MSE's first ever Eco-MoneySaving charity clothes swap

On Thursday 5^th September, an idea I’d had for months finally crystallised into the first ever MSE clothes swap. Did you know, according to research from Oxfam, each week 11 million garments end up in landfill? Plus, the production of new clothes in one month is said to emit more greenhouse gases than flying around the globe 900 times? 

As there’s no ‘Planet B’, staff across three different floors at MSE Towers came together and donated well over 100 items of clothing, shoes, bags and more to the swap. Special thanks go to office manager Ellie and the Deals team, particularly MSE Oli and MSE Becky for not only helping to collect the donations from the Monday to Wednesday, but for donating a lot themselves as well.

How does a clothes swap work?

The rules were simple: if you brought in, say, five items you could take up to five items away ‘free’ - or more in exchange for a cash donation to charity. If you didn't bring anything to swap, you could take what you liked, again for a cash donation. Finally, even if you didn't want clothes you could donate to charity for one of my vegan mocha chocolate cupcakes!

How did it go?

The swap was well attended (the above photo being the calm before the storm), with many happy swappers finding clothes to give a new home – saving money as well as helping the environment. We also raised a further £30+ in donations for The Prince’s Trust, as well as delivering three large bags of clothes to three different charities so far. There’s still a box of clothes left which has yet to be donated, but I’m hopeful we can help at least six different charities, which is something to be proud of.

Not a bad return for sending a few emails to see if it would be possible, plus the slightly awkward task of bringing in a clothes rail on the train (then redistributing clothes left over). Usually in a swap, participants take clothes back that they've brought so the organiser doesn't have to work out where to take them - but I was happy to do this for our swap, being the kind of Eco-MoneySaver I think we should all strive to be.

How can I set up my own swap?

If you're looking to set up a clothes swap of your own, check sites such as Swishing, Get Swishing and Love Your Clothes for help and inspiration in how to set up a swap, or what to do with clothes you can't swap. Also, check our eBay selling guide for help with selling any unwanted or leftover clothes from your swap on eBay (giving the funds to charity, of course), as well as MSE Jenny's Charity Shop Tricks blog for more tips on buying second-hand.