Advocates for sustainability in the fashion industry GFX and West London Waste Authority (WLWA) have joined forces to host a London clothes swap alongside a number of pop-up talks, to raise awareness of one of the most polluting industries in the world – textiles.

If everyone wore their clothes more, we could reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by 20-30%. To put things into perspective – most people wear their clothing for an average of 7 days, when the average should be three years.

Through this swap, UK households can save up to £1000, the value of 1/3 of the clothes in their closets that they don’t wear, swapping these unwanted items for clothes they will actually wear – saving them money, while also making an impactful change on the world.

10:00 - 12:00 - Clothes Drop Off

The day will begin with individuals dropping off up-to 5 items of clothing at the V&A clothes swap. Participants will be given one token per item given, to be used later at the clothes swap. Clothing will be evaluated by the guidelines stated below, and only eligible towards the clothes swap if they are deemed acceptable.

12:00 - 13:30 – Talks + Swap

Come and listen to some of the biggest and most influential leaders in sustainability including: Fashion Revolution, C&A Foundation, GFX, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, WLWA, Common Objective, Fashion 4 Change, Avery Dennison, Traid, Mindrheo...

Please note: admission to the swap for general public who have attended talks will be from 14:30.

15:00 - 17:15 – Swap

Clothes that have been accepted for the swap will be set up nicely for participants to browse, try on and pick out what clothing they want to give a second life. There will be stock pieces from Arcadia brands, a number of pieces that have been repurposed by Graduate Fashion week, as well as one bespoke piece created by Felder+ Felder, to be won by a lucky participant.

WHAT TO SWAP

Swapping works best when there is a high standard of quality ensuring everyone takes home something they're happy with. With this in mind, we have some quality control standards in place for all our events.*

• Items should be clean, folded or pressed
• Items should be of good quality with a long potential lifespan
• Items should be likely to be valued by others – ask yourself, would I be happy to give this item to a friend?
• Items should be free of faults or with minor faults that are easy to repair (for example, a missing button)
• Please take extra care with garments made or wool, or fur or feather trims which may be attractive to museum insect pests in particular clothes moths and carpet beetle

The best items to swap are good quality garments that you once loved but are no longer your favourites or perhaps no longer fit you perfectly. This way, you’re giving them a second life with someone new who will treasure them. Whatever you swap, please make sure to are emotionally detached from the item, as once it has been swapped you cannot change your mind, and any items left over (events only) go to charity.

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