Young people around the world are swapping clothes to save the environment

Fast fashion is out and sustainability is in, according to new research from Concordia University.

Fast fashion is out and sustainability is in, according to new research from Concordia University that find 18- to 35-year-olds are swapping clothes "on a large scale."

"When we look at the environmental motivation, swapping is definitely a sustainable practice," said Farah Armouch, one of the study's authors. "You're extending the lifespan of an item instead of it being thrown in the landfill...There's definitely this environmental impact. People want to engage in those more sustainable practices and be environmentally friendly."

In fact, the research finds that clothing swaps have changed from an individual activity to a collective practice -- and one that also has economic impacts on those involved.

"We're revolutionizing the way people are engaging with the fashion industry," Armouch explains. "We're coming up with these new ways and practices that are being spread globally around the world that are really changing how we consume and how we think of fashion."

She points out there are four main motivations for people to swap clothes:

The research paper, "Is it fashionable to swap clothes? The moderating role of culture," pinpoints Gen Z and Millennials -- the two generations considered to be the most environmentally conscious -- to find out how people of similar ages but from different cultures engage in the phenomenon.

"My assumption was that maybe countries in the east would not really be engaged in those activities, and maybe the west would be more inclined to swap clothes," said Armouch. "But actually, I was surprised to see that it was an activity, a practice, that was happening all over the world."