SWOP! has been featured in The Straits Times’ weekly fashion magazine Urban, as well as the freesheet Today.
Here’s what they had to say about us!
“As children, many of us hated it when our parents made us wear our older siblings’ hand-me-downs. But rummaging through a pile of these — pre-owned by strangers at that — has taken on a fashionable, eco-friendly and, of course, cost-cutting meaning these days with clothing swaps.
Journalist Tessa Wong organises sessions known as Swop! for a charitable cause. Participants pay $5 which goes to charity and bring along at least five pieces of clothing, books and CD in good condition. These are deposited in a general pile from which they can choose a reasonable amount of whatever catches their fancy.
According to Tessa, some unusual finds from previous sessions included “half a uniform” and holey T-shirts. But there are mostly good finds such as dresses with uncut price tags.
Urban, The Straits Times, 8 March 2007
“Swop!, a new bi-monthly swop event which began last month, is already a hit. Despite only word-of-mouth publicity, 60 participants turned up instead of the expected 20.
Wong’s memorable finds of an almost-new Louis Vuitton wallet and a vintage striped dress that “was a perfect fit” show that swop meets are quite the opposite of dingy flea markets. It’s ecologically beneficial, too, reckons Wong, as it encourages recycling and reduces wastage.
Swop meets help the community in other ways. Swop! participants are charged a $5 entrance fee which goes to charities such as Migrant Voices, which aids migrant workers here. “
To contact Swop, please drop us an e-mail at wessatong [at ] gmail [dot] com. (sorry for the funny way of spelling that address but it’s to prevent spam mail!)
