We’ve written on this blog before about the environmental impact of the fashion industry and how it increases inequality, and the issue of garment worker exploitation has been explored in our journal Working Notes. Visit any shopping centre or high street and you’ll see bustling stores and people carrying multiple shopping bags from clothing retailers, while at the same time we have overflowing clothes banks and increasing difficulties in the international used textiles industry. It is obviously a global issue, but is there anything that can be done at individual or local level to challenge our relationship with consuming fashion? A social enterprise called Change Clothes in Dublin 8 has come up with some creative, fun, and sustainable approaches. Their mission is to tackle clothes waste at source, creating opportunities and sparking meaningful change along the way.
Before we move on I’d like to give you some background about my own connection with Change Clothes, because it’s an example of how local climate action can build community and improve lives.
In summer 2021 I decided to join a community cycle around my neighbourhood of Crumlin, little did I know that this sunny Sunday afternoon would be the beginning of a transformed relationship with the area where I live. Not only did the cycle introduce me to some beautiful green spaces such as the Pearse College Allotments, it gave me the chance to meet some neighbours who shared my interests of growing food and getting around by bike. I was welcomed into Bloomin’ Crumlin, a volunteer-run group that had formed when some neighbours had got talking to each other while out picking up litter during the pandemic. Since that first gentle spin around our community, I’ve made new friends, had many memorable experiences, and helped my fellow volunteers to distribute hundreds of fruit trees, work on a Community Biodiversity Action Plan, set up a community garden, survey all the trees in the area, and much more.
Some of the most memorable experiences I’ve had have been volunteering at community clothes swaps run by what was then called Change Clothes Crumlin, a not-for-profit CLG founded in 2022 by Bloomin’ Crumlin volunteer Mary Fleming. It was one of seven projects funded under the Crumlin Taking Action Together, a year-long programme of events and community actions. The first events organised by Change Clothes Crumlin were clothes swaps and workshops held in school halls and pubs where people could bring clothes that they didn’t want any more and swap them for other people’s pre-loved items. Volunteers helped out at the swaps and could take any clothes they wanted as a thank you for their time.
Mary’s initial motivation for starting Change Clothes Crumlin came from a visit to Kenya in 2017, where she saw textile mountains at markets, with many of the clothes rotting in rivers. Mary was living in Bray at the time, so when she came home she started running swap shops with the local Tidy Towns group, and residents there were very receptive. When she moved home to Crumlin in 2020, she noticed the local environmental issues there, including dumping, and wanted to do something positive in the community and something to bring people together. Crumlin ended up being the perfect place to start Change Clothes, because people were so receptive.
I helped at a few of the initial events, and they were lively and fun occasions. When I bumped into people at the swaps who I had met through Bloomin’ Crumlin, I felt like I was becoming more connected to the community. Volunteers kept an eye out for items they thought would suit other volunteers, and friends and strangers chipped in with feedback when people tried on clothes. The buzz was incredible and it felt like time very well spent. Customers were so happy to be able to pass on clothes that they no longer needed, and at the same time get the satisfaction of going away with something new to them. I took home some pieces that I still wear frequently, three years later. Other volunteers ran mending and upcycling workshops during the swaps, demonstrating how to give new life to tired or ripped clothes.
Since those early days of pop-up community clothes swaps, Change Clothes has diversified and expanded and now has a permanent base not far from Crumlin in the Digital Hub on Thomas St. When I am not working for the JCFJ, I work in the Digital Hub for Pocket Forests, so I can hear the hum of conversation and laughter when Change Clothes is open for swap sessions or workshops. Walking past the door you can see a riot of colour and texture, with packed clothes rails lining the room.
With a vision of a world where all textiles are reused at community level for the environmental, economic and social benefit of local people, the goal of Change Clothes is to make clothing reuse community-focused, affordable, fun, and social. Creative reuse solutions are offered for clothes at every stage of their life cycle.
Clothes that are still in good condition can still be swapped, either by booking in for a one-off session or by buying an annual membership. Communities can borrow swap kits to hold pop-up swaps or second-hand clothing sales, helping to ensure that textile reuse happens locally. Groups of friends or colleagues can hold swap and style parties, building relationships while at the same time normalising the idea of wearing secondhand clothes.
For clothes that need some TLC, repair and upcycling workshops are held regularly, along with classes on hand and machine sewing. And recently the enterprise has started selling handmade collars, bags, scrunchies and bookmarks made from fabric that had been destined for landfill, providing another avenue for textile reuse.
Social justice is central to Change Clothes’ activities. A recent initiative is the Community Closet, which works with housing services to place ‘free to take’ rails of high-quality clothing for people experiencing homelessness. And they are currently working with long-term unemployed individuals taking part in a year-long Tús Scheme traineeship through the Liffey Partnership. Trainees are undertaking sewing machine training and creating products from waste textiles, developing essential skills and exploring their own creativity. This programme is supported by Dublin City Council as part of the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2025
The team estimates that 21073 items of clothing had been saved from landfill by the end of 2024 thanks to their activities. Last year they got well-deserved recognition for their efforts when they were named one of the Sustainable Development Goals Champions 2024-25 by the Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications.
When asked what she is most proud of, Mary replies that it is the community of volunteers that they have managed to build up. The vibe that they create in Change Clothes makes it a happy place, and Mary hopes that everyone feels welcome here.
What’s been the biggest challenge with setting up and building Change Clothes?
Mary says that trying to find a work-life balance while building something for the community has been a challenge, like it would be with anything new. And with the concept of social enterprise still new in Ireland, it can be difficult to access funding and other supports. But you can see a change happening now, especially with a new Social Enterprise Policy published last year. The biggest issue remains funding, but Change Clothes have had a paid business model from the beginning, whereby customers are charged a small fee for swapping, workshops, styling, etc, and in this way the community’s investment is what keeps the organisation going.
What can be done at a systemic level to make the fashion industry more sustainable and just?
Mary welcomes the fact that extended producer responsibility is being rolled out across Europe, whereby big producers have to pay for their waste or find a reuse for it. This will hopefully lead to fewer poor-quality clothes being produced, and to investment in community reuse. Change Clothes would love to work with big producers to ensure that clothes are reused locally.
Another positive is the new EU Waste Framework Directive. From this year, EU member states must set up separate collection systems for textiles. This means that Ireland will have to improve how we collect, sort, and reuse clothing, moving beyond clothing banks and landfill-heavy waste streams.
As someone who has had an interest in Change Clothes from its beginnings, I am so impressed with what they have achieved in a short time. They have a clear vision of how they want to tackle the issue of fashion consumption and textile waste, and they have found inclusive, accessible, creative and fun ways of doing it. Sourcing funding and a premises for a social enterprise is far from easy, but Mary and the team have been innovative, flexible and most of all determined, and it has paid off. At a time of so much bad news, this example of local, joyful, effective and inclusive climate action is most welcome.
