The new Primark swap shop will allow customers to bring up to five items of adult clothing, accessories, or bags in good condition to swap for digital tokens via circular clothing company Verte's app.
These tokens can be redeemed for pre-loved clothing from Verte’s collection with luxury items eligible for special gold tokens, enabling customers to trade for premium items. Unswapped items will either be donated to charity, kept for future swaps, or placed in Primark's donation boxes.
The first swap shop will debut on 13 September at Primark’s Westfield Stratford store in London to coincide with London Fashion Week. The exchange will remain open for three days.
The initiative will then continue in Primark's Manchester Market Street store on the 16 to 17 September, followed by a pop-up at Birmingham High Street on the 16 to 17 October.
Primark Cares director Lynne Walker said: “We truly believe in helping people to love their clothes for longer and our latest partnership with Verte allows us to do just that. We hope our pop-ups will encourage more people to participate in the growing circular fashion economy."
Verte founder Jessica Brunt added: “Swapping is a great way to access pre-loved in an affordable and inclusive way and the more people who are exposed to the idea, the better it is for the planet and for the future of shopping.”
The initiative forms part of Primark’s ongoing commitment to make pre-loved fashion more accessible and encourage customers to love their clothing for longer.
Primark pointed out the initiative builds on its previous partnerships such as its collaboration with the Vintage Wholesale Company to offer unique vintage clothes via Wornwell, which is currently in 10 stores across the UK. The retailer’s “Love it for Longer” repair workshops run all year round to encourage customers to extend the life of their clothing.
