Out With The Old and In With The New at Family Clothes Swap

15 September 2023

By Jasmin Williams

Want to save some money while also switching up your wardrobe? Look no further than the Family Clothes Swap, hosted by The Clothing Exchange. The Family Clothes Swap is part of the North Sydney Living Futures Sustainability Festival and ultimately aims to reduce the amount of waste and clothing sent to landfills by rehoming instead of disposing.

To get involved, all you need to do is bring six pre-washed quality items to swap. This can include women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, as well as accessories that are in good condition. All items will be screened to ensure a fair swap for everyone involved. 

For each item brought to the swap, customers will receive a token in exchange. This is redeemed later in the day to ‘purchase’ other people’s swapped items and check out. Once everyone has checked in and dropped off their swaps, the Clothing Exchange team sorts through the assortment of items and will prep them for the exchange. 

Then once all the garments have been sorted and prepared, the swap will commence. If you are new to the Family Clothes Swap, there will also be a ‘rules of engagement’ introduction for first-time swappers. 

Once everyone has been briefed, swappers may enter the shop area and start ‘shopping’ to select their new pieces. When six items have been selected, they will be checked out using the tokens as currency. Customers are then free to go home and enjoy their new pieces. 

It is a great initiative targeting overconsumption and reducing wastefulness. According to a report by the Australian Fashion Council, Australia is one of the highest consumers of textiles per capita in the world. The average Australian will purchase 56 new items each year, which is equivalent to almost 15kg of clothing. 

On the flip side, around 260,000 tonnes of clothing reaches landfill each year, which amounts to around 10kg per person. The swap will be taking place in Tunnel One at the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability and will run between 1:20 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. 

More information about the swap can be found on the Facebook page, and on the Humanitix website.