As part of Peckish Place Park; our weekly summer event on Thursday evenings with workshops inside and street food, drinks and fun outdoors; we are hosting a Clothes Swap event in the Mansion on Thursday 30th May.

Natalie Holmes is the founder of Pickled Jellybeans (fb, insta), a local small business selling eco-friendly products & organic children’s clothing. We talk to her about her inspiration for setting up the Clothes Swap and how the concept works.

How has the Clothes Swap come about?

Back in December I set up Pickled Jellybeans, which sells eco-friendly products. A lady saw one of my posts and shared it in the Greener & Cleaner Bromley (& beyond) Facebook group. I’m keen to get involved in local eco-projects, and when I saw a lady I follow on Instagram had been to a Clothes Swap, I thought, ‘What a great idea’.

I posted in Greener & Cleaner Bromley to see if there was any interest in such an event and got a really positive response. The team at the Mansion also responded to the post, offering it as a venue, and it’s just gone from there.

What is the ambition for the Clothes Swap?

I would personally like to see the Clothes Swap become a great success. For many reasons, I think it’s a great way of revamping your wardrobe without adding to it. It’s perfect for people who are in the process of losing weight and are in-between sizes and also for those who have put on weight but don’t want to buy a new wardrobe.

If money is tight, it’s also an ideal solution if you need some “new” clothes. It’s a great way to swap the clothes that don’t work for you for ones that do.

Additionally, from an environmental perspective, it’s a great way to reduce the amount of new clothes you purchase. It’s scary when you see stats such as making one cotton shirt, uses the equivalent of enough water for one person to consume in 2.5 years* and that is just one shirt!

It’s frightening as well as the amount of greenhouse gases the fashion industry produces. A clothes swap is a positive event to help cut down people’s desire to buy new.

How did you come to hear about us?

I live in Bromley. I’d heard of the Mansion but had never been before, until you offered it as a potential venue for the clothes swap. I think the setting is amazing and the ambience is fantastic. I like the fact the inside is not ‘perfect’ and has kept so much character.

What is the plan after Thursday’s event?

I would like to see the Clothes Swap become a regular event. It would be great to do a kid’s Clothes Swap, and adult clothes and accessories, too. There is a lot of scope.

The Clothes Swap takes place on Thursday 30th May.

People are invited to drop off any clothing they would like to include in the swap event between 4pm and 6.30pm on the 30th May. You will receive a token per item they drop off. The clothes swap will take place between 7.30pm and 9.30pm. This is a non cash event and hopefully the first of many to come.

Alongside the Clothes Swap, we will also have a refill station of vegan toiletries and cleaning products, hand-crafted bamboo straws and vegan candles.

Outside, Peckish takes place with vegan and vegetarian street food and music, 4pm-10pm.

*source: National Geographic / World Economic Forum’s Facebook video, A clothing-based Climate Catastrophe