EL PASO, Texas – Earlier this week Hanks High School celebrated the ribbon‑cutting of the new Forever Swap Boutique, a student‑run secondhand clothing exchange that will serve as a real‑world learning lab for its fashion design program.
Hands‑on retail training for students
Fashion design teacher Rita Sanchez Garcia explained that the boutique is more than a place to swap clothes; it is a classroom where students learn how to collect, wash, organize, price and sell garments. “I was emotional because it’s been a process. It’s been a lot of work, but I’m so grateful,” she said after the opening ceremony.
Students will bring gently used clothing and exchange it for other items at no cost, giving peers access to stylish apparel while reducing waste. The boutique is open exclusively to Hanks High students, and the inventory is refreshed regularly through donations dropped off at the school’s front desk.
Special‑education students gain life‑skill experience
In addition to fashion majors, special‑education students will participate, learning practical tasks such as loading a dishwasher, setting dryer cycles, folding jeans and hanging garments correctly. “They’re learning how to pour the soap into the dishwasher, set the right settings, use the dryer, and hang clothes facing the front,” Sanchez Garcia noted, emphasizing the program’s focus on marketable life skills.
YISD Superintendent Dr. Xavier De La Torre praised the initiative, saying it provides families of children with special needs “marketable skills and knowledge that will help them in life, not just while they’re in school, but once they graduate.”
Community partnership supports the project
The boutique is made possible through a partnership with the Outlet Shoppes at El Paso, which donated fixtures and will fund a monthly fashion incentive. Participating students may be randomly selected to receive a $25 Outlet Shoppes gift card toward a new piece of clothing.
Outlet Shoppes general manager Carlos Rodriguez expressed his enthusiasm after touring the space. “It looks like a real store, not a thrift shop. This is a true experience for the students and the community,” he said.
Student voices on the new venture
Senior fashion student Kenia Gomez shared her excitement: “You get to work with sorting, learn new things about clothing and fashion, and you definitely get the full experience.”
Beyond fashion education, the boutique offers families another resource for affordable clothing and serves as a model for giving garments a second life in the community.
How to contribute
Anyone interested in donating gently used clothing can drop items off at the front desk of Hanks High School during regular school hours.
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Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
