Clothes Swap Party (No Fast Fashion)

CLOTHES SWAP PARTY

If you love great company, great clothes and hate fashion waste, join us in boosting the circular fashion economy with this exciting NO FAST FASHION CLOTHES SWAP! Clothes Swap & Style and City of Sydney Council are teaming up again to bring you this social event where clothes are swapped in the spirit of generosity and community to make a positive environmental impact.

We’re banning fast fashion from this swap, not to discriminate against people who can only afford to shop at fast fashion prices, but to disrupt the excessive flow of fast fashion taking over our wardrobes. Swaps prove that people can get free or affordable clothing without buying fast fashion. We’re encouraging conscious, slow consumption by celebrating and swapping quality items made from natural fabrics, handmade garments, retro & vintage fashion, non-fast fashion brands, slow fashion clothing, brand new and secondhand luxury items.

Our swaps are the place to bring your beloved quality clothing so that they go to new homes where they will be loved and cherished. And in return, you hopefully get stylish preloved pieces to zhuzh up your wardrobe. Australia is one of the biggest consumers of clothing in the world per capita. Over 300,000 tonnes of clothing waste is disposed of each year. Swapping is one of the circular economy operations to reduce waste and divert textiles from landfill.  

So, declutter your wardrobe, pick out the top 1 - 5 most gently used and top-quality items (NOT fast fashion) and join us in one of the most exciting swaps of the year.

Free mending consultations 

We will also have Bower Textiles at the swap! Do you have some damaged clothes that you’d like to fix, but not sure where to begin? 

Bring your worn out clothes along to this Saturday’s Clothing Swap Party, for a non-judgy appraisal by Bower Textiles. They’ll do a careful garment health check and offer specific advice about how to get your duds back in service. 

You’ll be able to check out their mended samples, as well as examples of the various tools and materials used for textile repair.

Consultations will be available from 10am to 1pm. 


Donations of damaged clothes

If you’d like to hand over your cherished, but damaged, items to be tended by someone else, Bower Textiles may be able to take them as a donation to their library of clothes awaiting repair. 

Any amount of damage is ok, but only amazing quality, natural fibre garments can be accepted. If you’re bringing a wool item with moth damage, please seal it in a plastic bag.

When: Saturday, August 24, 2024

Time: Arrive 10:00 am to check in your swap items. Welcome and swapping will begin at 11 am

Where: Juanita Nielsen Community Centre, 31 Nicholson, Street, Woolloomooloo, Sydney 2011

Tickets: Free (registration is essential)

HOW THE SWAP WORKS

1. Bring 1 – 5 (maximum) items of clothing or accessories to add to the swap collection pool.

2. Clothing is checked in, then sorted onto racks and tables by our team.

3. Guests can only begin taking and trying on swap items only after the swap is officially declared open by the host at 11 am. This will take place after the brief welcome and talks at the beginning.

SWAP GUIDELINES

• Clothes brought to the swap MUST be clean, good quality and in good condition: not worn out, not faded, no pilling, not pongy or damaged. (Good quality also means something you would gift to a friend). Please be mindful and considerate of bringing items that other swappers will be happy to receive 😊.

• We can’t guarantee guests will find their sizes as it depends on what other guests bring. Accessories are included in the pool, so there will be something for everyone. We encourage ALL SIZES to participate in the swap. The swap is for all genders so we welcome clothing designed for male, female, adaptive and all body types.
  
  
• Items to bring: pants, skirts, tops, jumpers, coats, jumpsuits, shirts, shoes, bags, shorts, jackets, blazers, scarves, hats, dresses, sunglasses, jewellery. All these items can be retro, vintage, handmade or from quality medium to luxury brands.

• WHAT NOT TO BRING: we will not accept underwear, fast fashion, used pyjamas and overused workout gear. Please avoid bringing fast fashion items particularly from brands like Shein, Temu, Kmart, H&M, Target, Big W, Boohoo, Asos, Pretty Little Thing, Zara, etc.

This does not mean swap items have to be luxury, expensive or high-end items. Not at all! If you have amazing items you found in preloved places like op shops, vintage stores, markets, clothes swaps or even made yourself that you no longer need, we'd love to have these treasures in the swap. Swappers just want quality items no matter how much they cost or where they came from.

* PLEASE NOTE THAT ITEMS THAT DO NOT MEET THIS CRITERIA CANNOT BE ACCEPTED INTO THE SWAP.

This clothes swap is supported by City of Sydney Council. 

Clothes Swap & Style is an initiative of Eco Styles by Nina Gbor.