'Potty' recycling group plans swap shop to tackle fashion waste

Tuesday 21 March 2023

After recently expanding from plant pots into mugs, a local group of green warriors have announced their first clothing event which aims to tackle the amount of waste created by the fashion industry...

Potty Eco Pots' 'Rag Trade' event will be held on 6 May at West Centre, with islanders invited to bring along any unwanted clothes and accessories to be taken home by someone else for free.

Founder Kalina Le Marquand explained that there are "no rules" to the event, which has already attracted interest from over 600 people on social media.

"You can bring along clothes and not take any, or you can take clothes and not bring any with you!" she said.

"An absolutely huge amount of unwanted clothes are thrown into the waste stream every day. This is a way to reuse them."

Kalina explained that the "wild" and "revolutionary" nature of her Rag Trade event is what makes it stand out from other similar events.

"Other clothes swap events are a lot more planned and organised," she explained. "There is often a system of having to bring a certain number of clothes to gain tokens to take clothes away, but I think this is unfair as some people don't have anything to bring."

As well as helping the environment, Kalina is also hopeful that the event will help out those who may not always be able to afford the prices of new clothes.

Kalina said: "Some people can't even afford charity shop prices, especially those with kids and teenagers who are constantly growing."

"It's so important for people to know that they can take clothes without having to bring anything," she added.

Pictured: Kalina has hosted pot giveaways in West Centre previously — but Rag Trade is her first clothing event.

Kalina also acknowledged that some people may feel that there is a "stigma" surrounding wearing second-hand clothes, but hopes to reduce this by making the Rag Trade event feel like a "festival".

She said: "There will be live music, a chill-out area, and a stall to learn techniques to mend clothes and give a new life to something that may be a little damaged."

Chordz coffee shop will also be open for people to stay well-fed and hydrated, with hot drinks being served in Potty Eco Pots' reuse mugs. 

Leftover clothes will be donated to charity, with Freedom Church and Mustard Seed already getting involved.

Kalina also plans on donating any "fancy" leftover items to the Project Prom team, who collect donations of formal clothes and accessories to help kit out students in financially difficult situations for their prom.

Kalina said: "There are quite a lot of affluent people in Jersey who don't want to be seen wearing the same outfit to more than one event, so I'm hoping we'll get a good selection of nice designer items.

"I've had some donations already and there are some really exquisite pieces — beautiful designer clothes!"

Anybody who wants to help out at the Rag Trade event is encouraged to just turn up on the day between 10:00-18:00 and get involved.