On the 19th March Southampton Swap Shop returned to the Cube. Every year hundreds of students and staff donate unwanted clothes, shoes and accessories, swapping them for new (to them!) items at Swap Shop. This time over 450 items of men’s, women’s and children’s clothes and accessories (weighing a grand total of 140 kg) were saved from languishing unworn in our wardrobes. Not wanting to exclude those who have nothing to donate, items can be bought for the bargain price of just £1.00, with all the money donated to SUSU RAG. A grand total of £55.00 was raised this time – pretty good when fundraising isn’t the main aim of the event. All items unclaimed by the end of the event were donated to BHF to sell in their Southampton charity shops.
This time we were joined by Utensale, a new student-led social enterprise challenging the culture of throwaway-consumerism by taking donations of utensils and kitchen items, reselling them at student prices. These are just a few of the ways that we’re trying to tackle over-consumption and rescuing perfectly good second-hand items from landfill.
What’s next?
We’re making plans to take Swap Shop to Winchester School of Art in the end of May. More details coming soon!
Look out for news of the ‘Shift Your Stuff’ campaign in June, helping you to clear your house of unwanted kitchen stuff, clothes, furniture etc. before you move.
Huge thanks as always to our volunteers who make the event possible, and to the SUSU Photographic Society Events Team for capturing the event on camera. See the full album of photos here.