Video made by Future Frame - Lukasz Termer
Similar to Sweden’s ReTuna being the world’s first shopping mall specifically dedicated to selling secondhand, repurposed or recycled items, Swap in the City clothes swap hub & boutique is the leading the secondhand mall movement in Australia as the country’s first preloved store in a conventional shopping mall.
The secondhand shopping mall concept focuses on encouraging sustainable consumption, reducing waste and promoting a circular economy. ReTuna has pioneered environmentally-conscious retail with this unique shopping experience. Over 50 jobs have been created in the local economy which include skilled repair work, furniture restoration, textile renovation, creative upcycling as well as retail roles. The secondhand shopping mall essentially built an entire employment sector around waste reduction.
ReTuna is described as a stylish, yet socially meaningful space. It has reframed the modern retail shopping experience as a low-waste circular system with electronics, bikes, clothes, furniture, toys, antiques being reused, repaired, redesigned and resold. There's even a store for vintage ikea stuff.
Swap in the City is an innovation of Nina Gbor, founder of Eco Styles. Its model is predicated in the second pillar of the circular economy: reusing materials at their highest value. People bring clothes and accessories that fall under the categories of affordable luxury and luxury to exchange for other people’s preloved items. No fast fashion allowed. It helps reduce the fast fashion overconsumption habit and encourages people to think about their clothing overconsumption patterns.
Waste and landfill dynamics in Australia
Australia is one of the biggest consumers of clothing in the world per capita, the second biggest consumer of single-use plastics in the world and a country that sends nearly 76 million tonnes of waste to landfill each year. Beyond diverting materials from landfill, and operating in circularity, secondhand malls provide relief in an era where the cost-of-living crisis is prevalent.
At the time of writing this, nearly every house on the street I live on in Sydney has household items like electronics, kitchenware, furniture, toys, etc sitting on the sidewalk in front of their house, awaiting pick up by the local government council. This occurs about 2 - 4 times a year. Australian local councils spend an estimated average of $5 million to $15 million each year specifically on landfill fees and state-imposed waste levies. Larger metropolitan councils in Australia can face annual landfill bills exceeding AUD $20 million to AUD $30 million, while mid-sized regional cities (like Mildura) report paying around AUD $8 million annually. Greater Sydney and some areas in Victoria State, the state of Queensland and Perth have less than five years left of landfill space or otherwise tight landfill constraints.
The Secondhand and sustainably-made shopping future
Innovations such as ReTuna and Swap in the City should not be a mere trend or a movement. They could be the way we acquire and consume items moving forward. The TRENDmill method where we have normalised raw material extraction often to make products under a planned obsolescence system that end up in landfill in a relatively short time very likely cannot continue forever. The environmental destruction and biodiversity loss can be irreversible. It has also contributed to enormous global social inequality. Getting off this TRENDmill through systemised, mainstream reuse and reducing the amount of raw materials extracted from the earth to make new products. This could be a strategy for planetary regeneration and conservation and regeneration and pathway to a healthier, more equitable planet.
Greenwood Plaza in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia where Swap in the City is located has other circular economy stores. Under one roof Greenwood Plaza mall (owned by Mirvac) has Unwanted FC (upcycling sports garments), Joy of Giving (Toy Swap & toy waste education), The Greenwood Drop (secondhand clothing sales), a computer & phone repair store, shoe and clothing repair & alteration stores. While it is not as robust as ReTuna, the mall has created an excellent centre for circular shopping and activities. It’s a testament that malls across the world can follow ReTuna’s example in creating their own version of local, circular malls that create jobs and boost the local economy in circular and sustainable ways.
