On October 23, the „Circle of Fashion“ project event, final conference – FleaMarket – took place in Miesto Laboratorija. During the event, we invited people to bring their manufactured, vintage, or simply unnecessary clothes and sell them to second hands. Miesto Laboratorija is a cosy and environmentally friendly cafe which creates a warm atmosphere for the vendors and buyers. The FleaMarket’s goal was to show people that to be fashionable, you don’t necessarily have to buy ever-new clothes, accessories or shoes – you can share and exchange clothes, thus contributing to sustainable fashion and a better future. Also, one of the goals was to promote community-friendliness and bring together like-minded people. It is known that fast fashion is one of the biggest polluters and enemies of the earth, so it can be said that the goal of the event to promote slow fashion and gather people who care about reducing the climate change problem has been achieved.
As well as to share what was achieved within the project, what we learned, how we achieved what we planned and to inspire people to implement the ideas and at least to try to create social impact.
Society education about sustainable fashion is one of the most important weapons in the fight against fast fashion. We are delighted that Blusturgis attracted a lot of interest from the participants – more than 40 people came to the event to sell all kinds of clothes, shoes, jewellery, books and accessories. Although we had to ask people to squeeze a little, to share the area to accommodate everyone, most people didn’t lose a good mood for it. “The event is not only about selling, but more about community,” told one seller at the market. In the flea market, you could find women’s, men’s and children’s clothes, shoes, handmade accessories, pottery dishes, books, toys and even onions. We moved the latecomers and the last ones to the outdoor space, but this did not cause any major inconveniences. People greeted those who came to look around and maybe buy something with a smile on their faces.
But despite the minor inconveniences, the event did succeed and caused the best emotions. People went to each other, looked at clothes, interacted and laughed, told their stories, exchanged their thoughts and just had a good time. It was very good to see people’s smiling faces and to receive thanks and questions about when the next FleaMarket would be because they would love to participate again! We appreciate the participants’ understanding, patience and good mood at the event.