SWAPPING NOT SHOPPING
BELLBRAE Hall will be taken over by clothing and accessories this weekend as two Geelong business owners work to reduce the fashion industry’s environmental footprint.
Fashion entrepreneurs Huong Young and Nicole Urbanski are hosting a clothing swap on Sunday to encourage people to combat their wardrobe fatigue by swapping clothing instead buying brand new items.
Ms Young, who owns DHY Design Fashion & Upcycling in Torquay, said she had joined forces with Ms Ubanski who owns Urban Upcycle in Geelong to bring the idea to fruition.
“Because I own a fashion recycling business, I’m all about the environment,” she said. “The clothing swap was an idea to get people thinking and aware about fashion waste.”
Ms Young said because people were constantly buying new clothing, an enormous amount of it ended up in Australian landfill.
“Because it’s so cheap at the moment, it’s easy for people to toss clothes away and buy new ones,” she said.
“The clothing swap is really big in Germany and in the United States so we thought, why not try it here?”
The event will be children friendly with craft tables to entertain the kids while mums are swapping their unwanted fashion items and raffle with great prizes from both businesses at the end. Swap Don’t Shop will be held at Bellbrae Hall on Sunday, 11am-1pm for sizes XS to M and 2-4pm for sizes L and up; $15 to attend.