This week, our focus at “What You Can Do” is about being more environmentally conscious during the school year. In producing this week, one particular video sparked some debate. In a video about school supplies, we suggested that if parents have more time, they organize a clothing swap with their community. While we all agreed that the idea is a good one – buying new clothes every year for school can get expansive and also be wasteful – we wondered whether this was an idea few families would follow through on. When I was a kid, back-to-school shopping was one of the few upsides to returning to school in the Fall. It was always fun to have a few new outfits for the school year. I wonder how it would have felt if my mom, in lieu of the shopping trip, organized a clothing swap with my friends. Would I have felt slighted or would it have been more fun to sort through my friends’ clothes?
Now, I love the idea of a clothing swap. In fact, twice a year, Alicia goes through her closet and pulls out the things she no longer wants or just never wears and everyone in the office picks through her giveaway pile and takes whatever they want. For me now, the idea of saving money on clothing by taking what my friend no longer wants, is quite a bargain. Can children understand that concept; or is new always better to them?
What do you think?
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