Since its founding in 2020, KK Swaps has grown from a small backyard clothing sale to a well-known sustainability effort among local teens. Former Tamalpais High School (Tam) students, Kirsi Harris and Kate Rosegard, began KK Swaps as a way to reduce clothing waste and provide a community-based alternative to fast fashion.
After they graduated from Tam in 2023, they passed it down to Kirsi Harris’s younger sister, Lyla Harris and her friend Larkin Archibald, who were sophomores at the time.
Now, as seniors, Lyla Harris and Larkin Archibald host their KK Swaps clothing sales quarterly, one sale for each season. Their most recent one took place on Oct. 18 and 19 in Mill Valley.
Lyla Harris explained that Kirsi Harris and Rosegard started the business to find a solution to the amount of clothing items that go to waste.
“There [are] so many clothes that girls are buying, and people [are] constantly trading. The fast fashion industry [is] just so unsustainable, so I think they wanted to find a way to extend the lives of the clothing,” Lyla Harris said.
In an effort to counter the effects of fast fashion and promote reuse, Archibald emphasized the intent of KK Swaps and its ability to give clothing a second life.
“There were so many emerging fast fashion brands, like Shein, Princess Polly and all those kinds of quick, trendy brands. With those trends being so quick and people constantly getting rid of [clothing, Kirsi Harris and Rosegard noticed] that it would be good to have a place where these things would go that’s not just Goodwill and they could profit off of it,” Archibald said.
Since its start, KK Swaps has gained popularity among teens throughout Marin County. The group accepts clothing drop-offs, sorts through donations and tags each item at prices determined by the donors. When an item sells, 50 percent of the sale goes back to the donor.
“We tag everything and organize it, merchandise it and hold these sales quarterly, where people can come buy clothes on Saturday and Sunday,” Lyla Harris said. “However much you sell, that’s what we Venmo you for.”
Lyla Harris and Archibald have seen the business grow over the years through their partnerships with organizations and businesses that emphasize sustainability. They have partnered with organizations like Trashie, which works to recycle unwanted items.
“We give the [clothes that don’t sell] to Marin Foster Care and the jeans to Blue Jeans Go Green. We [also] have a lot of partnerships that will either reuse or recycle the clothing in a sustainable way,” Archibald said.
KK Swaps has also influenced how local teens think about fashion and reuse. Freshman Sienna Hellemans has been going to their sales for about three years.
“It has kind of changed the way I think about the life of clothing because if one person doesn’t want to wear it anymore and it’s just gonna sit there or gets thrown away, KK Swaps lets it go to someone who actually does want to wear it,” Hellemans said.
KK Swaps also works to represent more than just sustainability; the organization ensures clothing stays in circulation among local teens.
“When you’re donating your clothes to KK Swaps, it’s nice to know they’re going to another girl in the community,” Hellemans said.
