Pick yourself a ‘fair trade’ outfit this weekend

A leading Scottish shopping centre is set to host its first ever sustainable Clothes Swap event this weekend.

In partnership with Ocean Terminal in Leith, the event has been organised by The Leith Collective and Fashion Revolution Scotland, who are offering shoppers the chance to pick up a ‘new outfit’ for free, simply by bringing along some of their own clothes and donating them to the event.

The fashion exchange will be held on Saturday, 26 January, between 1-4pm in the Image Collective Gallery space within Ocean Terminal. The event has evolved from the centre’s wider Sustainability Campaign, which is running throughout January encouraging the public to recycle, reuse and upcycle.

Shoppers are encouraged to bring three to five items each to the Clothes Swap and in return they will receive tokens to pick up clothing from other contributors. Passers-by, who have not donated are still encouraged to take part in the event, with tokens available upon entry.

Michelle MacLeod, deputy centre manager at Ocean Terminal said: ‘January is a long month until pay day and if you’ve missed out on the bargains over Christmas, this is the perfect event for you to find a new outfit in exchange for some clothes at home you no longer use, or perhaps have never worn.

‘Everybody loves a bargain and the aim of the swap is to encourage people to recycle their clothes and find them new homes. So, come and join us and see what amazing new additions to your wardrobe you might be taking home for free.’

The Leith Collective has worked closely alongside Ocean Terminal to deliver the Sustainability Campaign this month with an extensive range of workshops on offer from learning how to mend your clothes to upcycling to create a new lampshade.

Sara Thomson, founder of The Leith Collective said: ‘We have a number of workshops running at Ocean Terminal this month, all focusing on more sustainable living and encouraging people to become more conscious of the impact we can have by making small changes. They aim to bring people together to share, learn from each other, rescue items from the bin while making a small difference to the planet and the local communities around us.’

Entry to the Clothes Swap costs £2 with clothes to swap, without bringing donations shoppers can enter for £4.

For information on the sustainable workshops visit www.oceanterminal.com.