Chase is a proud partner of the Antwerp Fashion Exchange. In the DJ booth, Chase editor-in-chief Azer and Chase livestream guru Yooth will bring the perfect tunes for during the clothing swap. In addition to the clothing swap, there will also be a number of booths featuring sustainable entrepreneurs and a veggie/vegan brunch by AFE Brunch! from JJ House. Leading up to this event, we sat down with organizer Nina Maat to ask her some questions around her intitiative.
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What is Antwerp Fashion Exchange?
"At Antwerp Fashion Exchange, people can turn in clothes they no longer wear. That can be because it's too big or too small, because it's a mis-buy, or because they don't feel good in it,… But in itself, it's still nice quality clothing of our time. Nice vintage pieces are also welcome, but of course you have to keep in mind the zeitgeist. Nobody really wants to wear your old Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt now.
Leaving clothes hanging in your closet is just as wasteful.
We then check the quality, brand, fabric and that there are no holes in it. Participants receive receipts in exchange. With these coupons you can pick out new garments.
Antwerp Fashion Exchange is the main event of Antwerp Circular. This organization wants to introduce people to circular economy, ecology and biodiversity: basically everything related to a sustainable lifestyle. At Antwerp Fashion Exchange we want to let people experience what circular economy is, and we focus on circular fashion.
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The fashion industry is very polluting. This while circular economy is very possible in fashion, just like in other industries. With this event, I want to get people into the circular economy by letting them experience it. When you experience something, it is immediately much more tangible. When you understand something or know about something, you are much more likely to participate, take action or believe in it."
Can you offer any pieces?
"With Antwerp Fashion Exchange, we want to make people think about the clothes they buy. Is it qualitative? Will it last? Because there are people who come to the clothing exchange thinking, 'I'm going to bring all my junk and hope to get something nice.' But there are also people with super fancy clothes and they also expect nice clothes in exchange.
Your old Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt really doesn't want to be worn by anyone now.
Therefore, we work with a token system in three different colors. One color is for brands like H&M, Zara and COS. The second color is for slightly more expensive brands like Adidas and Nike. The third color is for really expensive brands like Chanel and Gucci. So with your tokens you can also get something back only in that class.
People sometimes tell me that control could be stricter. I find that funny. On the one hand, they want to make labeling controls stricter, but they are not always as strict with themselves when buying new clothes. Hopefully more people will start thinking through this new system before coming to exchange their clothes.
Antwerp Fashion Exchange is no ordinary closet sale. Of course, at such sales you also give a garment a second life, but it is with a different approach. There are bloggers who buy a trend item, wear it once and then sell it again. That's a waste."
Can you keep up with trends in a circular economy?
"Trends and circular economy somewhat contradict each other. In a circular economy, we are more likely to choose quality materials and timeless pieces that will last a long time. Still, trend-sensitive clothing is certainly possible in a circular economy. Creativity is part of man and that expresses itself in trends. The big chain stores just have to do their part. They can collect those trending items back afterwards and reprocess them into new clothing. Now those clothes are often just thrown away. It doesn't get a second life.
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I personally believe that fashion is something super cool. I'm into it myself. You should be able to dress a certain way if you want to, but you have to make sure that as soon as you don't want the garment anymore it goes back into that cycle and doesn't end up in a landfill, sent to Africa or stuck in your closet by itself. That's just as much waste."
Isn't it enough to give your clothes to charity?
"Imagine if all the leftover clothing from all over the world were dumped in Antwerp. The Antwerp fashion industry would not be very happy about that here. In Africa you have just as many people who want to make their brand and take their place in the industry, but they can't because there is an oversupply of clothes from abroad. As a result, their clothes and collections are no longer needed and less relevant. They don't get the attention they need.
Circular economy is local economy in addition to sharing economy. Suppose you make a chair here out of plastic waste. Then you're not going to buy that waste in China, are you? Circular economy is more than recycling. Besides working more locally, you're going to work with more quality materials. We have to give that a chance to flourish in other countries as well."
Suppose you need a new pair of pants. How do you buy them sustainably?
"True sustainable shopping is, of course, just not shopping. Still, I'd rather buy quality pants from Levi's, Diesel or G-Star. Even though their main focus is not always sustainable, but I would rather buy a nice pair of pants that will last a long time than one that is completely recycled but I don't like that much at all."
You're still a student yourself. How do you buy those sustainable clothes on a student budget?
"It's difficult. My principles are different from those of the average student. In the past, I always distanced myself from fashion. I thought it was a superficial world, but I secretly like dressing myself. What's in the magazines doesn't interest me that much. If I see something nice, I do want to invest in it. I like to save up for something that I will wear for a long time.
For example, I had bought a pinstripe suit for over four hundred euros. It's not normal for a student to buy something like that, but fashion is my hobby. There are just as many young people who invest in cameras, DJ equipment or cycling equipment. Everyone has to make that consideration for themselves. In that way, sustainable living is really not that difficult. It is as cheap or expensive as you make it. Sustainable living is based on making your own choices and not on what the media or society says about how you should live."
Interview and photos by Jana Frambach.
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