Five questions about the Preloved Clothing Fair that Radboudumc organized

During the preloved clothing fair held from 12 to 16 October, we received many questions about why Radboudumc decided to organize a second-hand clothing event. As we look back on a highly successful week, we would like to answer that question.

1. What is a preloved clothing fair?

'Preloved' clothing refers to garments that have already had a first life with someone else, in other words, second-hand clothing.

Second-hand fashion has not always been as popular as it is today. Nowadays, many initiatives aim to give clothing a second life. Our event was inspired by the concept of Free Fashion, where clean, good-quality clothing is donated and made available to others free of charge. This successful nationwide initiative formed the basis of our preloved clothing fair: give for free, take for free.

2. Why did Radboudumc organize a preloved clothing fair?

Every year on 10 October, Radboudumc marks the Day of Sustainability. This year, we dedicated more than a week to sustainability-related activities.

The theme of this year’s Day of Sustainability was waste, and few waste streams are larger than the global mountain of discarded clothing. At the same time, we are celebrating two milestones: 70 years of Radboudumc and 75 years of the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

Rather than organizing large celebrations, we chose to add a festive anniversary touch to existing activities. For that reason, the anniversary committee decided to enhance the Sustainability Week with a preloved clothing fair.
We wondered how Radboudumc employees could contribute to reducing textile waste. This led to the idea of organizing a preloved clothing fair, and as it turned out, it was an excellent decision.

3. Where did the clothing come from?

From the outset, we wanted this event to be organized by and for employees. Colleagues enthusiastically responded to the call to donate clean, good-quality clothing. For which we are extremely grateful.
Between 28 September and 6 October, a total of 2,492 items were donated. Of these, 167 items did not meet our quality criteria and were rejected.

The remaining 2,325 skirts, trousers, dresses, sweaters, T-shirts, blouses, coats, jackets, evening dresses, sportswear, and accessories were sorted, hung, folded, and displayed by the nine members of the organizing committee. The clothing was presented in three market stalls provided by our catering partner Vermaat, complemented by five large clothing racks and five mannequins. The fair was located in the long corridor near the restaurant.

During the fair week, from 12 to 16 October, we were supported by 30 volunteers, who staffed the stalls between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and helped visitors put together stylish outfits. Without their dedication, the event would not have been such a success.

The 'customers' - colleagues, patients, and visitors alike - were universally enthusiastic about both the fair and the clothing. Everyone was allowed to take home up to three items per day, completely free of charge.
“Free” did come with one condition: visitors were invited to engage in a conversation about sustainability, waste, the enormous volume of textile waste, and of course our anniversary celebrations. These conversations often led to inspiring discussions and heartwarming personal stories.

Our stylist Puck created beautiful outfit combinations.

4. What happened to the clothing that was not taken?

Our goal was to have as little clothing left over as possible, and our volunteers worked very hard to make that happen.

What we absolutely wanted to avoid was having unsold clothing end up in storage and eventually being sent to an incinerator. That was never the intention.

Even on Friday afternoon, clothing was still being 'sold' until 4:58 p.m. By closing time at 5:00 p.m., only 200 items and accessories remained.

These were immediately collected by Clothing Loop Nijmegen, a community initiative that circulates bags of clothing among residents in Nijmegen and surrounding areas. Participants are free to take items they like and add clothing of their own, ensuring that garments continue to circulate and enjoy a second life. If you are interested in finding a local Clothing Loop in your area, you can explore the available networks online.

Thanks to our preloved clothing fair, an impressive 2,129 clothing items found a new home with patients, visitors, students, and colleagues.

The clothing we rejected because it was no longer wearable is sent to companies that recycle textiles into materials such as insulation products. In this way, we ensure that even worn-out clothing is reused responsibly.

5. Will there be another preloved clothing fair next year?

We were pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of our colleagues, who searched through their wardrobes to help make the fair a reality. Many beautiful garments were donated, some of them worn only once and occasionally still bearing the original price tag.

Our visitors were delighted with this 'gift', as several of them described it.

The initiative has certainly encouraged both ourselves and others to think differently about clothing consumption and textile waste. And that was exactly our goal.

Conclusion: mission accomplished.

If it were up to our visitors, colleagues, and organizing team, there would definitely be a sequel. However, whether and how the event will continue after our anniversary year remains to be seen.

What our visitors said

'What a wonderful initiative.'
'Is it really free?'
'My husband is currently in surgery. This is exactly the distraction I needed.'
'I’m amazed to learn how much water and energy even a simple T-shirt requires.'
'I still have a wardrobe full of clothes. Can I bring those as well?'
'I love seeing a colleague wearing a blouse that I donated.'

Some eye-opening facts

Producing clothing requires a surprisingly large amount of raw materials and resources. Did you know that:
•    A single T-shirt requires approximately 2,700 litres of water to produce?
•    One pair of jeans requires around 7,000 litres of water, enough for one person’s drinking water for 6.5 years?
•    The average person buys around 50 clothing items per year, yet wears them only about seven times on average?
•    Approximately 900 million garments enter the Dutch market every year?

These are striking figures, aren’t they?

How do you approach clothing consumption and reuse in your own wardrobe?

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