Ullapool Re-love Clothing Fair
On Thursday 22nd June I helped run a Re-love Clothing Fair in the Ullapool Village Hall. This event was being hosted by two of our members – Ullapool Unpacked C.I.C. (a social enterprise and refill shop) and Loch broom and the Ullapool Community Trust who are part of the Highland Community Waste Partnership.
So what is a Re-Love Clothing Fair?
This re-love clothing fair was a platform for individuals to sell and buy good quality second hand items. Much like vinted or eBay, but in person so people could see the items they were buying. People dropped off the items they wanted to sell along with a list of prices in advance, and then we labelled everything with a price and seller ID. Everything was then set up to look like a normal shop and people could come, browse and buy.
What were the benefits?
Through displaying everyone’s items anonymously in a shop style setting, it allowed for a really nice shopping/selling experience. I was going for posh boutique vibes!
The money from the items went back to the seller, and any items that didn’t sell were returned.
It promotes buying second hand and avoiding fast fashion.
By doing the fair with both local sellers and buyers there was no need to package and post items, reducing the carbon footprint of buying second hand.
Having the shop open in the village hall allowed for natural socialising and community discussion which was really lovely to be part of. People were excited about what they found, and we engaged with a wide variety of individuals.
It was really good fun!
The event ran from 5-9pm in the evening and had a great turn out. With everyone asking when the next one would be! So its something we would definitely do again and encourage others to do as well.
If you are interested in running your own Community Re-Loved Clothing Fair or something similar and would like some support then please do get in contact with the Hub via email on enquiries@hiclimatehub.co.uk or to contact me directly, please email evie@hiclimatehub.co.uk.