The Big Shwop

What's The Big Shwop all about?

The Big Shwop brings together people and their wardrobes for an afternoon of shopping - shopping that doesn't make a dent on your bank account or your conscience.

The idea is a simple one - you bring along your unwanted, barely worn quality clothes and exchange them for vouchers.

When the shwop begins, you can 'cash in' your vouchers for any of the other lovely threads on offer. Guilt free shopping straight ahead!

Why shwop?

Shwopping is a sustainable way to shop. We can all look good and be kind to the earth too and that is what shwopping is all about.

You see, most of the chain store clothing for sale here has been made with little respect for the environment, the community they are made in or for the people who make them.

If you want more details about the fashion industry - what's cool for our planet and what's not, check out our blog. Here you can learn a bit more about us and a bit more about shwopping too.

Thankfully, there are two things that we can do to make a real difference:

• Buy New Zealand made and ethically-made fashion when we buy things new.
• Reuse and recycle our clothes as much as possible. The Big Shwop is all about making the most of what we already have.

So many of us have wardrobes brimming with clothes that are desperate to be shwopped. It might be something you bought and then never wore. Perhaps you have worn it, but it still looks mint. Perhaps you have some impulse buys or some sale purchases that just weren't 'you.' Perhaps it doesn't fit properly anymore. For whatever reason, all of these clothes must be shwopped. Be brave! If you aren't wearing some cool threads that are in your wardrobe, let someone else enjoy them!

What will happen at The Big Shwop?

People bring in their clothes from 10- 12pm. For each item of clothing suitable for the shwop (see below 'What do I bring to The Big Shwop?) you will receive a voucher.

We only accept well-made, stylish clothes in excellent condition. We keep it simple - one accepted item is worth one shwop voucher.

Make sure you bring in your threads to be dropped off in time, because from 12-1.30pm, the shwop room will be closed. We'll be sorting the clothes onto racks and into sizes.

At 1.30pm The Big Shwop will begin. You can use your shwop vouchers in exchange for any item in the Shwop. Simple - a fresh new wardrobe straight ahead!

What do I bring to The Big Shwop?

• Shwoppers bring in quality items of clothing and get to take home new pieces of great quality clothing too. The Big Shwop is a "Fashion Store without the Money" and that is what makes it so distinctive. Its all about redistributing quality clothing that we aren't wearing.
• Shwop volunteers 'vet' the clothes you will bring in for The Big Shwop to keep the quality high. Our volunteers reserve the right to refuse clothes for The Big Shwop.
• We work really hard to keep this process fair. If you have an item refused from The Big Shwop, that you really think should be included, there is now a Second Chance Shwopkeeper who will consider it again.  
• All clothing to be shwopped needs to be a quality piece of clothing. It needs to be fashionable and still looking good. Its hard to say what is and isn't good to shwop, but if it cost close-to-nothing when you bought it brand new, then it probably hasn't got a shwop-life second hand. 

• All clothing to be shwopped needs to be in really good condition. Of course, clothing should have no marks, missing buttons, no pills or pulls, no rips or broken zips. Remember, The Big Shwop is not a dumping ground. Just donate your tired pieces of clothing to an opshop.