Marks & Spencer Launch 'Shwopping' to Recycle Clothes

Joanna Lumley of Ab Fab poses for Marks & Spencer’s new Oxfam campaign.
We love everything about this — the retail initiative, the eco-friendly side, the celebrity spokesperson.  Joanna Lumley of Absolutely Fabulous (the hit British show about two delusional, of-a-certain-age fashion types) was just named the face of Marks & Spencer’s shop-and-swap initiative.  The clothes recycling scheme is appropriately called “Shwopping.”
Starting today, customers are encouraged to bring in old or unwanted items to Marks & Spencer stores, outfitted with “Swhop” bins, when they go shopping.  The clothes will be donated to Oxfam (you might be familiar with their recent bra-recycling efforts), which will recycle or resell them.  With an estimated 1 billion clothing items thrown into UK landfills each year, Oxfam and M&S are working hard to reduce that number.  On why the effort will work, Lumley put it succinctly to the Telegraph,”We women, I think, know in our hearts that we shouldn’t chuck stuff away.”
And no, there’s no monetary incentive to bring in old stuff, but it’s an awful lot easier — and less guilt-inducing — than hauling out old clothing in the trash.