Clothing swap keeps 132 pounds of textiles out of Spokane landfill

Spokane Zero Waste and Waste Management partnered Sunday to host a free clothing swap at the North Spokane Library. The event drew around 30 people and kept 167 items, totaling 132.5 pounds of clothing, out of the landfill.

The event was Spokane Zero Waste’s first clothing swap sponsored by Waste Management.

“ We have a relationship with them to host public events. They want to support what we’re already doing that educates the public on waste issues, and because we have Mend It Cafe that was something that they really liked and wanted to support,” said Elyse Hochstadt, executive director of Spokane Zero Waste.

The event ran from 1 to 4 p.m., with a surge of attendees arriving within the first 30 minutes. Community members brought gently used clothing to exchange as part of a broader effort to prevent textiles from reaching the landfill. Some of the clothes not taken by participants were donated to Global Neighborhood Thrift and Vintage, 919 E. Trent Ave.

“Textile waste is one of the biggest growing waste streams in the world,” Hochstadt said. “And the main source of the problem is that the raw materials that are being used are fossil -fuel based. So we have 60 to 70% of textiles made today, and that’s not just clothing, that’s bedding, drapery, upholstery. All these things are made from plastics.”

However, these plastic-based materials don’t simply disappear once discarded.

“Those materials are short-lived in their lifespan, and then they end up in the waste stream, they’re shedding micro plastics into the soil, air and water, and they’re in our bodies and our blood. They’re in our brain, and we don’t know the real outcomes of that,” she said.

Joel Kohlstedt, waste partnership manager of waste reduction and innovation at Waste Management, said the partnership builds on Spokane County’s goals to improve recycling knowledge and reduce waste.

“80 to 85% of clothing ends up in a landfill or incinerated, and it takes up more than 6 to 7% of that total volume, which is crazy, that much of it’s clothing,” he said.

For organizers and volunteers, the swap is also about shifting habits.

“Thinking in a way of how to use what we already have and what already exists in the world, versus just, you know, going online, on Amazon and clicking the buttons and having stuff shipped to you,” said Erin Bietz, a Spokane Zero Waste volunteer.

Spokane Zero Waste and Waste Management have previously partnered on the Mend It Cafe series, which focuses on sustainable sewing and repair. The next Mend it Cafe event is scheduled for March 7 at the North Spokane County Library. Spokane Zero Waste’s next event is Feb. 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Spokane Zero Waste Classroom, 2026 N. Hamilton St. That session will serve as an introduction to quilting and costs $65. Organizers say events like these aim to give residents practical tools to reduce and reuse, keeping clothing in circulation longer and out of the landfill.

Editor’s note: This article was changed on Feb. 23, 2026 to correct information about the Spokane Zero Waste event on Feb. 28. The organization plans many future events.