Hong Kong's Take Out Plastic Announces its Secondhand Fashion Exchange

Committed to reduce plastic and fabric waste from ending up in landfills, Take Out Plastic organises a secondhand clothing exchange, TOP Swop, helping drive circular fashion initiatives in Hong Kong.

Upon hosting a series of successful secondhand clothing exchanges through the TOP Swop project, Take Out Plastic organises yet another fashion swap starting on the 3rd till the 4th of September, from 12 to 6pm daily. Held in collaboration with Eventstigated and The Executive Centre, TOP SWOP offers a collective space for the public to re-swap clothing pieces and build eco-friendly wardrobes, while enforcing circularity in fashion, along with reducing the stigma of secondhand clothes.

Take Out Plastic, the non-profit organisation started as a community-wide initiative in Hong Kong to tackle on plastic waste, educate the public on reducing, reusing and refusing its consumption, while promoting a circular economy in the food and beverage (F&B) sector. It has since made various efforts to stay committed to its sustainable undertakings and began TOP Swop, its secondhand clothing exchange, first organised in 2021, with an intent to close the loop on fashion waste.

Take Out Plastic_Secondhand Fashion Exchange

Textile waste is one of the largest contributors to landfills in Hong Kong, with an estimated of 4/10 Hong Kongers discarding their clothing after only a few wears, while little to none take part in fashion exchanges. Such swapping drives help extend the lifeline of used garments, while effectively reduce fashion waste from ending up in landfills.

TOP Swops began in response to the city’s growing waste problem, and during its first-ever event it rescued a total of 2000 clothing pieces, with over 60 attendees and 15 volunteers joining forces to drive the eco-friendly initiatives.

Jayme Ellis, the co-founder of Take Out Plastic, and Marketing Manager at Sustainabl., a zero-waste packaging label, shared her thoughts on launching the fashion swap, “Since moving to Hong Kong two years ago, I have struggled to find sustainable and affordable clothing, it feels like the only place you can shop is online or fast fashion – which is not great! I participated in a few small swaps with friends, but we wanted to scale the event to get more people in Hong Kong involved. The more people we have coming, the more clothes are circulated and less waste harming our planet.”

Its first all-weekend clothing swap, Circle Back was hosted at Soho House, and had a grand turnout of over 300 participators. The event was lined up with an epic fashion show and sustainability panel, while exchanging more than 3000 clothing pieces.

“If you have got great clothes but find you are not wearing them enough, bring them along to TOP Swop, you will be amazed at what you will take home in exchange,” Jayme added.