Elisabeth Braw wrote this story for 
and the Huffington Post.
Don't despair about the ill-fitting clothes you received this Christmas. Instead bring them to a Swishing Party and return home with an amazing new wardrobe.
At a Swishing Party, guests bring one or more nice pieces of clothing or accessories and pick an item brought by someone else. "When we organized our first Swishing Party two years ago, over 100 people showed up", recalls Lucy Shea. "Many were 'greenies', but many fashion-conscious people came, too." Shea, the fashionista co-founder of London-based green PR firm Futerra, is the brains behind the Swishing Parties. (Swishing: the sound of clothes).
Since then, the clothes-swapping parties have become an international craze. This year alone, 260 parties have been held around the world, in locales from pubs to the London Fashion Week. "People enjoy doing something good for themselves and the environment", says Karin Sjosten, a Swede who co-founded New Zealand swishing site iSwish (http://www.iSwish.co.nz) four months ago. iSwish already has over 1,000 members.
Four to seven tons of water and seven kilograms of carbon dioxide are needed to make one kilogram of cotton. Up to 95% of clothes that are thrown away could be recycled; swishing one piece of clothing saves 5.9 pounds of CO2. So far, Swishing Parties have prevented 202,800 kg of clothes from being sent to landfills.
Celebrities like Leona Lewis and Paris Hilton bring their clothes to Swishing Parties, too. "Being green should be desirable, not a burden", says Shea. "Women's wardrobes are their biggest environmental impact, so this is an easy way of doing something. And who wouldn't want a new Marc Jacobs dress? Sometimes the best things in life are free." Shea's New Year's resolution: to launch swapping parties for men.
On January 9, swishers will celebrate the world's first International Swishing Day. Anyone can organize a Swishing Party, advises Shea. Invite friends, put out rails for clothes and tables for accessories, and perhaps labels for the clothes with notes like "with love from Sara". Serve wine and let people mingle; then the swapping can start.
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Learn more about swishing at www.swishing.org.
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