A secondhand store with cute clothes and fair prices may seem out of reach, but for students on Arizona State University’s downtown campus, it’s just across the street.
At the “Fusion Swap Shop” popup in Fusion on First, students could trade in their clothes for vouchers, which could then be exchanged for other donated items in the shop. Drop offs were accepted from March 14 to 18, and the shop was officially open from March 21 to 31. Donations were still being accepted after the initial drop-off period.
The idea was born in a class brand new to ASU: fashion retail management, or FSH 294.
“You bring stuff in, and then we evaluate the items,” Ali Rahnati, a senior majoring in fashion, said. “After we do that, you can come pick up the vouchers and just look through the inventory.”
The class split into committees that were in charge of different aspects of the project. Everyone had to work at least five hours in the actual shop.
Students in the merchandise planning committee decided how much clothing and accessories were worth with a five-color voucher system, with green being the least expensive and red being the most. The vouchers matched up with color-coded ribbons tied on hangers, and guests could add up vouchers for “bigger ticket” items.
The whole concept was created completely by the students in the class, according to professor Danielle Testa. They had only one month to get ready.
“The students created proposals of how they wanted to use the space or what kind of experience they want[ed] to create,” she said. “We had a whole variety of really cool ideas … and decided to do the swap shop for a variety of reasons, but a lot of it was [because] it engages a lot of people that are in [Fusion].”
Because Fusion on First houses fashion classes as well as apartment-style dorms, the shop attracted fashion majors and other on-campus students.
“There’s a lot of interest in sustainability across — and I would say across the student body, but honestly campus in general — faculty are interested in it too, right?” Testa said.
“I had a bunch of old clothes that I didn’t really want, but I didn’t really have access to a Goodwill or some way to donate,” Kelsi Dewaard said. She is a freshman double-majoring in criminology and nonprofit leadership. She found out about the shop from her community advisor. “This is really nice, to be able to donate here and also be able to buy new clothes without having to spend any money.”
Over two weeks, the swap shop was accepting donations, around 40 people donated over 450 items — not including donations that didn’t make the cut. Anything that was missing pieces, torn or not ready to be sold for any reason will be donated or used as scrap material.
Although the next fashion marketing class will have to come up with a different semester project, Testa said the swap shop could potentially reopen. The current class just has to decide if they want to donate the leftover clothes to charity or keep them for a future swap.
Contact the reporter at avsinger@asu.edu.
Amber Victoria Singer is a second-year student at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication pursuing a degree in journalism with a minor in sustainability. Along with being a staff reporter for Downtown Devil, she hosts a weekly DJ shift and music show on ASU's student radio station, Blaze Radio, and interns at KJZZ. In her limited free time, Amber likes to roller skate, thrift and drink extra sweet iced caramel lattes.
