Buying vintage and pre-loved, learning to sew so you can re-fashion your existing threads and clothes swapping are the way to go for enviro conscious fashionistas and people who like to style it up.

By getting creative you can spare many of the resources used to manufacture and transport new clothing not to mention save a fortune.

Exchange for change

Here are some great initiatives and events for those with a fashion conscience:

The Sewing Room, located at The Fashion and Textile Gallery, Surry Hills, is a great place to get creative, meet new people and develop your sewing skills. The sewing room caters for beginners wanting to learn the basics through to the advanced sewer looking to perfect a particular technique. There are classes catering for kids, teens, men and women. The Sewing Room also has a number of workshops coming up in August including beading, embroidery, pleating, t-shirts, fashion design and illustration.

If you’ve already got the skills but lack the equipment, The Sewing Room hires sewing machines and overlockers by the hour.

Exchange for Change, running from 29 - 31 July sees Oxfam and CarriageWorks join forces to bring us free events designed to inspire discussion and thought about the conditions behind our clothes. Where do our clothes come from? What are they made of? Who made them and under what conditions? 

As part of the Exchange for Change program CarriageWorks is holding Rethreads: A Free Mass Clothing Exchange this Sat 31 July. You take along your best, pre-loved pieces to swap and you get new clothes - for free. How cool is that!?