SWAP! Event is the largest clothing exchange event in Finland, where thousands of people can swap their clothes, shoes, and accessories without spending money. The event is organized by Pirkanmaa Waste Management Company in cooperation with EcoFellows and Tampere Hall. The aim of the event is to get unwanted clothes into the hands of new owners, while avoiding the need to buy new clothes.
This year marks the fourth time the event is being organized, and it is growing in popularity year after year among the people of Tampere. The event will take place on Saturday 19 October at Tampere Hall.
How does it work?
People bring their clothes to the event and, in exchange, they receive the same number of SWAP! vouchers and an access to the changing area for necessary purchases. Clothes will also be accepted at pre-collections, which will take place in September and on the Friday before the event.
As the aim is to promote sustainable clothing consumption, the event will not accept ultrafast fashion. The number of clothes that can be swapped is also limited to a maximum of ten items to reduce hoarding. To make the event open to everyone, each participant will receive three swap vouchers, even if they do not bring any clothes to donate. Customers pay for their finds with vouchers – one piece of clothing, accessory, or pair of shoes costs one SWAP! voucher.
The Repair Café
Although the heart of the event is clothes swapping, there are also other activities on offer. For example, the repair café in the event area offers advice on sustainable clothing care and repair. This is provided by the TREASoURcE and CARE projects from EcoFellows in collaboration with the local Martha association, Taito Pirkanmaa and Sustinare. At the repair café, people can practice mending their own broken clothes, learn how to use the repair services available, and get tips on how to make clothes trendy. The repair café is a new concept and is being organized for the first time this year. Repairing increases the value of garments and reduces discarding and buying new clothes.
Reducing textile waste
The SWAP! event processes around 5,000 kg of Pirkanmaa residents’ unwanted, good-quality clothes every year. All leftover clothes from the event will be directed through Nextiili, which acts as a sorting partner. Clothes are sorted primarily for charity and secondarily for textile fiber collection or energy recovery.
Visit the event website for more information.
SWAP! Clothing Swap Event
Time: Sat 19.10.2024
Place: Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55, Tampere FINLAND
Find more events here.
Photo: Sanni Kouhi