Clothes swap is a big hit for Northfield Ecocentre

• Feb. 26 by Kellie Maddox (1)

Clothes recycling at Northfield Ecocentre has proven that getting ‘new’ clothes can be friendly to the environment and your purse.

The centre held its first ‘clothes swap’ on Thursday evening (February 25), with local residents and volunteers recycling their unwanted items for ‘new’ pieces donated by others.

Organisers, Nell Osborne and Trudy Gallagher were surprised that the first of such events was so popular.

“The rules have disintegrated – we told people to bring one or two items to swap but everyone has brought bags full!”

There was a period of browsing for visitors to look at the clothes before trying items on and choosing which to swap.

Why clothes swapping?

Clothes swapping or ’swishing’ has become popular in recent years and many see it as a eco-friendly way to update your wardrobe without spending money and creating waste.

Nell, who volunteers at the centre, said:

“Clothes are so cheap these days from stores like Primark and H&M; you often buy something and never wear it.

We encourage people to reduce and recycle as many things a possible so we thought a clothes swap would be a good idea.”

Trudy added:

“Its fun as well – today’s swap is for women only but we’re hoping to open future events to men and children too.”

Any clothes left ‘unswapped’ will be donated to local charity shops in Northfield.

The centre has recently launched two new groups; family hour and gardening as well as running sewing and craft workshops each week and offering evening talks on environmental concerns.

Visit Northfield Ecocentre’s website for details of upcoming events.