LOANHOOD - Barking & Dagenham Clothes Swap

LOANHOOD hosts a clothes swap in partnership with East London Waste Authority (ELWA) and Barking & Dagenham Council
About this Event

CLOTHES SWAP

Clothes swaps are an opportunity to circulate clothes and accessories with other members of your community.

350,000 tonnes, that’s around £140 million worth of used but still wearable clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year and we want to prevent that from happening so bring your clothes along and swap for something new to you. Only together can we make a difference.

Location: Sew London Project, Unit 33, The Vicarage Field Shopping Centre, Ripple Rd, London, Barking IG11 8DH

HOW IT WORKS

Please bring no more than 5 items of clothing, accessories and/or footwear freshly cleaned * and ready to go on the racks. We accept all shapes and sizes including children's clothing.

We offer a token system for customers who bring no more than 5 items. Items will be categorised into relevant tiers (1 token under £50, 2 tokens over £50) based on the type, brand, RRP and condition. This will dictate how many tokens you can use to shop for new items. 2 token items will have a yellow sticker assigned to them.

This is a community driven swap where we accept items from high street up to high end.

“Instead of buying new clothes, I wait to see what I can get at the next swap. Sometimes I get something to try that's a very different style to normal... After all, if I decide I don't like it, I can always swap it again! “

DROP 11:30- 15:00

Rolling drop and swap - You will be able to drop and swap all day from Midday until 3:30pm.

We open the doors for drop only at 11:30am, this gives us chance to populate the shop before we officially open the doors for swapping at 12:00pm.

Bring up to 5 items to trade for tokens. Items will be assessed by the Swap Shop Assistants on arrival and displayed on the rails. Once the items are traded for tokens they go straight onto the shop floor, so make sure you are 100% sure before you pass them over.

SWAP

12:00- 15:30

Browse the rails and use your token currency to exchange for new preloved items. You can only swap if you have dropped items during the drop period.

If you don't use all your tokens you can save and bring to the next clothes swap.

“I save things for swaps which I would otherwise take to charity / post on Vinted. These are honestly incredible events! “

***LAST DROP 15:00***

WHAT TO BRING

Something you once valued or will be valued by someone else. Ask yourself - would you give this to a friend? We can't accept poor quality items at our swaps so please keep this in mind.

• Clean and of good quality
• Free of faults or minor repairs
• No underwear, swimwear, socks, tights, toys & bric-a-brac
• All items will be assessed using LOANHOOD ‘Swap-Shop Item Guide’ by our Swap Shop Assistants.

Please note* We will not be accepting shoes unless unworn at our swap shops.

***SWAP CLOSES 15:30 sharp***

TOKEN CURRENCY

1 Token – preloved under £50

2 Tokens - preloved over £50 & great condition (keep an eye out for the yellow stickers)

Free Repair Workshop

Kemi Oloyede will be setting up a station for you to learn how to repair and mend items. Bring something from your wardrobe, or learn to adjust something from the swap, Kemi will be on hand to help you learn those handy sewing skills!

A little about Kemi...

Kemi Oloyede is the founder of Sew London Project, a creative social enterprise that uses sewing, repair and upcycling to bring people together, reduce textile waste and promote sustainable living. With over 25 years’ experience Kemi is passionate about sharing practical skills that build confidence, creativity and community connection.

For as long as she can remember, Kemi has loved repurposing and upcycling textiles and garments, believing that clothing should be repaired, reused and valued rather than thrown away. Through Sew London Project, she delivers sewing workshops, creative community projects, repair sessions and sustainable fashion activities for young people and adults.

For the past five years, Kemi has also been an active member of ELWA Repair Cafés, supporting local communities to repair clothing and textiles while encouraging more sustainable habits and reducing waste.

The Sew London Project Repair Creative repurpose hub offers a welcoming space where people can learn simple repair skills, extend the life of their clothes, save money and connect with others in the community through creativity and sustainability, but we have also collaborated with fixing factory who come into my space twice week to repair electronics and pass repair skills on to the local community.

RULES

Please be considerate of your fellow swappers and swap shop assistants

You can only hold onto 5 items at any one time, which means

❤️ Please don't put items in a corner/pile up whilst you browse as these items

❤️ Please don't put multiple items in your bag

❤️ If you don't want it, please put them back on the rail for others to swap

❤️ No large bags accepted in the swap

Please give our Swap Shop Assistants space as they sort through items - clothing must be taken from rails, not from the sorting area.

Finally, please treat your fellow swappers with respect

TERMS & CONDITIONS

DROP - The value of each items will be assigned by the Swap Shop Assistants and unchangeable after donation.

SWAP - You can only swap if you bring items to exchange.

SHOP -We can refuse any items brought to the event that do not meet the criteria of the token system. We appreciate your honesty. Please refrain from taking any garments you have not officially swapped.

LOANHOOD is the fashion community made for people who want to wear new stuff without buying new. Done with waiting for a sustainable change to happen, its two female co-founders came together to make it happen.

It’s not just clothes LOANHOOD like to share. We’ve got a lot of knowledge about the fashion industry and sustainability. We want to get everyone hyped up on slowing down fast fashion.

DISCLAIMER

We take no responsibility for garments donated and swapped. Please bring items you are happy to swap and emotionally detached from. You may not find items of the same quality as the ones you bring. Once you have donated an item you will not be able to change your mind after token exchange. LOANHOOD accept no liability for any claim or loss resulting from any transaction taking place at the swapping event. All garments remaining after the event will be donated to local charities.

PRIVACY NOTICE

This event is a collaboration between LOANHOOD and East London Waste Authority (ELWA). By booking a ticket, you consent to your email address being shared with both organisations, which may be used to contact you for follow-up (e.g. to sharing new events or requesting further feedback). You can opt out any time by emailing [email protected].uk / or [email protected]