Want more?
We’ve got heaps of information on our website and you can register for the latest shwop there as well or follow us on twitter
Check it out here or under Shwopaholic in the links menu. There you can also check out our facebook page
Pop over there and come back again too 
Sarah and Inga in front of a wardrobe of shwopping treasures....
1.
Marjon | July 5, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Hello lovely ladies,
Loving the blog, Home is brilliant!
Many thanks for a shwop-tastic afternoon; congrats on all your developments, you’re all stars!!
My only sadness is that I won’t be here for the next one, sniff sniff. I’ll be laying the ground work for the first Tokyo Shwop when you all decide to come visit and stay at Che Marjon.
Mwah
M.x
2.
thebigshwop | July 5, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Thanks Marjon! It is poop that you won’t be here for the next one, truly poop. I must be tired because I was about to google to see where Che Marjon is in Japan. Sheesh. Thanks for coming this avo! mwa. S
3.
Jo | July 13, 2010 at 8:54 am
Hi there,
Are all clothes you are accepting made in China? I’m a bit confused here.
Also do you allow people to look at the quality before
deciding to invest $20 to swap items of value (vintage) for items of little value (chinese made).
Also i hope you won’t reply that the $20 allows me to drink alcohol because I’m not keen on this.
And I already use the brands that you have as sponsors
so samples (which used to be given free by companies), won’t do either.
I just believe that we should fairly be able to get what we
pay for in other word, if my vintage clothes can only be exchanged for current Chinese made goods, and as your website says, after my clothes have been accepted I can’t get them back, and I can’t find satisfactory vintage clothes, then, I’ll feel that I’ve been taken for a ride.
I think it’d be more ethical to let people come in for free and decide then if it’s worth swapping on the day.
In the current environment $20 is worth keeping for a lot of us, not throwing around easily.
Are you actually having to pay for the room?
Perhaps you could get more sponsors, and allow people to come in free. Tha’d be fairer I think.
Also do you offer free entry for anyone who volunteers for a charity, as their full time contribution to society?
I look forward to hearing back.
Cheers Thanks
Jo.
4.
thebigshwop | July 13, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Hi there Jo
Thanks Jo for your thoughts – they are great. We totally agree with you – made in china clothes aren’t a great swap for vintage at all. We’ve written a lot about it on our blog here and here and we have a spiel on our section of the main website too, http://www.thebigshwop.co.nz
We encourage people to buy ethically made and New Zealand made fashion when they buy new, and when they can’t afford to do that recycle, reuse and buy vintage. That is what we are based on.
As my sister said though, “you can’t expect people to worm farm until they are composting” and I think the same is true for The Big Shwop – until all people only buy quality clothes made in ethical conditions brand new, we have to recycle some stuff that has been Made in China.
Its not ideal – and its not what we encourage, but it is a reality at the moment. An example is with denim – it is difficult to find jeans not made in China, and if we didn’t accept any, we wouldn’t be reusing what we can. We work hard to make sure that what is accepted from MIC origin, is a substantial piece of clothing, made out of a good textile, and looking really good still. As we say on the website “.. if it cost close-to-nothing when you bought it brand new, then it probably hasn’t got a shwop-life second time around.”
You can swap up to twenty pieces of quality clothing for $20 which, regardless of the eco-goodies, is a really good deal. The event is only as good as the clothes people bring in so we encourage people to be brave with what they bring in and we favour NZ and vintage labels over anything high street. We encourage people to bring in those quality clothes that they bought – but for whatever reason aren’t wearing. It is a bit of an unknown what you will find in return, but the vast majority of shwoppers have a really, really fun time.
I hope this answers some of your questions, and thanks again for your comment!
Sarah
5.
Jo | July 22, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Hi there,
I didn’t seem to have got an answer on my previous mail.
Are you still doing you Shwop this Sunday.
How do people pay, by credit card, on your website.
Or else?
Can we decide on the day. Are you already swamped?
What if one is a bit claustrophibic around too much crowd?
And how about exchanging good quality clothing for junk.
That’s a bit my concern at present.
Hope you can help. Cheers.
6.
thebigshwop | July 23, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Hi there Jo,
Yes I posted a reply below – but you may not have seen it, I will make sure to email you as well.
You can pay online by credit card if you wish, or turn up on the day with the $20 entry fee – its up to you. Its best to pre-register online if you are keen to shwop as it guarantees you a spot to shwop.
Check out our website http://www.thebigshwop.co.nz for all the details,
Cheers Sarah
7.
jo | July 24, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Hi there,
Thanks.
Still some unanswered questions, in particularl regarding free entry for charity volunteers, who can’t afford the $20.00 but have clothes they may want to swap.
Cheers.
8.
thebigshwop | July 24, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Hi there Jo – We’ll think about it for next time but I think it would be pretty tricky to enact I’m afraid. Cheers, Sarah
9.
jo | July 25, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Why not? Show you don’t derive any income as you either have a community card or do unpaid charity work and trade your clothes for free.
That’s truly helping charity and the community as you mention you do that already.
It’s not only about profit for the bigshwop only, hopefully…
but about sharing around in LOVE, and especially for those of the community who give away their time for free, without receiving payment. Well something to think about. in all fairness.
I trust you had a great day
All the best to you.
Cheers
10.
Christina | July 30, 2010 at 11:50 am
Congratulations on a wonderful shwop, ladies. it was a very well-organised, well thought-out event, and I had a fantastic time. I’ve written a blog review about it since I work for heaps!, and we’re all about getting more out of life while sticking to a budget. And the shwop philosophy fits right in with that, so here you go:
http://blog.heaps.co.nz/how-to/the-big-shwop-a-review-from-a-shwopper/
Thanks again!
11.
Christina | July 30, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Congrataulations on a wonderful shwop, ladies! It was a well-organised, well thought-out event, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I wrote a blog review about it since I work for heaps!, and we’re all about getting more out of life while sticking to a budget. The Big Shwop’s philosophy falls right in line!
http://blog.heaps.co.nz/how-to/the-big-shwop-a-review-from-a-shwopper/
Thanks again for a wonderful event, and I look forward to seeing you at the next one!
12.
Lucy | November 10, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Hey there, is it an option if I just want to come shop.. cause I dont have a thing to schwop?
13.
thebigshwop | November 10, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Hi there Lucy
Unfortunately no – The Big Shwop is a swapping event – the more you bring in the more you get to take away and there are no options for those not contributing to the shwop itself. Thanks for your interest, Sarah.
14.
Kristy | November 11, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Hi, I’ve just found out about this event and I’m so upset I’m in Christchurch this weekend so I’ll miss it. When will the next one be?
Thanks,
15.
thebigshwop | November 11, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Oh stink one Kristy! The next one will be mid year 2011 just keep your eyes on our website, http://www.thebigshwop.co.nz and this blog.