A buzz of excitement permeates the Clothing Swap Club room. Clothes are laid across every table, and still more are in bags and on the floor. Nearly every member holds an old article of clothing as they search for a hidden treasure to trade it for.
The Clothing Swap Club was founded by Berkeley High School sophomores Ramona Cohen and Luna Jacobsen. Both were inspired by the summer they spent thrifting together.
“Luna and I thought it would be a fun idea if we got a ton of clothes that we didn’t use, and then other people got their clothes that they didn’t use, and we all swapped, so we didn’t have to buy any new clothes,” Cohen said.
At the beginning of the club there’s a short presentation on the upcoming events and rules for the club. After that, students line up to check in their clothes. Each student meets with the person who’s running the counter, and they count the clothes. Then, each student gets a little slip of paper for each item they brought, which they hold onto for the rest of the club session. Then at the end, when members get clothes from the pile to take home, they return the voucher as if they’re checking out. “You can only take as much as you bring,” Cohen said.
Unsustainability and overconsumption currently plague the fashion industry, and Cohen and Jacobsen are trying to combat this on a school-wide level.
“People feel that they need to buy into this idea of constantly getting new clothes and new fashion. Because of that, there’s a lot of clothes in landfills,” Jacobsen said, “We wanted to figure out a way to recycle, so that people could get new clothes without throwing away old ones.” Even clothes that are donated to places like Goodwill and other thrift stores often end up in the landfill anyway, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“We’re trying to keep things circulating without throwing anything away,” Jacobsen said.
On Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, the Clothing Swap Club was packed to the brim with students looking for new clothes. Emiko Critchlow, a freshman at BHS, had been to the club once before already.
“I really like this club because it’s basically just thrifting but free, which is really nice,” Crichlow said, “I think I’ll probably be a part of this club for as long as it lasts, and I’m hoping that it still exists after I graduate.” While Crichlow greatly enjoys the club, one difficulty she’s had is getting the clothes she wants out of the swap, because often they’re taken before she can reach them. “It’s almost (a) free-for-all,” Crichlow said, “But, you know, that’s what makes it fun.”
One challenge that Jacobsen observed from the first clothing swap meeting was the lack of clothes that other people brought. “We were the main clothing suppliers of the meeting, so we had a lack of clothes being presented. Most of the clothes up for swapping were just out of our closets,” Jacobsen said. But the more recent club meetings have shown a massive improvement, with many people reporting plans to return.
“This club is really fun, and I love clothes and the great community, so I will definitely be coming back,” Eliza Park, a BHS freshman and another member of the club, said. Cohen agrees that the Clothing Swap Club has created a special community. “A couple days after our first meeting, we would notice people wearing stuff that we brought or that our friends brought. It was a community building thing, ‘cause I would be like, ‘oh, like, that’s my shirt that you’re wearing!’ It brings people together,” Cohen said.