Wrexham’s “swop not shop” clothing exchange returns to town this weekend

Wrexham’s second ‘swop not shop” clothing exchange will take place in town this weekend.

Organised by the Wrexham Clothing Exchange, the swap session was set-up in response to the disposable nature of “fast fashion” and to encourage people to trade old clothes that they no longer use or wear for something else.

The inaugural October event saw over 125 swappers attend and over 700 garments exchanged.

Ahead of the next event at the Wrexham Enterprise Hub on Saturday, Wrexham Clothing Exchange founder, Sharon Rogers said there is already more than 1,000 items of stock ready to be swapped.

She said: “The first event was a tremendous success and was the first monthly clothing exchange in Wales and Wrexham.

“The minimum amount of CO2 it takes to manufacture a cotton garment is around 2kg, more if made of polyester. Thus the last event saved at least one and half tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere by people using the exchange rather than purchasing fast fashion items.”

The event has been praised by swappers, who have praised both the social aspect of the clothing exchange and the variety of clothes on offer.

Speaking about the event, swapper Yvonne Ankers said: “I loved that there’s such a mix of clothes to look through; things you might not normally consider straight away, and there really is something for all shapes and sizes.

“And getting something essentially for nothing is always a winner! Thanks to the organisers and volunteers, it was fabulous.”

Jo Dunbar, who also swapped clothes, said “I love the concept and that so many people brought things, so there was lots of choice.

“Love that you do one item for an item and you did a great job ‘vetting’ the clothing because everything I saw was a good standard.”

Volunteer Bobbi Cockcroft, added: “I got involved because I absolutely love clothes.

“I’ve always preferred good quality used items to poor quality new items that are usually made in sweat shops, by children younger than mine. I

“‘d not considered the impact on the environment but of course that quickly became a driving factor. I also love being me, I’m an individual and like to dress as such.

“The identikit displays on the high street are boring and do not inspire me. I met a load of really cool people, and that’s probably even better than the awesome new coat I got.”

The next clothing exchange will take place at the Wrexham Enterprise Hub at 12pm on Saturday 9th November. Entry to the event is £3.

Further information can be found on Facebook or Twitter  or by emailing the [email protected].