Clothes Swapping

'Swapping' is the word on everyone's lips at the moment as clothes swapping has become the hottest fashion trend this year. Clothes swapping websites and events bring together ethical shopping, bargain hunting and social networking, giving us the perfect opportunity to be 'beautiful on the outside, green on the inside.'

Over the past couple of years, there has been a surge of interest in ethical issues around shopping which is beginning to filter into consumer consciousness. According to statistics from the TRAID organisation (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development), consumers purchase over 2.15 million tonnes of new clothing and shoes every year in the UK, but in order to make way for the new, they are throwing away the old, with over 900,000 tonnes of clothing being thrown away and ending up in landfills each year in the UK alone.

The idea of recycling clothes in order to protect the environment is already catching on around the globe, and although clothes swapping (or 'swishing') insert link here parties have been taking place below the public radar for years, the idea really burst into the mainstream with the June 2007 launch of the first large-scale, user-friendly swap shop, Visa Swap.

The initiative was the brainchild of credit card company Visa and the international development charity TRAID. People were urged to drop off unwanted clothing and accessories at a site in central London, where a team valued their contributions and loaded a corresponding number of points onto a Visa Fashion Swap Card. Even celebrities got in on the act, with clothes being traded in by Naomi Campbell, Mischa Barton, Thandie Newton, and Helena Bonham-Carter, among others.

Maria Chenoweth-Casey of TRAID said “If this clothes swap stops someone, somewhere along the line, buying something they don't need, then that's got to be a good thing.”

Clothes swapping is also a great way to update your wardrobe with the latest trends, without having to spend a penny. UK based fashion stylist Bradley Taylor says "The importance of swapping is that you get the value of your item back, whereas if you sell you lose more than 50 percent of the initial retail value," he said. "Swapping is great as it encourages people to try new things with fashion, and experiment, and this is where the fun comes in. Also, there's an element of satisfaction in knowing your treasured designer handbag has now gone to one very appreciative owner who has in return sent you a fabulous bag of her own."

Clothes swapping is the perfect opportunity for guilt free disposable shopping. "There is a real feel-good factor to swapping" says Hannah, 24, a fashion student and swap devotee, who has been holding swaps with her friends and sisters for five years. "When you're a poor student and you go shopping, even in Primark, there's always the guilt that you shouldn't be spending on clothes you don't really need and which won't last. Not to mention thinking about the conditions the clothes were made in. With swapping, you're free from all of that."

'Swishing' the more aspirational name given to swap parties organised by Futerra, a "sustainability communications agency" employed by businesses wishing to stress their green credentials - is a totem of what Futerra's Lucy Shea calls "ecofabulousness". Futerra, says Shea, is full of women in their 20s and 30s who "are passionately committed to saving the planet, but don't want to do it in bad clothes". They are promoting Swishing as an example of ethical behaviour "which people would want to participate in anyway, even without a green motive. Some of the women who come to Swishing events are deeply passionate about dematerialising the economy; others have no idea what dematerialising the economy means."

With the increase in concern for the environment and ecologically sustainable shopping, combined with the desire to look good and save money, clothes swapping events and web sites are set to take the world by storm.