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If you are stuck with clothes, shoes and bags you no longer need, consider swapping them.

This is a new arrangement in Kampala organized by Catherine Sawe of Sawe Creations. 

The free event dubbed; Clothes Swap is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 at Sawe stores in Kamwokya, Kampala.

“People have a chance to clear their wardrobes, stop hoarding and replace outfits at no cost,” she says.

Catherine Sawe (second from right) with her friends at the store. (Photo by Ritah Mukasa)

“As we know, the textile industry is the third in pollution, with over 90 million tonnes as waste,” Sawe adds.  For that, she encourages people to recycle and repair instead of throwing away items which end up damaging the environment.

On that day, she will also offer repair services at a discount.

On how she got this idea, Sawe says, it all started when she was in a conversation with some friends recently. One mentioned how she wanted to swap clothes with a friend.

She later put it to her friends to find a place where they could swap clothes instead of keeping them. Sawe bought the idea and decided to execute it.

Her friends; Hannah Kellerd and Leila Shamsaifar designed for her a flyer which she shares on social media. She expects over 50 people and if all goes well, she will be organising it monthly.

Irene Kuloba, a designer looks forward to the event saying she has always held on to some items yet she no longer needs them.

“I fear donating my things because people might not value them. Swapping is a good deal,” she says.

How it works

Those interested will bring in shoes, clothes and bags early on Friday or Saturday. Each person doesn’t exceed five items. So if it’s a family, each member; father, mother and kids can take five items then each member receives a coupon that allows them to pick five items too.

So, everyone will have a coupon stating how many items they can pick. Whatever is not swapped at the end of the day will be donated to cancer patients at the cancer care home in Mulago hospital.