"Swap instead of shop," Massachusetts boutique helps customers trade in wardrobes for new ones
MEDFORD - Inflation and environmental concerns are fueling a boom in the secondhand clothing market. Now a small business owner in Medford has created a unique model that upends the whole idea of shopping and incorporates a bit of socializing with your newly acquired pieces.
At first glance Swap It looks like a traditional boutique. Mannequins are carefully styled with latest trends and racks of clothing are neatly arranged around the room. But this tiny storefront in Medford is shaking up the whole idea of shopping for clothes.
"We are a store, secondhand clothing for women, where they swap instead of shop," owner Stefanie Johnson told WBZ-TV.
For a yearly membership of $147, members bring in items and swap them for something else.
"They can take home as much as they brought in," Johnson said.
Items are steamed, mended and grouped by clothing type rather than size.
"If I change sizes, I bring them back and I get other ones that fit. Imagine that?" said Caitlin Brennan of Arlington as she was combing through racks of pants.
Some environmental groups estimate the fashion industry is responsible for about 10 percent of annual global carbon emissions. That's one of the many reasons that drew Caroline Cohen of Medford to become a member.
"I'm very eco-conscious, also very money conscious and so the mixture is amazing for me," she said. "I may or may not try things on and if it doesn't work out, I bring them back the next time."
Members say removing the price tags creates a completely different shopping mindset.
"All of the emotions that go with it, of like, 'Oh, I shouldn't spend this much, maybe I'll wait until it goes on sale', there's just none of that," Brennan explained.
According to Johnson, members are gaining more than a continuously updated wardrobe.
"People are meeting people and they're hanging out and they're seeing people that they maybe saw at the bus stop, and now they are like 'Oh, now I like actually know you," she said.
Brennan agreed, "It's actually a really amazing community here."
Johnson said the Swap It model is unique in Massachusetts. She said the only similar store that she's aware of is in Portland, Oregon.
For more information, visit their website.