Eco-friendly fashionistas cheer after Mid Sussex District Council’s clothes swapping event

Mid Sussex District Council held the event at St Richard’s Church Hall as part of the West Sussex Waste Partnership Tackling Textiles’ campaign. Residents were able to bring up to ten items of good quality unwanted clothing or accessories per person and exchange them for new items. There were 598 donations in total, which equates to 175.85 kilos of textiles potentially saved from household waste bins.

Councillor, Gary Marsh said: “Last year people in Mid Sussex threw nearly 405 tonnes of textiles in with the general rubbish, the majority of which could have been repaired, reused or recycled.”

The event provided advice on sustainable fashion, with ideas and information on how to re-use, repair and upcycle unwanted textiles and clothes rather than throwing them away.

Residents were also able to talk with West Sussex waste prevention advisors about what can or can’t be recycled.

Cllr Marsh shared how swapping clothes with others is a great way to freshen up your wardrobe, protect the environment, save money and have a lot of fun.

The West Sussex waste prevention advisors ran practical workshops and demonstrations to share ideas on how old textiles can be reused or upcycled.

Sussex Crafts and Mid Sussex District Council ran textile craft activities for children, such as making sock puppets from old solo socks.

“Our free swishing event enabled local people to exchange unwanted items of clothing for something different and I’m delighted so many people embraced the idea,” Cllr Marsh added.