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Ecology North puts on Earth week clothing swap, silent auction

Local environmental group Ecology North put on its annual earth week clothing swap, coffee house and silent auction at Mildred Hall School on Saturday.

Community members had an opportunity to swap and re-purpose clothing during the clothing swap, an event that volunteer Vicky Johnston says is fun and reduces waste.

Early bird visitors get a first pick of clothing before the crowds file in to Mildred Hall School on Saturday. Avery Zingel/NNSL photo

“The swap is a great way to get some really nice clothes, not paying anything for them and also not consume more materials,” said Johnston who is a volunteer for the clothing swap.

“It's not only environmentally responsible, it's a lot of fun,” she said.

“There is a social cost too. A lot of the clothing we get now is really cheap, and it's really cheap because it's made by people overseas who are being paid peanuts,” said Johnston.

Buying new clothing is also resource-intensive because its manufacture is a major consumer and polluter of water, she said.

All of the Earth Week events went off without a hitch, with the exception of the garbage pickup, kiboshed by heavy snow that buried the city's trash once more. The garbage pickup has been rescheduled to May 16.

“A take away for me is just how many volunteers and how much community buy-in there always is for earth week,” said Ecology North's Laura Busch.

This year, the focus of Earth Week is to end single-use consumer plastics, she said, commending the Black Knight Pub for switching to compostable containers and

“It's one of the most noticeable and wasteful things that end up in the landfill. It would be great to get single use plastics in restaurants and other businesses around town to buy-in,” said Busch.

At the school Sunday, visitors could also participate in a dryfish demonstration by Tammy Sundberg.

The silent auction and clothing swap are a great opportunity for Ecology North to bring its membership together and promote green initiatives for the community, said Busch.

“The general idea is to bring all the friends and family of Ecology North together in the spring time and get things off on the right foot for the summer time,” she said.

The event is a “community celebration” and also a fundraiser for Ecology North and core operations for the organization, said Busch.