Swap Shop

This week is our very own Sustainability Week. To kick us off in a true #MotivationalMonday style we have… ‘My Old Monday’ To get involved staff have been encouraged to drop off their unwanted treasure and hunt through someone else’s looking for something to take home instead. Everything is welcome for trading; old clothes, books, household items – as the message of the day is:

SWAP DON’T SHOP

It is a great way to sustainably get new clothes (and other items) while saving resources and money. And don’t worry, anything that isn’t swapped will be taken to a local charity shop.

Many people do not realise that fashion is the second most pollutant industry in the world behind the oil industry.

Did you know?

• An estimated £140 million worth (350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year.
• 95% of the clothes going to landfill could be recycled
• The average UK household owns around £4,000 worth of clothes – but around 30% of clothing in the average wardrobe has not been worn for at least a year
• In extending the average life of clothes by just three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10% reduction in each of the carbon, water and waste footprints. 

(Facts and figures from WRAP website)

But it’s not all doom and gloom. These leading fashion brands are working hard to become more sustainable. So you can rest well and sleep easy with them:

• H&M
• Zara
• Adidas
• Levi
• Nike
• Monsoon
• Fat Face
• New Look
• Marks and Spencer

Read more about how the fashion industry is becoming more sustainable in our previous blog entry about sustainable fashion.  

And in the meantime, I’m off to the swap-shop to pick up some goodies!