S5E3: Change Clothes Dublin – Clothes Swapping and Circular Fashion

In this episode, Daithí speaks to Mary Fleming, the founder of ChangeClothes.org, a social enterprise that sprang up in Crumlin to address accessibility and habits around second-hand clothing.

Starting as just a week of events in her local area a few years ago, Change Clothes has grown into a thriving organisation, providing training and workshops in upcycling and sustainable fashion alongside its highly anticipated swap shops.

Mary talks about what inspired her to start making changes in her own life and how she was frustrated by the messaging around sustainability and the inaccessibility for low-income people.

Daithí and Mary discuss the importance of looking at what we stand to gain with climate action and the positive effect that a sense of fun and community can have.

Thanks very much to Sorcha O'Carolan Murphy for support with research, design and promotion.

Links

1. Change Clothes Website: https://www.changeclothes.org/

2. EPA statistics on Irish Textile Waste: https://www.epa.ie/our-services/monitoring--assessment/circular-economy/textiles-national-attitudes--behaviours-surveys/

3. Second-hand clothes market burns down in Kantamanto, Ghana: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/24/ghana-clothes-market-fire-kantamanto-rebuild

4. Amendments to EU Waste Framework Directive to include more circularity of textiles: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_548

5. French 2024 legislation tackling fast-fashion: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/15/france-fast-fashion-law-environmental-surcharge-lower-house-votes