Worn Not Torn Exchange x UCLA Radio x FAST at UCLA
Last Sunday, Worn Not Torn hosted a clothing swap event at UCLA in collaboration with FAST at UCLA and UCLA Radio. Jen, the events manager of UCLA Radio, wanted to bridge UCLA Radio with outside organizations in orchestrating the Sunken Garden Festival. With tunes from Jordan Patterson and Innuendo, last Sunday was an afternoon of sunshine, live music, recycled clothes, and great people.
A grassroots program, Worn Not Torn Exchange is a clothing swap collective fighting fast fashion and breaking down the barriers to accessibility and inclusivity. Worn Not Torn hosts non-monetary clothing exchange events that seek to connect individuals who share a passion for redefining sustainable fashion and collaborating with others.
Worn Not Torn was founded by Daisy Green when she was just 15 years old on Instagram out of a passion for sustainable fashion. Daisy envisioned Worn Not Torn as an inclusive, collaborative community where individuals could meet each other while trading their pre-loved clothes. At its core, Worn Not Torn seeks to detach from divisive social, economic, and classist facets that hinder meeting and knowing others. To reflect their fundamental values of sustainability, accessibility, community, Worn Not Torn holds events in public spaces like parks.
Lilah Sniderman and Daisy Green
Credit: Layla Blue
Soon after the pandemic started, Lilah Sniderman joined Worn Not Torn, extending the organization to New York. “What’s so special about Worn not Torn is everything is super intentional and ethos based,” Sniderman says. “We work in this intentional way because we think deeply about each decision we make.”
To both Lilah and Daisy, Worn Not Torn is a collaborative art project rooted in stepping away from class and simply focusing on sharing with others. Through Worn Not Torn, Lilah and Daisy have been able to design their mini-society and see the world clearer on a smaller scale, allowing them to work on tackling issues more intentionally and tangibly. Worn Not Torn tries to prioritize their clothing donations to LGBTQ unhoused communities.
Daisy and Lilah explain that “when doing something unconventional that challenges capitalism, people may not understand.” However, Worn Not Torn is expanding, with branches now established in LA, New York, Cleveland, and Istanbul. But numbers are not a priority to Daisy and Lilah. Guided by its founding principles, Worn Not Torn Exchange cares about building a community of individuals who are deeply passionate about the collective and want to continue growing it in the most meaningful way.
Written by Alice Yang (@_aliceyang)