Would you like to go to a clothes swap in Cork?
Start your own clothes swap event with Joy O'Leary's top tips.
Joy O’Leary’s clothes swap started with a post on one of her social media accounts and a meeting in a local park with some friends in the summer of 2021.
“I was praying it wouldn’t rain,” she recalls, “and it didn’t thankfully. Two friends showed up, we swapped a few clothes and we put some pics on social media. People saw that it was happening and that gave it some credibility. So when I did it again the following month about fifty people turned up.” Two years on and with over a dozen volunteers on board, the Cork Clothes Swap has gone from strength to strength. The idea for the swap came to the 28-year-old while she was studying Graphic Design at university in Southampton.
“There was a monthly clothes swap there which was a great way to meet people and it meant I didn't need to buy clothes because I was always swapping,” says the Kerry Pike native. I felt Cork needed a regular swap. I had seen a few pop-ups but nothing consistent and I was driven by wanting to do something for the environment.” After those initial outdoor meetings, and faced with the prospect of an Irish winter, Joy approached several venues with the idea of taking her event indoors. After several rejections, Rebel Reads decided to give Joy’s project a shot.
“It’s probably one of the reasons it’s taken off,” says Joy. “It’s a community-based bookshop and space and they really encourage events like this. It has grown from there.” For the most part, swappers at Joy’s events are women in their early twenties but the age range varies and she is always on the lookout for new swappers, including men.
“We want to keep growing. We are trying to encourage people to set up other clothes swaps. We have a limited number of volunteers, so we can’t add more than two dates to our calendar but we are happy to promote other clothes swaps. We want to encourage schools, parents and kids swaps and we also help people to fix their clothes. We have workshops to show people how to sow, mend and modify things they might have considered dumping. We just want to give people as much information and encouragement about loving their clothes and making them last longer.” 30-year-old Aisling Byrne from Dublin is driven by a similar desire.
“The entire fashion industry needs to change together,” she says. “For us, clothes should be better quality and people should be treated fairly. We can still consume, but just make sure we do it after that first purchase. We need to keep circulating those second-hand clothes for longer which drives down first-time demand but still generates value. That’s how we help.” Aisling is the founder and CEO of NUW, an online app that saw her feature earlier this year in Forbes' annual ‘30 under 30’ list of entrepreneurs to look out for.
Though she is currently based in Malahide in Dublin, she is set to take off for the United States where the app has just launched.
Though tricky to design, NUW is very simple. The user simply uploads an item of clothing for which, depending on the desirability of the item, you get either a silver or gold coin. You then use that coin to request an item of similar value from someone else and pay 0.99 cents plus shipping.
“Essentially what we are doing is taking the price off clothes,” says Aisling. “That is the number one barrier to those clothes getting resold, especially high street and fast fashion.” NUW has come a long way since it first opened as a pop-up clothes swap in the well-known Wigwam Café on Dublin’s Abbey Street. Though it hasn't all been plain sailing. Just before COVID, Aisling set up an online store where students could borrow suits, gowns and dresses for the various third-level balls and events across the country. The idea was a great success but the pandemic had other ideas. It was a setback but one that Aisling, like all good entrepreneurs, used as an inspiration to get up and go again.
“I went back to the roots of the swap shop in Abbey Street, built out a digital version of what we had done and it just really took off,” she says. “People wanted to be able to give the clothes in their wardrobe a new lease of life by giving them away and in return get more clothes. That’s the essential premise of the app. It’s sustainable but affordable and therefore inclusive.” It’s also extremely popular. Last month, ten thousand items were uploaded to the site and given the take-up rate is twenty-five per cent in less than twenty-four hours, it is evidently rather busy.
“People seem to love it,” says Aisling. “We are growing and it’s been really exciting.” For Joy, the most important part of the journey is probably the beginning.
“Just start and it will grow,” she says. “It’s about building community. Sometimes when there is a community issue we expect the government to come in or big corporations to come in, put the money down and do the work but I think we can self-organise in a positive way and connect with other groups who are trying to do their bit too.”
- Wednesday 5th At Rebel Reads Bookshop 7-8pm
- Saturday 8th At St. Peter’s 11-1pm
- Sunday 16th (kids swap) At The Black Market 11-11.45am (drop-off) 12-1.30 (swap)
You can swap clothes anywhere; in your living room, the park, your kids school, the local community centre, at work or in a cafe. The list is endless. Don’t let the first step hold you back. Find a free space accessible to you and get started.
Be sure you have some clothes to begin with. They could be your own or you could ask people to drop off clothes in advance. Setting up a rail works best, but if you don’t have one, just use what you have. We started off with just tables, then got creative with hanging branches from the ceiling before we invested in durable rails.
Tell your friends and family, make a poster, start a social media account and ask people to spread the word. We found social media to be the best method for promoting our swap!
Decide in advance how your swap will work. Will you charge an entry fee? Will you organise a drop-off time? How many items can people donate and take home? What will you accept and not accept? We host our events for free but suggest a donation. We allow people to bring clothes at any time during the event and we accept five items. We don't accept underwear, swimwear, sleepwear, shoes, accessories or bags. Remember to state clothes need to be cleaned in advance.
You are not the first person to want to set up a swap. Get your friends to help out at the beginning, and then maybe recruit some volunteers. Don't be shy about reaching out to us at Cork Clothes Swap for advice.
We offer guidance on how to organise a successful clothes swap. Send us an email or DM us.
- Follow on Instagram corkclothesswap
- cork.clothes.swap@gmail.com
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