Clothing exchange at SWAPS The Hague
8 December 2022
SWAPS The Hague is a special clothing store at Vondelstraat 94 in The Hague. At SWAPS they sell second-hand women's clothing with an extra dimension: you can also exchange your own clothing for 'new' items at the store. The founder of SWAPS is Elsa Verhoeven. After seeing the documentary The True Cost, she no longer wanted to contribute to the pollution that the fast fashion industry entails. The documentary shows how garment workers and the environment suffer from the production of fast fashion. Did you know, for example, that after the oil industry, the fashion industry is the most polluting industry on earth?
From small-scale clothing exchange to professional concept
Elsa also used to buy fast fashion. "A lot of people (like me at first) don't know that on the other side of the world a nightmare is unfolding for residents there and for the well-being of our planet as a whole." She started buying clothes from sustainable brands and from second-hand shops. Finding clothes she really liked was a challenge. That's why she started organizing clothing swap sessions with friends. Getting sustainable new clothes and enjoying time together! It was interesting to see that the more women were present, the greater the choice and the more clothes Elsa found to sustainably supplement her own wardrobe. “Very efficient and very fun.”
As a result, SWAPS was born. "SWAPS is like that clothing swap with friends, but without the old cast-offs and open 4 days a week." The most important thing about the store is the exchange concept. Clothing is put into one of three different categories. The third and highest category consists of popular and in good condition branded items. For each item you hand in, you may bring a 'new' item from the same category. This encourages exchangers to take their nicer/more expensive items with them. In this way, a sustainable collection is being built. With this concept, Elsa hopes to demonstrate that a clothing exchange concept can be a good business model, which contributes to a sustainable society.
Contribution to the SDGs
SWAPS contributes to several SDGs, in particular SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production). The fashion industry can also be linked to other SDGs, namely 1, 5, 13, 14 and 15.
Not a foundation
Elsa's biggest motivation? The environment and the earth. “I feel this very deeply. I've been thinking about making a foundation out of SWAPS. But I don't want that. Because what I do is not a good cause or charity, it is something that is essential for the future. We just have to get used to the fact that it also costs money.”
Mission and vision
“It is my mission to make this a financially healthy company. I want to set up a sustainable system and expand it. Preferably in a large hall, with all kinds of smaller boutiques and a sustainable café, a sustainable shop on the side. The concept will remain about the same, but more extensive, also for men and children. Ideally, there will be a repair department and new products are made on site from discarded textiles. Instead of a day in the city, people could spend a day shopping in this large hall.”
Everything during this interview shows that Elsa has a great passion for her work and for (textile) sustainability. She talks enthusiastically about all her plans for the future. Short term, those are: making the store that is there now even more professional, as a foundation for the next step.
Photography: Kim Vervoort Fotografie