Council supports ‘Top Swap’ event

THE first ever clothes swapping party has been held in Llanelli.

The ‘Top Swap’ swishing event was organised as part of the upcoming Llanelli Fashion Week.
It was held at the Stradey Park Hotel and saw savvy shoppers swap clothes, shoes and accessories they no longer wanted and going home with a whole new wardrobe without breaking the bank.
The event was supported by Carmarthenshire County Council’s waste and recycling section and the Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd which is the UK’s leading textile and clothes recycling company. It has more than 5,000 textile recycling banks across the country including a number in Carmarthenshire.
Carmarthenshire County Council’s waste minimisation/recycling officer Karen Fulham said: “By swapping your clothes instead of throwing them out you get a great new look for free and you can bask in the knowledge you have done your bit for the environment by diverting some great clothes from lying in a landfill site.”
Any leftover clothes from the event were taken by the Salvation Army and money raised will help support the vital work of charity across the UK.
All proceeds from the Top Swap event will go to The Ray Gravell and Friends Charitable Trust.

Did you know?

• In the UK approximately 1,865 million tonnes of new clothes are bought every year but only 324,000 tonnes is reused/recycled.
• Around 1,165 million tonnes of unwanted clothes end up in landfill every year – that means on average every person in the UK buys £600 worth of clothes each year and throws away £400 worth!
• It takes 800 litres of water just to make one t-shirt!