GAMBIER — Fashion has always been an obsession for Ainsley Bonaudi. Either going to thrift or second-hand clothing stores to find a great deal.
She also has a love and admiration for the environment and how fashion coincides with it.
Bonaudi, a 16-year-old Gambier resident, noticed that Kenyon College students left clothes and other items behind when they returned home — often across the country and globe. There was a rummage sale for others to purchase the leftover materials, though it stopped in recent years.
Bonaudi saw an opportunity to start her own version of the rummage sale. In turn, she created a Gambier clothing swap, where others could bring in their own clothes to exchange for something out of Bonaudi’s over 300 clothing-item collection held June 3.
Once students graduated in May, Bonaudi gathered boxes and set them across campus the week before graduation, she said, checking on them periodically.
Bonaudi was allowed to put the clothes in Gambier’s Community Center to host her clothing swap for free, she said, where two of her friends volunteered to make sure the swap went without a hitch.
Clothing range from men’s and women’s wear, Bonaudi said, with shoes being present, too.
“I encouraged people who had known about it in advance to bring their own clothing so they could swap and keep the cycle fresh,” she said.
Bonaudi also received a $1,000 scholarship from DoSomething.org.
Bonaudi’s parents played a vital role in the clothing swap, she said, noting they helped spread the word and what the clothing swap was actually going to look like.
ACTS Thrift Store collected leftover clothing items from the swap, Bonaudi said.
How Bonaudi’s clothing swap has an environmental impact
Bonaudi’s clothing swap was a way to keep clothes out of landfills, she said.
“Many kids my age just don’t know the impacts and fast fashion has just thrived really within our age group but I’ve always loved secondhand clothing and thrifting,” Bonaudi said.
Bonaudi’s substack newsletter Green & Salty focuses on the Earth’s climate and the resources available to make a difference in their community.
“I felt like that was something I could do because living in this time it’s easy to feel guilty because you don’t know where to start,” Bonaudi said. “If no one’s going to do anything, I at least need to try to make an impact.”
Green & Salty’s origin was May 2022. The newsletter is for those interested in a teen’s perspective on today’s climate and encourages change.
“My newsletter was me trying to offer insights as I learned myself about all of these things,” Bonaudi said.
Bonaudi plans to repeat the clothing swap
Looking toward the future, Bonaudi said she’d “love to do this again.”
She plans to have the clothing swap at the same time while adding an additional date in the fall.
“I tried to start a little contact list for people I could reach out to because a lot of people just didn’t know about it and didn’t have anything to bring but they took a lot for like friends and family and I was glad to see it going into good hands,” Bonaudi said.
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