Lets all 'Swap' to make Sustainable Fashion statement
May 16th , 2023 | Stuti Jain
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Out of Fashion, inside my closet
Every time I cleaned my closet, I would be left with tons of clothes that I had not worn for years or had no intention of wearing. Being an ex-shopaholic, a lawyer and a new mother, either my branded clothes were out of style, would not fit me, or had been repeated too many times (count 4 times).
It was a dilemma each time to get rid of these clothes as donating/ passing them over did not mean they were actually being utilized; in fact, maybe they were being dumped in landfills. Moreover, it also meant wasting all that money spent on buying them & the worst of all, still ‘not having anything to wear’ for the next occasion.
Swap collection with point system
To break this vicious circle and to help other women with the same, in January 2020, I started an experiment among my family and friends. I encouraged them to bring their preloved, branded clothes and swap them for points. These points could be redeemed for other preloved clothes in the ever-growing “swap” collection. The concept was a hit and our Thrift Store – “Swap Fashions” was born. However, Covid stopped all operations in March for a good 8 months. This brought us a new set of opportunities and challenges as we utilised this time to set up our website which brought our venture to a national audience.
Brand swap with quality control in place
At Swap Fashions, women can sell/ shop/ swap preloved branded western wear clothes. We currently offer a wide selection of dresses, jumpsuits, tops, bottoms, activewear and seasonal wear and a host of popular international brands including Zara, H&M, Mango, Armani Exchange, Michael Kors, Topshop, Kate Spade and Next. We also proudly feature Indian Brands including AND by Anita Dongre, Label by Ritu Kumar, Fish Fry by Manish Arora, etc all at over 70% off the original MRP. Every item listed by us has passed our rigorous quality checks, pertaining to brand, quality and condition, and is then washed and sanitised before it is offered for sale to our customers
Sustainable alternative to shopping
At Swap Fashions, our aim is to provide a ONE-STOP solution for excess clothing consumption and wastage in society. By allowing swapping, selling, donating, upcycling and thrifting of pre-owned fashion, we give a chance to every woman to remain fashionable without hurting the environment. In achieving so, the challenges are bigger but so are our dreams. It's a long, lonely road with too many curves; and it is one that not everyone can undertake. Here’s to creating a sustainable alternative to shopping while taking the long, scenic route.
You can know more about Stuti Jain or about Swap Fashions Click here
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