Kid Clothing Swaps, Double Dutchery & Your Carbon Footprint!


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We love great ideas and sharing them with you. For those of us with kids under 18, at certain times in their young lives our kids seem to “grow overnight.” The clothes we bought yesterday no longer fit tomorrow. What to do? Many of us pass these clothes on to relatives, neighbors and friends. Here is another wonderful and innovative way to “pay it forward” when it comes to children’s clothing.

As Wendy Whiting, founder of Double Dutchery shares with us in a guest post, the huge volume of clothing sent to landfills every year is staggering. As we wise Climate Mama and Papas know, landfill waste produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Photo Credit: Juliet Mciver

Not only is landfill waste a concern when it comes to climate change, but the entire clothing supply and production chain, like almost all consumer products, produces greenhouse gases. From creating the textiles, to design, shipping, and production, not to mention when you drive to the store to buy the latest and greatest, we are contributing to climate change and changing our planet. If we can substitute some of the items we buy, for items we trade, and tell others why we are doing it, we can help lessen our carbon footprint and help others do the same!

In her own words, join us as Wendy Whiting shares with us why she and her husband Robbie founded Double Dutchery! Enjoy.

Double Dutchery and Kids Clothing Swaps, Guest Post by Wendy Whiting

A couple of years ago my husband Robbie and I had an idea. Our kids were outgrowing clothing at an alarming rate — a string-bean six-year-old daughter, tallest in her class, and a twelve-year-old son with an ever-changing sense of style. The amount of money we were spending on clothing was ridiculous, and we felt guilty knowing this outgrown clothing simply be bagged in the basement. Then it hit us: the tradition of passing down kids’ clothes and toys is nothing new. Savvy parents have been using family and community clothing swaps for generations to reduce costs. But today’s families so often live far from friends and family, it can be hard to make it work.

So we came up with Double Dutchery: a site for parent’s like us, who need a little extra help to swap kids’ clothes, teen styles, and sports equipment. Using a little technology and a lot of common sense, you can now swap gently used, outgrown clothing for stuff that fits, all delivered right to your door.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

And, of course, there’s more than just frugality at stake. Every year in North America, 12 million tons of clothing is sent to landfills. That’s 68 pounds of textile waste per family. Sounds crazy, but 90% of this clothing is perfectly good. Yet people keep buying new stuff. That made us stop and think.

Unlike other items you throw away, children’s clothing and equipment tends to be in great shape. It’s just outgrown. Somewhere there’s a parent who needs that exact size. And somewhere else there’s a parent with clothing in your kids’ size. Double Dutchery connects those dots.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

We believe it’s important to show our children, through example, that consumerism doesn’t have to rule their lives. It makes sense that the things we no longer need be exchanged for the things we do need. What we already own is valuable. The need for recycling in this age of waste is more important than ever. That’s a big part of our mission, and why we’re also active users of Double Dutchery.

With Double Dutchery, you can connect with other parents around the country simply by listing boxes of outgrown kid and teen clothing while also searching the site for items your family might need. And that’s where the sharing comes in: there is no cost for the individual pieces of clothing or equipment. By simply listing products, parents get points that can be used to “purchase” other boxes. The more you swap, the more points you earn. The only costs are shipping and handling, paid by the buyer.

But saving money isn’t the only benefit: with the point and rating system we have in place, you can rest assured that the clothes and equipment you swap will be top notch. By joining Double Dutchery, you can de-clutter your home, save on shopping time, find easy ways to eliminate waste, and reduce strains on our environment and natural resources.

Interested? Jump in to Double Dutchery with a July coupon code. Simply enter “julynewmembers” here. After signing up – 6 points will be added to your account! Give it a try soon — the code expires at the end of July.

We realize we’re only as strong as the combined force of our members. The more parents that join and share, the more valuable Double Dutchery can be for all of us. We want you to be part of something new, unique, and slightly rebellious. We’re not some faceless corporation. We’re just two parents. We envision a future of like-minded parents saving money and helping each other out. Dare we say making the world a better place? We hope so.

Let’s grow together.

-Wendy Whiting

“clothes” photo credit: epSos.de via photopin cc

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2 Responses to Kid Clothing Swaps, Double Dutchery & Your Carbon Footprint!

  1. Thank you so much Climate Mama for featuring Double Dutchery in a guest post! We appreciate it greatly and love your blog’s message!

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