The two women were meeting for coffee.
One did a double take as she saw the other's backpack. "Funny," she said, "I once had a backpack that looked just like that."
Betsy Teutsch, a calligrapher from Mount Airy, thought a moment and said, "Did you donate it to the GJC Women's Clothing GiveAway?"
They burst out laughing.
Several years into what has to be the region's biggest clothing swap, fans of the event are getting used to seeing former dresses or shoes or purses popping up on someone else.
And they love it.
It means the event is a success. It means that instead of buying new, people are reducing and reusing the old. It's not promoted as a green event, but it sure winds up being one.
And it's happening again this Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Germantown Jewish Centre, 400 W. Ellet St.
Actually, people can begin dropping things off Monday - preferably folded rather than on hangers. Come Sunday, when the doors open, Genie Ravital will likely be awed by the piles and racks of clothing.
Ravital, a Mount Airy psychotherapist, is the one who started it all seven years ago. She's hazy on how. It's just that "I think there's a lot of waste in our society. I love recycling and reusing. And this is just so much fun."
Do I need to elaborate on our culture's clothing excess?
If so, consider what Teutsch sees when she walks into the auditorium the day of the swap: "It's like a groaning banquet. . . . I have sometimes looked around and been a little overwhelmed. This is just our excess. How much do we all have?"
Well, in 2010, U.S. consumers spent $334 billion on clothing and shoes - more than $1,000 for every man, woman, and child. (Except that they spent nearly twice as much on female clothing than male.)
Sadly, not enough of our discards even make it to the used-clothing market. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency figures from 2010 show that 8.9 million tons of clothing and footwear - 3.6 percent of the municipal waste stream - were tossed.
The Mount Airy event is blissfully rule-free. You bring what you want and take what you want.
The volunteers don't even keep data on how many clothes come or go. They just do it.
It's free - sort of. People are asked to donate $20. Some do, some don't, and some give more.
Last year, the event sent $4,300 to the Darfur Alert Coalition, which raises both awareness and funds to help the people of Darfur.
This year, the charity is Women for Women International, helping female survivors of war rebuild their lives.
