Imagine if the barter system caught on, and goods and
services could always be purchased via even exchange (you know, in the
wholesome, non-prostitution kind of way). Well, there’s a new option for those
of us who need to refresh our wardrobe on a nonexistent budget: Buffalo
Exchange (238 Elm Street, Somerville, 617.629.5383) is opening in
Davis Square in early October as the first New England location of the
“recycled fashion” retailer with 37 stores nationwide. Here’s how it works:
bring your unwanted clothes to the store, and they’ll sift through them for
pieces that retain some fashionable fabulousness. This isn’t some unselective
thrift store, so don’t bother bringing the stained, ripped T-shirt from your
first junior-high concert. Rather than littering landfills, unwanted clothes
can be donated to charity (or just go back home to re-pollute your closet). But
for the clothes that the Exchange deems keepers, they’ll offer you cold cash or
an even higher value of store credit, which you can use to shop the racks for
your neighbors’ cast-off duds of the designer, vintage, and other desirable
varieties that you may actually be interested in wearing. Plus, you can support
various local charities by taking part in the store’s Tokens for Bags program:
forego a shopping bag, and your eco-friendly act will earn you a token
representing five cents that the Exchange will donate to a charity of your
choice. And why not? They’re already doing wonders for the Help! I Need New
Threads Now! Foundation.
