people more interesting than me: kate luckins

A few years back, when I was a little more foot loose and fancy free, I was fortunate enough to be involved with a monster of a small business  The Clothing Exchange. They rock some pretty mean clothing swap events promoting the idea of swapping preloved treasures that you no longer with other like-minded shoppers.
I was all GO GREEN and loving life but then had to bid adew to my dear eco warriors as the time had come for me to get a full time job, yeah yeah yawns and sighs.
Not to worry though, I woke up last week & decided that the time had come for us to once again cross paths so got in contact with the amazingly wonderful Kate Luckins, who is not only the brains but also the beauty behind The Clothing Exchange to ask her some questions.

So you guys have had the wheels in motion for six strong years now and my my, how far you’ve come!

five states, thousands of swappers and countless garments finding new homes.

where do you see The Clothing Exchange in another six years? Is an offshore swapping bonanza something  you have considered?

Yes world domination comes up occasionally, it’s interesting to see that in Europe, their swapping movement is called “swishing” and there are various interpretations of clothes swapping events cropping up here and there. The service design model of swapping that we developed, and all the minute details we have polished to offer a truly professional swapping service would be great to transport overseas. But for now, we are focusing on our Aussie audience and seeking to set up a team in each state and some regional centres. 

To a lot of people The Clothing Exchange swaps are a great way to get a few new wardrobe winners for a very hip-pocket friendly price, but it is so much more. you initially started these events as part of your Fashion Masters research project & in effect, have created a whole new way of consuming. do you think the idea of clothes swapping has the potential to become the new ‘shopping’ of the future? and if so, are you nervous about finding threatening notes under your car windscreen from Fashion  Industry big wigs, warning you off your ever-growing progress?

 
hehe, yes some people who observe what we are doing at The Clothing Exchange ask us if we are the conscience of the fashion industry, or opposing it in some way. I think swapping and new garment shopping will go hand in hand for most people. Some items (like undies!) are less swappable than others, and the variant nature of our swaps means that people can often get their fashion fill, or find what they are looking for but this is not always the case. While some of our lovely guests use our monthly Melbourne swaps to facilitate their rotating wardrobe of many garments, like a library, others prefer to use our events to clear out their closets and find a key piece or two. In the future, there will be much more swapping with more regular opportunities to swap. I’d like to see fashion retailers take responsibility for the recycling of their clothes (so they look after the whole life cycle rather than just the sale), and the best way to do this would be to have in store swapping.

And what has the response been from business’ within the Fashion Industry, if any?
We have been approached by a major fashion chain to discuss an in store swap, and are now contacting and starting our own conversations with others. It is great for them to build customer loyalty and a great marketing campaign, as well as a responsible and caring thing to do!

I heard someone say something rather silly the other day, it was something like ‘are people still talking about the environment? wasn’t that sooooo two years ago.’ Do dickheads like this concern you? Do you trust that sustainable consumption will triumph over any trendy ‘go green… for now’ types?

I’m not surprised to hear that at all…. in fact I get sick of sustainable this and that at times too, because the consumer movement can be very focused on greenwashing and selling eco this and that. As green consumerism, the discussion becomes deeply boring quickly. I am much more interested in pursuing principles of sustainable living such as swapping of course, reusing, re-designing, reinventing as well as sourcing clothes from companies that are trying to do their best through sourcing sustainable textiles and certifying with organisations such as ‘ethical clothing australia’. There is so much information that us humble consumers have to take in to make a responsible choice, and it should be made easier for us. So I don’t feel like I need to take in an encyclopedia of knowledge before I hit the shops, I just create a framework for myself… firstly try to borrow something, if I can’t, get the item secondhand, if that doesn’t work, then get it ethically produced, then ensure it is a sustainable textile. I work my way down the list. 

The other aspect your question raises is whether sustainable fashion is a trend or fad that will fleet itself. Having investigated this movement over the last 6 years, I can attest that its relevance is only building and the interest is broadening, from the fringe to the mainstream. Because some labels flaunt the eco-thing for marketing purposes, customers start to become sceptical of the movement itself. I see this as being a key part of social change, we question things, find what is true and relevant and put our energy into attaining that. 

And finally, my mum always tells me that ‘copying is the greatest form of flattery’ but I don’t think that applies when your copy-cats are taking a little slice of your profit pie.it seems like billions of clothing swaps are popping up on every street corner in the country since you guys came on the scene. are you happy that the idea of ‘swap to shop’ is so infectious, or does it grind your gears a wee bit?

This was always part of the plan… The Clothing Exchange started with the idea that we’d engage people in a sustainable practice that was fun and a great introduction to thinking about sustainable lifestyles more broadly. Now we need to think a little more like a business to keep afloat and ensure we can do what we do, we keep an eye on the competition. Some people do great things and we learn from them. Others are money hungry individuals who lack imagination and they tend to pillage everything we have got, we have had almost our whole concept and website copied several times! This feels less in the spirit of things, and we much prefer people to take inspiration from us and create their own unique version. I guess you’d call that copying politely. We also love it when people write to us and tell us what they are doing with the view to foster a swapping community.