Sustainability and socialising at swap shop
The event runs from 5-9.30pm at Doon community centre this Saturday, February 8th
A SWAP shop will take place in Doon community centre this Saturday February 8th.
A new concept to many, a swap shop is an opportunity to declutter your wardrobe and swap your clothes and accessories for other pre-loved items. It is to keep perfectly good clothes in circulation and to raise awareness about the effect of over consumption of clothes and the impact of fast fashion on landfills.
The event runs from 5-9.30pm and is open to all who wish to come together as a community and reduce the harm fast fashion has on the globe.
This swap shop will benefit three charity organisations, with the €10 entrance fee being donated to Milford Hospice, and all clothes remaining after the event being donated to both St. Vincent De Paul and Novas.
The organiser, Anne O’Brien, has always had an interest in fashion, and is a regular thrifter of pre-loved and vintage clothes, and encourages others to do the same.
Speaking passionately about the environmental impact of fast fashion waste, Anne explained how “Someone has to do something”, and hopes that this event is the first step of many towards a more conscious outlook on our overconsumption of clothes. “We all have too much,” said Anne.
The event is as much about reconnecting as a community as it is about the great causes it is supporting however, and with the locality coming together to organise the venue, music, food and drinks, as well as local seamstresses and others working in the fashion industry due to attend the night to give advice about alterations and styling to the participants, it is an opportunity for socialisation as well as to bring the community closer together.
Anne encourages all to “Get those clothes out from the back of the wardrobe,” to swap with friends and strangers and to allow social gatherings to become as integral to community life as before the pandemic.
The hope is that events such as this will catch on, for more than just fashion, to reduce the amount of waste we produce and discard carelessly.
More information about the event can be found here.