In an effort to be more green and less of a consumer, I’ve decided to take complimenting my friends on their clothes (and the compliments they pay me) to the next level. This includes thrift shopping and the style swap. I’m a style junkie. In a sense, my clothing is an extension of my creative self. I don’t need to look like I’ve walked off the runway, but I like to look funky as it directly reflects my personality. More often than not, a girlfriend will say to me, “That is so cute [what you are wearing], where did get that?” and nine times out of ten my answer is, “Crossroads.” Crossroads Trading Co. is a West coast recycled clothing store with all of the latest styles that are used and in good condition, at a fraction of the retail price. What I like most about the store is that it separates the shirts into color schemes, and then the pants and skirts by sizes. This makes shopping easier and avoids the “digging” concept, which is how shopping can feel sometimes when there is just too much product.

Next on the agenda with my girlfriends is the style swap. Round up your confidantes, your most trusted women, the

ones who have the nice clothing that you have been coveting, and plan a swap. The swap can work in two ways:

either you can swap for a period of time with the knowledge that you will take care of each other’s garment and return

it unscathed, or do a permanent swap, as in: “I’ll take that black Donna Karen sweater off your hands for that

fantabulous pink silk jacket that I had made in Vietnam… I’m sick of it anyway!” Form comfortable guidelines and

keep it simple, but have fun. Not only does it fill that obsessive need to spring clean this time of year, but it will make it

easy to be green and keep your costs down at the same time.