This past week on Wooster’s campus, the Green Team club hosted an event called the Swap Shop. During Upper School lunches, the Green Team encouraged students to reuse and combat fast fashion in the Student Commons.
Fast fashion contributes to environmental waste and overconsumption, leaving millions of pounds of waste in landfills each year. Students brought in clothing to exchange for something new. Any leftover clothes were donated to Dorothy Day Hospitality House in Danbury, CT.
The co-leaders of The Green Team, Grayson ‘27 and Lucy '27, were focused on their goals.
“It was a fun way to confront fast fashion in our school and donate to those who are in need,” Grayson said.
Last year, Swap Shop was a huge hit, but this year, there were even more donations. This year, the club added a separate section for Wooster wear, so more students could participate in spirit days. Lucy met with the Head’s Student Advisory Council and proposed the idea to our head of school, Mr. Byrnes.
“It can be expensive, so it gives more opportunities for cheaper Wooster wear, while not leaving any students out who can't afford merch,” Lucy said.
The Swap Shop gave back to the community, both within Wooster and beyond. Your once-used clothes can be somebody else's treasures.
“I think the swap shop is a great opportunity to give back to the community in a way that everyone could participate in and donate to those in need through this extremely cold winter and the upcoming spring and summer months,” Scarlett ’27, a Green Team member, said.
Events like the Swap Shop show how the Wooster community demonstrates our core values: Gentle, Generous, Truthful, Kind, and Brave. Students support and build up the Wooster community by doing the simplest acts on campus.
Lily '26
Advanced Journalism Student
