#10minswith is a monthly series featuring leaders, creatives and entrepreneurs who dare to chart their own path in Singapore and across the region.
Social entrepreneur Priyanka Shahra is a zealous advocate for social and environmental consciousness in fashion, education and lifestyle. She has been working with several non-profit initiatives as a board member and educator while supporting community welfare and passionately promoting sustainable living.
One of her ventures is Swapaholic, born from a desire to reduce fashion wastage through swapping of preloved clothes. According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), 254,000 tonnes of textile waste were generated in 2022, with only two percent being recycled. That’s the equivalent of 180 shirts per resident going to waste. Shahra’s focus is not just to encourage consumers to swap fashion, but to use Swapaholic as a platform to swap one’s mindset towards conscious consumption.
Swapaholic’s concept prioritises an eco-conscious approach, where users can sell or swap in their preloved items, for cash or other traded pieces. The NEA partner has since helped to save over 500,000 pieces of fashion items, 1.2 billion litres of water and 3.9 million kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over its journey. Swapaholic is Singapore’s first company in the fashion category to be recognised as a B Corp social enterprise (having earned the status in 2018), a significant endorsement of a company’s commitment to responsible business practices.
Determined to meet the Singapore Green Plan’s goal of reducing waste sent to landfills by 30 percent per capita, Shahra launched Swapaholic’s latest (ongoing) pop-up, SwapVerse, to bring together green fashionistas through circular and conscious fashion, lifestyle products and experiences, with brands, initiatives, and individuals empowering people to be conscious about ethical and eco-offerings. Here, she shares more about the new initiative and why it’s not just about swapping clothes.
Why did you set up Swapaholic?
I used to eagerly anticipate my weekly online shopping deliveries, proudly wearing my new outfits. But that pride quickly turned into guilt when I learnt that fashion is the second-largest polluting industry in the world. As a self-confessed shopaholic, this realisation really hit home. I wasn’t ready to give up my love for fashion, and knew I had to find a more sustainable way to enjoy it.
Despite searching, I couldn’t find any alternatives that resonated with me. Then I came across the Western concept of clothes swapping, and it immediately struck a chord. “Why not systemise and scale this up?” I thought. And thus, Swapaholic was born in 2017, giving fashion lovers like myself a guilt-free way to indulge in style whilst being kinder to the planet, and making it fairer, accessible, and impactful for everyone.
What is Swapaholic’s unique selling point?
I believe our loyal Swapaholics – a 20,000+ strong customer base where many have supported us since 2017, long before swapping and secondhand fashion became mainstream in Singapore – are what makes us unique.
Swapaholic isn’t just about swapping clothes; it’s about swapping mindsets. That’s what shifted my behaviour in the first place. Our approach is centred around two key aspects. [First is] raising awareness through collaboration by partnering with like-minded organisations and individuals such as Capitol Singapore to promote circular and conscious fashion. By working together, we can extend our reach and create a deeper, collective impact. [The second aspect] is providing a seamless, compromise-free service that encourages sustainable lifestyle choices.
We’ve made significant investments in technology and custom-built systems to ensure that swapping is smooth, efficient, and scalable. Our goal is to make sustainable fashion easy, accessible, and enjoyable, allowing people to change their habits without compromising on convenience or style, something I personally struggled with during my transition from shopaholic to Swapaholic.
What don’t people realise about Swapaholic?
The amount of meticulous work that happens behind the scenes! When Swapaholic first launched in 2017, secondhand fashion was largely associated with the less-than-glamorous flea market image. Our dream was to change behaviour and make caring for the planet cool, transforming this perception by curating events that offered the feel of boutique shopping for preloved items.
A lot goes into creating a seamless experience for our users. Each item undergoes a rigorous quality check before it enters our system. To manage the incredible volume of clothes, we had to develop our own technology from scratch as there were no plug-and-play solutions to match our needs. This meant developing inventory management apps, algorithms that assigned point values to items, customer data dashboards, and online swapping systems, among others. While these innovations ensure that customers enjoy a reliable and smooth experience, building them from the ground up without any prior examples has been (and still is) a challenging undertaking.
Another thing people don’t often see is the heart of our workforce. Around 30 to 50 percent of our team consists of individuals from financially or circumstantially disadvantaged backgrounds whom we provide with flexible job opportunities. Every swap not only makes a difference for the environment, but also for the community as a whole.
