Circle back clothing swap: Bringing style and sustainability to campus
Photo Courtesy of Stella Reid
On Thursday, April 24, Argyros Forum room 119 was transformed into something a little more stylish: a clothing swap event. Hosted by Chapman’s Mission Environment Club, the event gave students a chance to shop sustainably without leaving campus.
The Mission Environment club is focused on environmental advocacy and activism on Chapman’s campus. Club co-president Cal Pacis, a sophomore environmental science and policy major, said that’s exactly what makes the club unique.
“Mission Environment is focused on environmental advocacy and activism here on campus. So (Mission Environment is) different from some of the other environmental clubs because we're focused on more so action items and learning about community-based building, rather than the environmental professional world,” Pacis told The Panther.
One way the club builds community and turns it into action is through events. The circle back clothing swap featured booths where students could trade items like clothes, trinkets and accessories.
“I think clothing swaps are just such a good way to, first of all, save money and not have to buy new clothes,” Pacis said. “Two, it’s great for the environment.”
According to club co-president Stella Reid, a sophomore environmental science and policy major, the club has held events that build community and teach sustainability. One way the club has accomplished their teaching mission is through making “zines,” small booklets that the club uses to spread information.
“They're about how to make a more sustainable closet and to build up kind of practice sustainability, and the other one (is) about building empathy, to build a stronger community and to support, just to support others through social justice topics,” said Reid. “It's kind of a way to have those introductory ways to implement sustainability into lifestyle.”
The Mission Environment club recently made a comeback, as it was inactive for the fall 2024 semester. Both Reid and Pacis participated in the club during their freshman year and wanted to revive it.
“We were like, ‘Hey, what happened to Mission Environment? That was a really cool club we all want to be part of.’ And then we learned that it was inactive in the fall semester. So we're like, ‘Hey, we should restart it,’” Reid told The Panther.
Once the club was revived in the spring, Pacis and Reid assigned board positions. As co-presidents, their responsibilities intertwine, but for the most part Reid handles the administrative side of their duties, like reaching out to the Chapman community and outside organizations, while Pacis works on the creative side.
“I specialize in some of the creative ideation stuff, like giving ideas of structured meetings and activities, but no one can take complete credit, and no one's doing it alone,” Pacis told The Panther. “We all help each other.”
While this is the first clothing swap this board of Mission Environment has put together, it is not the first at Chapman.
“Mission Environment actually used to host clothing swaps in the past. We only learned this, like, a month after we were into planning it. So it's not the first in history, but it's the first of this new club board, so it's fun,” Pacis said. “We're trying something we've never really done before, and we're super excited.”
The circle back clothing swap back implemented a variety of Chapman clubs, including the Chapman Sociology Club, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Women's Health Club.
“The focus of the event itself is just a bunch of different clubs from all different areas of interest on campus to connect with each other through the shared love of clothes, but also just hopefully drive up interest and get people interested in something they never really thought about before,” said Reid.
Sophie Camilleri, a senior psychology major and the president and founder of the Women’s Health Club, was excited to attend the event when the Mission Environment club reached out.
“A lot of us in Women’s Health Club are very passionate about environmental issues and sustainability,” said Camilleri. “There’s a lot of overlap between environmental justice, capitalism and women’s health issues. It’s important to support other clubs and organizations that are tackling the same problems we are.”
The Circle Back Clothing Swap was a place for students to come together, build community and learn about their impacts on the environment and ways to live sustainably.
“We're presenting people alternatives to fast fashion, which I think sometimes can be really intimidating,” said Pacis. “These are real world changes that you can make today. And we can all do our part to try to reduce the water intake we use (and) try to reduce the impact of fast fashion on the world and on people. But we want to just make these topics accessible.”
To keep up with the Mission Environment club’s activities across the upcoming semester, follow their Instagram page.