Union St is 10! Editor Sophie Tolhurst has created a new 10yr magazine which is so good it deserved a launch party 🥳

Featuring interviews with stand-out members & projects alongside illustrations by local graphic designer Charlie Kondras, if you’d like a mag to read at home you can enter your details into the form here and I’ll send your free copy in the post.

BIG THANKS to everyone who's made all of this possible, especially co-worker Sophie Tolhurst for curating and editing, plus Charlie Kondras for graphic design and Fraser Havenhand for these pics from the launch party x

The Clothes Swap is back so we caught up with Founder Jess from Common Thread Sheffield to learn all about the wonderful world of clothes exchanges, the concept behind them, and what you can expect to find...

Hi Jess! For the uninitiated, could you explain to us what a clothes exchange is?

“Sure! First off, it’s not our concept - this is a thing that has existed for ages. And the first community clothes exchange that I came across actually started in the Netherlands.

“But the way we do it is that we work on an honesty policy basis rather than a token system. Lots of exchanges count the amount of items in and count the amount of items out, and they keep records.

"We keep it simple, and we say bring a bag of things you don’t need anymore, and take a bag away. The items that you bring must be clean and in good condition - so no rips, tears or stains.”

Do you have to donate clothes to come along?

“We say bring a bag, take a bag, but you can drop off donations anytime. And sometimes you don’t have anything to donate when the exchange rolls around. So it’s not essential to bring a bag. 

“It is essential to pay if you just want to come as a punter, but we do want it to be accessible and there are always volunteer slots available. If the cost of the event (£5) isn’t accessible to some people, they should request to volunteer.”

What’s the thinking behind a clothes exchange?

“Well, basically fast fashion is awful - in a word! Everything is outsourced to countries where labour is cheap, inspections are virtually non-existent, and the materials are sourced as cheaply as possible and in the least sustainable way.

“But a lot of the costs of fast fashion to people and the planet are hidden, and we don’t necessarily know about them. And the fact we’ve been advertised to for so long, it means there’s a certain pressure to dress a certain way and to follow trends. At the clothes exchange we do understand that and we’re not trying to judge anyone. The idea of a clothes exchange is an accessible and fun way to introduce people to the idea of slow fashion.

“What we’re trying to say is: stop shopping, try swapping. You’ll get the same thrill and fun as you do when you go shopping, but you won’t be supporting businesses like that. Instead you’ll be supporting a co-operative way of doing things. You’ll make friends, you’ll have a good time, you can bring your Gran, you can bring your mates, you can bring your kids, it’s very inclusive, it’s non-judgmental, and you will genuinely have a great time. And in the end you’ll come away with some quality new clothes - for an absolute bargain.”

What if I don’t find something I like?

“If you can’t find something for you, go shopping for friends and family. Because there’s no limit on how much you can take it away - so treat it as a library. If you take things and you don’t end up wearing them, you can always bring them back.”

Can I repair old clothes there?

“If you have items that you want to repair or restyle then keep them on you and take them to the repair station. Our volunteers there will help you repair them if they can, or give you advice on how to get them repaired.”

What’s different for this edition?

“What we’ve decided for this one is that we’re going to spread it out over three floors rather than two, so that we can get more stuff out. And we’ve upped the amount of volunteers we’ve asked for as well. So I’m hopeful we can get a really good variety of clothes.”

Cheers Jess!

You can buy a ticket for the next Clothes Exchange right here.

And you can stay up-to-date with Common Thread Sheffield on their website and Facebook page.

Co-working member Gordon recently suggested we organise a screening of the National Emergency Briefing, the new 50 minute public information documentary which follows the landmark briefing where 10 scientific experts briefed over 1,000 politicians, business leaders and media figures in Westminster about climate breakdown. The film covers how the ecological crisis directly impacts British life...

Bella, a climate scientist and co-worker who introduced the film, said: "I've studied the climate for a long time and found the briefing gave me more clarity on how we can expect climate change to change the UK."

"Hosting the briefing was a bit of a roller coaster, but through the structure of the briefing and the discussions we had afterwards, I think more people left on a positive footing in the believe that positive change is possible."

"It's given me more insightful talking points and confidence in talking to others about the specific problems we face. Continuing to share that knowledge can help motivate more people to act."

Co-organiser James said: "I was worried that seeing the Emergency Briefing and better understanding the scale of the crisis we face would send me further into a doom spiral and make me feel powerless, but that didn't happen.

The film is well structured and shows not only the problems but also some of their solutions. I think the screenings are really important to helps us reach a social tipping point before we breach the environmental ones."

One of the aims to of the screening was to invite local decision makers to see the film so we were really pleased when four Councillors from Sheffield Green Party booked tickets, plus our Labour MP for Sheffield Central; Abtisan Mohammed.

Here's the film's 1 minute trailer featuring Chris Packham;

One of the 'calls to action' of the documentary was to sign the petition calling on the government to provide this briefing for the public, which will only be debated in parliament if the petition can achieve 100,000 signatures;

For more information, and to check-out the 50 minute long documentary featuring Chris Packham, check out the National Emergency Briefing website at https://www.nebriefing.org/

... and if you haven't yet done it, please sign the petition here:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/767687