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“Swap Mama” sews new life into old clothes

on December 4, 2018

Cecelia Clark doesn’t buy clothes anymore — she just fixes and alters her existing ones. This is because as the “swap mama” of Bay Area Swap-O-Rama-Rama she always says “create more, consume less.”

Clark started working with the Bay Area Swap-O-Rama-Rama, a Meetup group that promotes the recycling and reuse of old garments in order to get more use out of the items and prevent them from ending up in landfills, seven years ago. Through the group, she teaches people how to use a sewing machine, how to repair clothing, and how to repurpose clothing to make new items.

Swap-O-Rama-Rama members also accept donations, which they then repurpose during their monthly “Swap-and-Sew” at PLACE for Sustainable Living in Oakland. 

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Photo by Basil D Soufi
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