How does Swapaholic’s omni-channel swapping model work?
We’ve built a flexible omni-channel model where one can swap, sell, and buy preloved and ethical fashion. Our vision is to create a community closet that truly belongs to the people and allows them to participate in the circular economy in a way that fits their lifestyle.
You can swap your items at our physical Swap Shop or at various events held across Singapore. If selling preloved fashion is more your style, we offer both online and physical marketplaces. For shoppers, you can explore our collections either at our store, online, or at our pop-up events. This omni-channel approach ensures that no matter where you are or how you prefer to engage, it’s easy to take part in circular fashion.
How does Swapaholic maintain financial stability?
Whether through the SwapVerse or other initiatives, Swapaholic is committed to constantly innovating and providing the community with a convenient way to practise circularity and conscious consumption, and we’ve built a sustainable financial model by diversifying our income streams. Our revenue comes from service fees for swapping, commissions on sales, and ticket sales from our online and offline events. This multi-pronged approach allows us to maintain financial stability while staying true to our mission of making circular fashion accessible to everyone.
How is Swapaholic different from other platforms selling preloved clothes for cash?
Rather than viewing ourselves as being in competition with other platforms, we are focused on collaboration to amplify our shared mission. We are grateful to have other players supporting the collective goal of sustainability. As for our approach to our peer-to-peer marketplace, Swapaholic prioritises convenience and protection for both sellers and buyers. For example, sellers can easily ship their items from home, with tracking provided through our platform, ensuring a secure and seamless experience. Additionally, because we focus solely on fashion, our listings are curated using AI tools, making it easier for buyers to find exactly what they want. We also collaborate with influencers, key opinion leaders and individuals who sell their fashion as they raise awareness about sustainable fashion in the process.
What makes SwapVerse unique?
SwapVerse at Capitol Singapore is envisioned as a vibrant universe where individuals can swap not only fashion, but also embrace new mindsets and lifestyles. It features different zones, each tailored to meet different community needs.
For instance, Swap Your Fashion Zone is where you can swap your preloved fashion items, earn points, and redeem them within six months for pieces you love. Shop Your Neighbour’s Closet is where you can purchase preloved clothes directly from your neighbours or apply to sell your own closet, fostering a local, sustainable fashion community.
The Discover Ethical Fashion & Lifestyle Brands section allows one to explore sustainable fashion brands like She Creates Stories, Olive Ankara, and One Puram, as well as lifestyle brands in partnership with The Green Collective, featuring eco-friendly products such as Talking Toes and Patrichory.
Kids Zone is a dedicated area for preloved children’s books, toys, clothing, and eco-friendly products, encouraging young ones to engage in sustainable living. Finally, at Donation Zone, we welcome donations of preloved kids’ items while supporting our charity partner, Souls4Soles.
What truly distinguishes the SwapVerse is its holistic approach to circular living, making it a one-stop destination for anyone eager to live more consciously. Additionally, we host monthly events in-store for all demographics, creating a dynamic and inclusive space for the entire community to engage with sustainability.
What began as a pop-up Swap Shop in 2020 has now evolved into a four-year concept retail experience. Conscious living isn’t just a passing trend; it’s a way of life, and we hope that Swapaholic’s physical spaces will help cultivate that mindset within our community.
Is there a particular target audience that Swapaholic appeals to the most?
When we first started, our early adopters were primarily individuals from Western countries who were already familiar with thrift and secondhand culture. Today, we have a much broader demographic that reflects the melting pot of Singapore, with people from various cultures, different walks of life, and age groups now participating in our community. Our youngest swapper is just three years old, while our oldest is over 70! It’s heartwarming to see how circular fashion is being embraced by such a diverse group of individuals.
Where to from here? What’s next for Swapaholic?
The future of Swapaholic involves scaling up and expanding globally. Singapore has served as the perfect testing ground for our model, thanks to its diverse and cosmopolitan population. We are currently refining our technology and systems to take Swapaholic to the world stage. We have some exciting projects in the pipeline, and with a bit of luck, we hope to see them come to fruition in 2025.
Swapaholic’s SwapVerse is at Capitol Singapore, B2-36/37, 13 Stamford Road, Singapore 178905. A roster of activities and promotions from October to December have been lined up. Find out more here.
