Primark is preparing to launch its first ‘swap shop’ initiative enabling customers to exchange pre-loved and vintage clothing in store, all in celebration of London Fashion Week later this month.
Created in partnership with Verte, a specialist in circular clothing, the limited run of pop-ups will launch in select Primark stores across the UK, including London, Manchester and Birmingham.
The first Primark swap shop event will kick off on Friday, 13th September at Primark in Westfield Stratford in London, as a part of London Fashion Week’s City-Wide Celebration 2024. The swap shop will be open on the ground floor and will remain open for three days until Sunday 15th September.
Following its London launch, the pop-up initiative will next arrive in Primark’s Manchester Market Street store where customers and pre-loved shoppers will be able to find the exchanges on the store’s lower level on Monday, 16th and Tuesday, 17th September. The experiential event will then make its third and final appearance at Primark’s store on Birmingham High Street on Wednesday, 16th and Thursday, 17th October.
The new experience will allow swappers to bring up to five items of adult clothing, bags, hats or scarves of any brand in good condition, to be assessed and swapped for digital tokens on the Verte app. These digital tokens can then be used to purchase a pre-loved item of clothing from Verte’s collection.
A special gold token will be awarded to luxury clothing items presented in almost-new condition, which can be traded exclusively for other gold items.
Any un-swapped clothes will be kept for the next swap shop event, donated to local charities in the area or placed in Primark’s textile donation boxes, available in all stores across the UK.
Director of Primark Cares, Lynne Walker said: “We truly believe in helping people to love their clothes for longer and our latest partnership with Verte allows us to do just that.
“Welcoming Verte into our stores will help us to better engage with a community of like-minded fashion lovers who really care about where their clothes will go to next. We hope our pop-ups will encourage more people to participate in the growing circular fashion economy and with an opportunity to do so in their local Primark store.
“We’ve all got clothes in our wardrobe we keep meaning to wear but never get around to, so we’re excited to see Verte give new life to the clothing swapped by our customers and colleagues.”
The initiative forms part of Primark’s ongoing commitment to make pre-loved fashion more accessible and to encourage customers to love their clothing for longer. It lands to coincide with this year’s Second-hand September, a campaign officially hosted by the charity organisation Oxfam and established to encourage shoppers to make at least one second-hand purchase this month rather than buying new.
Verte is a London-based clothes-swapping company with a vision to encourage people to consider shopping second-hand before shopping for something new. By creating high-quality, curated swapping events in offices and pop-up retail spaces, it hopes to change consumer attitudes and habits.
Founder of Verte, Jessica Brunt, said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with Primark on this swap shop initiative because they are passionate about driving in-store experiences, not only in London but across the UK. Swapping is a great way to access pre-loved in an affordable and inclusive way and the more people who are exposed to the idea, the better it is for the planet and for the future of shopping.”
Primark has been making pre-loved clothing more accessible to its customers in store since 2022. Among the steps taken, it has additionally partnered with the Vintage Wholesale Company to offer unique vintage clothes via Wornwell, which is currently in 10 stores across the UK.
Meanwhile, Primark’s ‘Love it for Longer’ repair workshop programme runs all year round and teaches shoppers basic repair and sewing techniques. These workshops are currently available to customers completely free of charge in selected stores and accessible to everyone online via easy-to-follow repair videos on Primark.com.
For more information about Primark’s Swap Shop series and to register for upcoming events, please visit; https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/verte-33432022375
Primark at Brand Licensing Europe
Earlier this year, Primark embarked on a new first when it teamed with the Walt Disney Company to launch a special 30th anniversary Lion King collection entirely made using recycled and more sustainably sourced materials, including plant-based fibres and organic cotton. Designed to be its most circular collection of clothing to date, a selection of products in the range have been made to be removed or recycled into new fibres of products.
This special collection will be on display at Brand Licensing Europe later this month and will feature among a showcase of industry innovation on the Products of Change stand A265 for the duration of the show’s three days.
Details of the materials used to make each product will be displayed on the product swing-tag in stores. it includes the use of organic cotton certified by Organic Content Standard (OCS) or Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) accreditation; cotton sourced from Primark’s own Sustainable Cotton Programme; fibres made using the cellulose found in wood such as viscose, modal, and lyocell produced using wood sourced from responsibly managed forests; recycled cotton, recycled acrylic, recycled nylon, and recycled polyester, and in some instances even recycled metal.
The new range features much-loved characters from The Lion King: Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, and the whole gang and includes womenswear, kidswear and accessories.
Honouring Second-hand September
Products of Change will be honouring Second-hand September as it prepares to bring its own celebration of circularity to Brand Licensing Europe later this month in the form of a special Light Fund Charity Resale event.
Working with the licensing industry charity and its recruited crew members, the special resale store will feature donated products, product samples, and unsold inventory across some of the biggest – and best – brands in the business.
These items will be available to purchase from the Products of Change booth (A265) throughout the three-day licensing trade show (opening its doors at London’s ExCeL on September 24th 2024) with all money raised going directly towards the Light Fund’s charity partners and charitable efforts.
Not only does the campaign aim to contribute to this year’s fundraising efforts for the industry charity but help keep unsold product in circulation, in the value stream, and out of the waste stream.
If you’re a brand interested in donating products, please email us at nicola@productsofchange.com
