How to start Clothes Swapping – An Interview with Nuw’s Aisling Byrne
I think Aisling’s story feels familiar to many people who are angry with fast fashion but feel stuck in the cycle of it. What makes Aisling different, is she created an alternative.
I first tried Nuw, an app where you swap your pieces for other people’s pre-loved clothes, with only a few items of clothing - I got hooked and uploaded loads of pieces. I wanted to talk to Aisling about her own history with clothes swapping and how you can start; whether at an event with friends or swapping your first item online.
What is Nuw and where did the idea come from?
Aisling: Nuw is an app to swap pre-loved fashion. It’s about giving the clothes in your wardrobe that you're not using anymore a new lease of life and building a whole new wardrobe with pre-loved clothing.
I was super into fast fashion. Fast fashion is really brand-new designs hitting the shop floor every week, or everyday on ecommerce sites. Fashion is being produced far quicker than it can be sold and worn with a full life cycle. I didn't care about any of that and I didn't know about any of that. I really wanted to look good.
When I was 19, I went to India with an NGO. It was 2013 and Rana Plaza had collapsed, which was a 7-storey garment factory in Bangladesh. It killed over 1130 people and so for the first time, there was a real global spotlight on what was happening in the fashion industry. The fashion industry sells you a really glamorous facade when actually it's so destructive.
When I started Nuw, I definitely felt sustainable fashion could be quite inaccessible. I didn’t know where to begin. I took a couple of years to be angry at the fashion industry for promoting fast fashion and to tell people about it. However, I wasn't yet changing my habits.
At university, my friends and I did a lot of swap shops. I absolutely loved them. That's really where the idea came from. What I could see was an ecosystem of people just sharing and swapping their clothes; that was actually the alternative that we needed.
It’s accessible. It’s affordable, it's inclusive. That just kind of transformed into what Nuw is today.
“I think it’s a more interesting way to shop ”
What can you remember of your first clothes swapping experience?
Aisling: In university at the end of my first year, I saw a swap event advertised. I thought that was amazing because I had so many clothes in my wardrobe.
For me it was a perfect opportunity to change my whole wardrobe for the summer. I brought a massive IKEA bag full of clothes to the event. It was nice because I got a couple of pieces from other people and gave away quite a lot. I still have them because I really like them. I think it’s a more interesting way to shop. It was a great experience and I got totally hooked.
How did your own style change when you moved away from the High Street?
Aisling: I did two things. I learned that to make more sustainable fashion choices you need to know what works for you. Trends are so quick so I took a while to find out what colours, structures and materials work for me.
I did what’s called “The Wardrobe Challenge”. At the start of the month I put all of my pieces in my wardrobe on hangers all facing one way. Anytime I wore a piece of clothing I turned the hanger around. So at the end of the month, I saw which pieces of clothing in my wardrobe I actually wear.
I found a sense of freedom, which I didn't expect. My wardrobe is so much more interesting now and Nuw has definitely found that others feel the same when chatting to members.
Are there any swapping trends you're seeing on Nuw?
Aisling: What was surprising for us was how much casual wear is swapped. We really wanted to get to the crux of what people are buying, wearing the least and disposing of the fastest and that tends to be quite casual items.
We have things that people are buying and they're not returning and those are going up well within the season that they have first been launched in. From knowing the industry, if the clothes are not swapped , it's very unlikely that they're going to be recycled and that generates a huge amount of waste.
“Agree with everyone that they’ll take their pieces back, be taken to a charity shop or put them up on Nuw and share the tokens. ”
What are your tips for the first time running a swap with friends?
Aisling: Audit your wardrobe before you go. I think the biggest hesitation with swapping clothes is that it feels like you're giving them away without reward but you actually get a really quick instant gratification.
If you are running it with your friends, I think it's really good to do something like a token system. If everyone brings a piece they receive a token to exchange for another person's item.
Ask swappers to ensure that they provide a set minimum number of pieces and that the clothes they provide meet a certain standard. They must all be in good condition, without stains and not in need of repair.
When people arrive, have a bit of set-up time. Give everyone drinks or food and for 30 minutes just sort the clothes on to a rail or laid out neatly So that people aren't coming in and rummaging through a pile.
As a host, you'll need to have a strategy for un-swapped clothes at the end of the event with swappers agreeing with swappers that they'll take their pieces back, take them to a charity shop or put them up on Nuw and share the tokens.
What is your favourite item you’ve got second hand or from a swap?
Aisling: I have a cream trench coat that I was just like "wow this is so cool". I had been looking for a cream trench coat for ages. I went to the swap and found a lovely version that was sitting right there in front me. I had bought and returned a similar coat for around £100 but this is the perfect one. I must have had the coat for 5 years now and I still wear it.
I think my favourite swap that I've done on Nuw is a super on trend summer dress which has only been available to buy since the start of summer. It's green with a white floral pattern, a slit and open back. I’ve worn it over 35 times.
“Fast fashion is 75% of sales across Europe, America and Japan and that’s about to hit a lot more markets. ”
What do you hope the future of Nuw and clothes swapping is?
Aisling: For us it was to create a global solution to a global problem. Fast fashion is 75% of sales across Europe, America and Japan and that's about to hit a lot more markets. We can't afford to go anywhere else.
People everywhere in the world have clothes and connecting those people in order for them to be able to easily trade their clothes is really our mission. It’s always trying to make it as affordable and accessible as possible. Hopefully in the next year will be looking at going beyond Ireland and the UK and branching out. It’s always been trying to take on the fast fashion industry on a very high level.
And what do you see as the future of slow fashion?
Aisling: I am massively excited about this slow fashion movement. I really do believe we're going to get there in the end, but it can be a bit terrifying just to see the level of change that needs to happen.
I can see a lot of governments stepping in to legislate against waste in fast fashion and I think that's only going to ramp up more and more as climate targets become a real big issue. The thing is there's a slow fashion movement and there's a fast fashion industry and there needs to be a bridge in between.
So what Nuw does is you can still consume fast but production is slowed because you're not producing clothes. Being a fashion consumer myself before starting Nuw, it’s understanding that sustainability is only on your agenda when you know about it, until then you just simply don't know.
Written by Lauren Waugh
Help us keep the City Girl Network running by supporting us viaPatreon for the price of a cheap cup of coffee - just £2 a month. For £3 a month you can also get yourself a Patreon exclusive 10% off any of our ticketed events! You can also support us by following us onInstagram, and by joining our City Girl Network (city wide!)Facebook group.
