{"id":2189,"date":"2022-06-21T13:51:25","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T03:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/?p=2189"},"modified":"2022-06-22T16:19:49","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T06:19:49","slug":"the-clothing-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/curious\/the-clothing-exchange","title":{"rendered":"The clothing exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that fast fashion is (quite literally) trashing the planet. In Australia alone, 15 tonnes of unwanted clothes and textile waste is dumped every 10 minutes. That\u2019s 800,000 tonnes every year. And only seven per cent of this waste gets recycled \u2014 the rest goes to landfill where, depending on the fabric, it can take hundreds of years to decompose. The fashion industry in its current state is one of the highest-polluting industries globally, responsible for 10 per cent of global carbon emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast fashion has seen the prices and quality of clothing plummet, while more textiles than ever are being made to keep up with current trends. Today\u2019s consumers are buying 60 per cent more clothing and keeping them for half as long as we did 15 years ago. The average person wears only 40 per cent of their clothes \u2014 just think about how many pieces in your wardrobe go unworn. And of the clothes we donate to charities and thrift stores, only 15 per cent are resold for wear \u2014 the rest are sold as rags, sent to landfill or shipped overseas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There has been a lot of debate around the ethics and gentrification of thrift shopping. Second-hand stores such as the St Vincent de Paul Society and The Salvation Army started to provide affordable clothing and goods for lower socio-economic consumers and have now become a go-to for avid thrift-shoppers looking to make a quick buck. In recent years, with the retro revival and now the rise of Y2K fashion, thrift stores are being raided by eager fashionistas looking to make a profit on their haul. These thrifted pieces are resold for a profit on platforms such as Facebook Marketplace, Depop and Poshmark.<\/span><\/p>\n

To help combat the ever-growing sustainability and ethical issues that come with fashion, a new wave of clothing exchanges and consignment stores have cropped up both online and IRL. These clothing exchange stores offer a more ethical solution to thrift stores, allowing customers to sell, swap and buy pre-loved garments.<\/span><\/p>\n

SWOP, one of Australia\u2019s most popular clothing exchanges, was launched in 2013 in Brisbane and has since added two more brick-and-mortar locations in Sydney and Melbourne. Co-founders Brigid Gordon and Bethany Wicks were inspired by the clothing exchange culture of North America in their travels and knew they had to bring this experience to Australia. Rather than swapping with friends or attending fashion marketplaces where the offering is a bit of a mixed barrel when it comes to brands and quality, SWOP operates as a consignment-inspired pre-loved store.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSWOP is different to your traditional consignment store in that we offer cash or store credit on the spot for items that reach our criteria. Our standards are high, meaning we only accept premium items that will be loved by their new owners for many years to come,\u201d explains Bec Anderson, manager of SWOP\u2019s Newtown store.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The exchange store only accepts brands that align with their values (designer, vintage, local, sustainable and\/or handmade) \u2014 think Acne, Issey Miyake and Paloma Wool \u2014 and all pieces are individually inspected to guarantee quality, authenticity and general wearability so customers can shop mid- to high-end garments with peace of mind. \u201cFast fashion brands are a no-go, which means SWOP is full of fantastic quality items that you\u2019ll treasure for years,\u201d says Bec.<\/span><\/p>\n

The SWOP process is quite simple: customers looking to sell their preloved garments can visit a SWOP store or send items in and are then made an offer of 30 per cent cash or 50 per cent store credit on the value of their items. While the store has trending fashion aplenty, their focus remains on timeless, vintage and staple pieces to enhance the modern fashionista\u2019s wardrobe.<\/span><\/p>\n

And for the pieces that don\u2019t quite make the cut, Local Opy, SWOP\u2019s not-for-profit op shop in Brisbane, awaits. The enterprise donates 100 per cent of profits to charity, creating a more affordable space for those looking to grab a trendy bargain. Local Opy donates to a different local charity every three months, and in 2021 donated more than $13,500 to charities like Micah Projects, WIRES Wildlife Rescue and Women\u2019s House Shelta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The fast fashion cure<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost impossible to escape fast fashion brands, and those of us who have fallen prey to an end-of-season or Black Friday sale can attest to the fact that shopping sustainably on a budget while trying to stay on trend isn\u2019t always easy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something special about curating your own personal style over time, and personal style is hard to achieve when you\u2019re relying on mass market products,\u201d says Bec. \u201cFast fashion and social media have created a culture of trend hyper-saturation and it\u2019s literally impossible to keep up. Be patient, hunt for gold and treat your clothes like treasure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter: Circolare Club, an online clothing swap run solely by founder Hannah Kingsmill. Although not from a professional fashion background, Hannah always had a penchant for style and passion for sustainability. During lockdown, while her friends were clearing out their wardrobes, she noticed many of them were discarding items that had never been worn. And so Circolare Club was born.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people find sustainable fashion a bit intimidating,\u201d says Hannah. \u201cEither it is too expensive, not their style, or sifting through racks at op-shops isn\u2019t their thing. So at its core I knew I wanted to create something that made sustainable fashion really easy, accessible and fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While SWOP offers a more curated collection, Circolare Club is a more affordable entryway into the circular fashion economy. Customers purchase one of three swap packs, fill out a fit style questionnaire (including sizes, measurements, likes and dislikes, style influences and social media links to capture your full vibe), send the designated number of garments in and receive a personalised mystery bundle of preloved pieces \u2014 it\u2019s essentially a styling service and wardrobe revamp in one fun package.<\/span><\/p>\n

Circolare Club offers three different tiers for swapping:<\/span><\/p>\n