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SWAP SOCIETY Nicole Robertson makes sustainable fashion achievable and accessible
PHOTO COURTESY OF SWAP SOCIETY
Mar Vista resident Nicole Robertson founded Swap Society in 2017, an online clothing swap for women and kids that makes it easy and affordable for members to mix up their wardrobes sustainably. By Sara Edwards ar Vista resident Nicole Robertson is making sustainable fashion achievable and accessible for anyone looking to get rid of their clothes with her company Swap Society. Swap Society is an online clothing swap platform where people can swap clothes, jewelry and accessories for different items, all while lowering their clothing carbon footprint. Robertson started the platform shortly after her favorite swap store in Playa del Rey closed down. She still wanted to continue finding a way to swap and that’s when she got the idea to create an
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online website in 2017. “A lot of my background was online and if you’re in a little brick-and-mortar on the Westside of LA, you’re going to be limited to how many people are actually going to be a part of it,” she said. Robertson was working in the beauty industry prior to starting Swap Society and, after taking a deep dive into the impact it had on the environment, she wanted to find a way to make her fashion and beauty choices more sustainable and affordable. “I was looking at ways that I could personally be more sustainable and that’s around the time that I learned the truth
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about the fashion industry,” she said. In her research, Robertson discovered that fashion is in the top three industries for pollution and puts more greenhouse gas emissions into the environment than maritime shipping and international flights combined. It also is one of the top two industries for water pollution, followed by a large amount of textile waste. “People are wearing their clothes for less and less time so it’s really a very dirty industry,” she said. “I was really bummed that my favorite swap was going to close and then I thought, ‘What if I started my own swap?’”
Swap Society makes it easy to swap women’s clothes, children’s clothes, accessories and jewelry with anyone from around the country and all sizes are accepted. After signing up for a membership, which starts at $30 a month for a monthly subscription, Swap Society sends a welcome kit that comes with a reusable bag and return label. The member is then given points, or SwapCoin, that can be used on other clothing items after sending in the clothes they don’t want to Swap Society. Every order on the site costs the listed amount of SwapCoin plus $5.99. “People stay members for a
long time because swapping is just so easy and it’s super affordable,” Robertson said. Swap Society also has a personal styling option for an extra $35 where personal stylists create a 10-piece capsule wardrobe based on the results of a personal styling quiz. “We found that some people who want to have a more sustainable wardrobe can feel overwhelmed looking at all of the options that are on the site,” Robertson said. Robertson wants to continue educating people about the environmental impacts of the fashion industry and inspiring them to consider swapping as a
