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Monday, February 27, 2023 at 11:40 p.m.

Barter Tuesday

Barter Tuesday Barter Tuesday

Several teachers of the Fashion, Design and Fine Arts degree already have a date for the next days of clothing exchange, which will begin tomorrow, February 28, until May 09. 

Nora Fernandez Fernandez 

After a few months of hiatus, the 'Barter Thursday' initiative has changed the day of the week to Tuesday. However, the idea remains the same: exchanging used clothing and giving it a new value, a good way to renovate your wardrobe in a sustainable way and contribute to responsible fashion consumption.  

The specific dates on which the clothing market will take place will be the next Tuesdays; February 28, March 28, April 25 and May 09, from 13:30 p.m. to 16:30 p.m. The place of exchange will be the headquarters of Quintana and the Aranjuez campus of the URJC.  

According to Amaya Matesanz, general coordinator of the project, "the idea, once again, is that at the end of the semester, and as a closing of the course, a theoretical-practical conference on circular economy, upcycling and zero waste pattern-making is held." “We hope that more and more people will come to be interested in the initiative and that they can take advantage of it, take something new, different and that works for them…”, says Matesanz.  

The barter initiative arises from the idea of ​​three professors, divided between the Aranjuez campus and the Quintana campus. Specifically, "we give classes in the Degree in Fashion and also in Integral Design and Fine Arts", explains the coordinator of the project.  

The main objective of 'Barter Tuesdays' is to make people aware that “we currently have too many clothes; too much because we are not capable of putting on all of it”, clarifies Matesanz. “More and more are bought but less is used, and these clothes that are left unused and in perfect condition are often thrown away. The idea of ​​bartering or exchanging clothes is, in a simple way, to renew our wardrobe, change clothes, but without contributing to the expense of new resources. Change the perspective, raise awareness about the value of our individual actions, not only in terms of consumption, but also ours in production”.  

Thus, Barter days are simply an option to lengthen the life cycle of each garment and keep it included in the system. “There are other options, such as repairing or modifying it, which we also do in other activities independent of barter, but under the same premise of the circular economy and the valorization of clothing”, says Matesanz. 

As pointed out by the organization of the 'Tuesdays of Barter', "we believe that this change in terms of how we consume is essential, and it seems that this is also seen in European and Spanish legislation and regulations, but also in the companies, seeing how, for example, how Zara Pre-owned, is already thinking about repairing, donating or selling second-hand clothes through its website”.