Revitalise yours and your member’s closet in a climate-friendly way by organising a clothes swap! A “clothes swapping day” is a fun and social activity that provides tangible environmental benefits. The garments that you are tired of or that no longer fit can be great for someone else. The life of the clothes will be extended and we contribute to a better environment. This is a fun event you can do with your local network for members only or have it open also for the general public. Read more about that in the step by step manual below.
About
This event is designed to create a platform for alumni to meet while engaging in an environmental friendly activity. Many people shop for clothes despite overflowing closets. The purpose of a clothes swapping day is to encourage people to shop less and throw out fewer garments, to learn about the manufacturing process and raw materials, to exchange information about sustainable fashion, inspired by the sustainable lifestyle Sweden would like to promote. The setup is for people to bring in clothes they no longer want to keep, and leave with clothes that are new and exciting to them. This toolkit in based on a concept developed by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (Naturskyddsföreningen). All necessary instructions are to be found in the step by step manual and you apply by filling out the application form.
Related Toolkits:
Instructions and manuals
Step by step manual (further down on this page)
Post Event Reporting Instructions
Building blocks
Poster
Poster text in Word for translation
Folder
Folder text in Word for translation
Ticket badges
Ticket badges text in Word for translation
Signs for drop-off and pick-up stations
Signs for drop-off and pick-up English PDF (text-based)
Signs for drop-off and pick-up English PDF (image-based)
Signs text in Word for translation
Step by step manual
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- Find a good venue with lots of space where you have access to (or can bring) hanging brackets, mirrors and some sort of changing room where people can try on the clothes.
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- Reach out to the Swedish embassy and let them know about your event.
- Contact local partners that might be willing to collaborate with you. It can be a sustainability
clothes brand or a secondhand shop or environmental organisation or
ecological café that can provide snacks or fika. - Set a date and time. Make sure you can send in the application for funding at least five weeks ahead of your activity.
- Create a page for your event so that people can register. We suggest you use
confetti.events or a similar service. You can also use Facebook event or Google forms or any other service that you find suitable. - Post your event in the Sweden Alumni Activity Calendar.
- Send invitations to your members. If you need help with reaching out to new members, get in touch with SI who can help sending an email to their contacts.
- Consider organising some sort of fika or snacks to have available to make the event more social.
- Gather some clothes beforehand from the organising team and maybe family members or maybe take help from a local secondhand shop or similar. It’s important to have a base of clothes to start with. It may be wise to have people drop off clothes ahead of time (for example in the morning or even the week before), to give you time to arrange clothes and then have an opening when clothes are up for grabs. When people leave a piece of clothing they get a ticket that can later be traded for another piece when they visit the actual event.
- On the day for the event: prepare the space by setting up tables and hangers
for displaying the clothes. Remember to provide two additional tables, one
for drop off and one for pick up. Provide at least one mirror and consider
having a fitting room (a corner behind screens or curtains). - Have your event!
- Send in the report to SI, not more than two weeks after the event.
- Donate any garments that are left at the end of the day to a local secondhand store or to a non-profit organisation.
Other ideas that can help lift your event:
-Consider inviting a local designer to hold a DIY workshop. The designer can
instruct and give practical help to people who want to ‘up-cycle’ old clothes
(amend for size and style).
-Arrange a second-hand fashion show or a fashion show with Swedish eco
fashion.
-Arrange a seminar on sustainability, corporate social responsibility and
fashion in relation to your clothes swap.
How to apply
Submit the Application Form to apply for this event.
How to report
Here you find the Reporting Instructions.
Contact
For more information, contact alumni@si.se.