SWEA Charity Swap was for the first time held in Beijing on September 25. At the event, clothes and accessories donated from SWEA’s members and friends were available for sale. About 25 participants gathered for shopping, mingling and enjoying vegetarian lunch buffet together. 4315 rmb was raised from the event and will be donated to charity.
Susanne Lindstenz, one of the organisers, tells ScandAsia about the initiative.
“The idea came from the fact that a lot of people buy clothes and rarely use them or use them just for a short while. These clothes can be used again. The event offered the opportunity for ladies to easily renew their wardrobes by swapping clothes with others.”
“We wanted people to donate nice clothes that they have at home but seldom wear them. Things that perhaps they shouldn’t have bought in the first place, wrong sizes and etc.,” she adds.
According to SWEA Beijing, swapping clothes instead of buying new ones should also be good for the environment. “We also offered vegetarian lunch buffet to promote vegetarian food since we believe that it’s more environmental friendly,” says Susanne.
Apart from sale of lunch buffet, the money was raised from the donation for the clothes that the ladies swapped at the event. According to Susanne, ‘customers’ donated whatever they thought the goods were worth and they knew the money would go to charity.
“We wanted to create a ‘boutique’ feeling at the event with music, food and nice environment. The inspiration came from Swap events held at clubs in our home country – where you give five items and go out from there with five items,” she explains.
