashion show and a repair stand,” says Real happily.

Approximately 100 people attend each event. Principle: Visitors bring a maximum of ten washed and well-preserved clothes, shoes or accessories and can then take home up to ten changed clothes. Admission costs ten francs for non-club members.

Each exchange leaves some clothing

Walk-in Wardrobe swap meets are located all over Switzerland. “The great thing is that there is no such thing as a bad buy. If something doesn’t fit, you can take it to the next swap event,” says Real.

Visitors need not worry about not having enough clothes to change. On the contrary: “At every event, clothes are left behind,” says the 36-year-old actress. However, clothes are not thrown into the old clothes container. They either go to Walk-in-Closet’s online swap shop or are given away to local thrift stores. “Collaboration with stores is going great, they donate items they cannot sell for swap events and receive the remaining swap clothes in return,” says Real.

Exchange event for toys and children’s clothes

Stefanie Real and her husband founded an exchange project that aims to promote sustainable consumption even among the little ones: children’s clothes, toys and books can be exchanged during the children’s shopping fun. The exchange event will next take place on May 5 in the “AUSO Red” event hall in Zofingen.

Source : Blick