MEP Grace O’Sullivan hosted a Swap Shop with North Cork Repair Cafe in Mallow Library as part of Cork County Council’s ‘Cork County Cuts Carbon’ campaign.
Mallow residents explored a more sustainable way of updating their wardrobes last week, as a pop-up “Swap Shop” took over the foyer of Mallow Town Library.
Thursday’s Swap-Shop gave attendees the opportunity to swap their pre-loved clothes with each other, promoting the concept of circular fashion. The pop-up shop was one of a number of events Cork County Council organised as part of their ‘Cork County Cuts Carbon’ campaign, taking place across the county in the month of November.
The Swap Shop was curated by MEP Grace O’Sullivan, who runs a monthly swap shop in her Cork City Office. The North Cork Repair Cafe also set up stall in Mallow library, creating a complimentary repair station alongside the swap shop where people could take part in a short demonstration on how to repair their own pre-loved clothes. The North Cork Repair Cafe has now established itself in the county to help teach Corkonians how to mend their own common household items, instead of disposing of them once they stop working.
MEP O’Sullivan: “Fast fashion is dominating the clothing industry at the moment, with a throw-away mentality becoming the norm. It’s so great to see the people in Mallow welcome slow fashion with open arms. This is such a clear example of a circular fashion economy in play”.
Additionally, Bernie Connolly from the Cork Environmental Forum contributed a talk on the importance of slow fashion and the circular fashion economy. This prompted a very productive discussion on practical slow fashion options and the harm caused by the use of vague terminology such as ‘sustainable’ and ‘environmentally friendly’.
MEP O’Sullivan holds monthly swap-shops in her Constituency Office on Washington Street on the last Friday of every month.
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