The Alderbury Clothing Exchange is back by popular demand.

Having had huge success with their February event, their summer swap, sponsored by Mr Fencing Wiltshire, will take place just before Father’s Day on Saturday, 17th June at St Mary’s Hall, Whaddon. The event opens from 10am and closes at 3pm.

They’ll also be hosting a pop-up at Alderbury’s Picnic in the Park event on Saturday, 3rd June, with some rails for guests to browse, plus they’re joining the main stage for a secondhand fashion show.

Organised by five volunteers from the community, the Alderbury Clothing Exchange aims to provide local people with access to free, good-quality clothing, stopping items needlessly ending up in landfill, while having fun.

Their ‘Swap don’t Shop’ motto encourages people to prioritise second-hand clothing over buying fast fashion items.

Founder and organiser Jenna Lloyd said: “Manufacturing clothes in the massive quantities that brands do is incredibly damaging to the environment and lots of it ends up in landfill.

“Me and the A.C.E Team are passionate about making sure that these amazing clothes don’t go to waste. We love seeing how happy people are after finding something special to wear at our events – without having to spend any money.”

Caroline from the A.C.E Team added: “The first exchange was hard work but it was really exciting to sort logistics, particularly finding an affordable village venue and sufficient clothes rails to display the clothes so it didn’t look like a jumble sale, designing and putting posters up/arranging word of mouth publicity and drop off points.

“But the village rose to the challenge and we packed the hall full of lots of fab items for all sizes, ages, genders and tastes.”

The team will be accepting donations of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and shoes in good condition during the week commencing Monday, 12th June, with drop-offs also being accepted at St Marys Hall, Whaddon on Friday, 16th June.

The team will also be collecting food and toiletries for Salisbury Foodbank again and will be sharing a list of their most-needed items ahead of the event.

The Alderbury Clothing Exchange is free to attend. You don’t need to bring anything in order to take a bag of items away.

However, there are running costs associated with the events, such as storage items and printing costs so donations towards these costs are greatly appreciated, if not essential.

To volunteer as a mode for the Alderbury Picnic in the Park fashion show on 3 June, please contact them the email or social media accounts below.

Facebook or Instagram at @alderburyclothingexchange, or email: alderburyclothingexchange@gmail.com