Swishing — the New Way to Shop
The Ethical Answer to Shopping — Swap Your Wardrobe Online
May 27, 2008
Swishing is swapping instead of shopping. It’s the new way to shop for women's fashion that is smarter, more fun, and better for the planet. You can hold swishing parties in your home or join a community of online swishers!
What is Swishing?
Swishing enables you to get rid of the items you no longer want by helping others and expanding your wardrobe at the same time, without spending too much money. If you swish online then you’ll also make new friends and have a lot of fun. Says, Virginia Rowe, editor of the fashion website, stylewillsaveus.com, “swishing is much more fun than normal shopping…..it’s so nice to see the clothes that you have loved in the past going to a good home.”
Ethical and environmentally friendly, swishing ticks all the boxes when it comes to your conscience and providing a sustainable environment, not to mention that it is much more exciting that simply shopping online. According to Marie Claire, November 2007, swishing combines four of fashion’s current obsession’s “fast fashion, value for money, vintage and ethical consumerism in one guilt-free package.” Visit one of the emerging swishing websites like Whatsmineisyours.com or Bigwardrobe.com and barter, swap, buy or sell clothing and accessories to your heart's content!
The Origins of Swishing
The term swishing originated from the communications agency Futerra, who are staffed by women who “are passionately committed to saving the planet but didn’t want to do it in bad clothes,” says Marie Claire. Futerra has set up a dedicated swishing website, Swishing.org, which provides information on swishing parties, relevant features and links, and a calendar of swishing events.
Swapping Online
- What's Mine is Yours was founded by stylist and personal shopper Judy Berger, who first began swishing by holding parties in her home. It is a British based swishing-website with over 13,000 registered users. Set up in 2004, it was the first fashion-focused swap site in the world, according to Berger, and the site not only provides a forum for swapping, but is a mine of useful information when it comes to fashion advice. Each user has the advantage of extra perks such as fashion focused magazine and free personal shopper sections. There is also a members' forum in which members can communicate freely amongst themselves.
- Big Wardrobe is another British based site similar to What's Mine is Yours. It is broken down into three sections, men, women and children and offers four alternatives, swap, buy, sell or combo. An interesting aspect of this site is the celebrity buys; a rummage through celebrity wardrobes from the likes of Peaches Geldof, Paul Weller and (coming soon) one of THE original supermodels, Jodie Kidd. All money for this section of the site goes to charity, and is constantly being updated as new stars donate their wardrobe.
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