Swish yourself a whole new wardrobe
A phenomenal 900,000 tonnes of shoes and clothing are thrown away every year in the UK, according to Traid, the textile recycling charity. So why not recycle your clothes among your mates instead? Who’s to say that one woman’s fashion no no isn’t another woman’s yes yes? Plus you get spared the scary credit card bill thumping onto your doormat a few weeks down the line.
The term swishing - meaning clothes swapping - was coined by Lucy Shea, the strategy director of green PR firm Futerra, who began hosting swishing parties in 2007. There is still a helpful section on the Futerra website where you can download an invite and familiarize yourself with the rules (essentially, no cat-fighting - a swish is supposed to be a glamorous soiree celebrating fashion and looking fabulous, not a church jumble sale where elbows in the ribs are de rigueur.) Check out http://www.swishing.org/
BBC2 has joined the ever-growing army of swishers with a new show, Frock Exchange (Tuesdays, 8pm). Hosted by Twiggy with support from Lauren Laverne and Grazia style director Paula Reed, the show eggs up the fun and fashion side of swishing. The focus is squarely on transforming forgotten items in the back of wardrobe and recycling them on a new person. There’s also lots of advice on how to recycle your own clothes with the help of a sewing machine and a dash of creativity, and inevitably, there’s a guest appearance from a celebrity giving away a fancy designer item over which, however hideous, the crowd of punters in the audience must drool. The show also boasts its own terrific website with advice on how to throw your own frock exchange party: http://www.bbc.co.uk/thread/twiggysfrockexchange/
The programme is in association with Thread, an online magazine from the BBC where the emphasis is ‘fashion without victim’. The Thread blog outlines some excellent reasons why swishing is a good idea and why we should consider the clothes that we buy more carefully. http://octoberonline.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/thread-fashion-without-vic...
Let’s be honest for just a second. How often have you been seduced by a bargain at any number of high street stores, only to get home and realize that your ‘bargain’ was knocked up cheaply in Asia, probably dyed using chemicals that harm the environment and then transported to you by plane and lorry?
So if thrift shop chic ain’t your bag, why not consider ethical online alternatives to high street retailers such as Sandbag (http://www.sandbag.uk.com/) and No Sweat www.nosweat.org.uk? American Apparel (www.americanapparel.com) also has an increasing number of outlets in the UK and rivals Gap for basics such as Tshirts and jogging bottoms. The chain, which has a factory in LA, insists that it doesn’t use sweat shops.
And there’s no reason why swishing can’t be bloke-friendly too. While the girls squeal over shoes and accessories, there’s no reason why guys can’t swap Tshirts, ties or trainers. As long as it’s done over a pint of manly ale, of course.