Big Sister Swap
Secondhand fashion is clearly booming– but it still has barriers: 53% of consumers find secondhand shopping too time-consuming and 40% are deterred by communication and haggling on resale apps like Vinted and Depop. Here’s where Big Sister Swap comes in.
We are the first to merge clothes swapping with personal styling. Customers send in their unwanted clothes, specify their preferences, and our stylists curate a box of clothes to send back. In one effortless transaction, we solve the pain points of secondhand: customers keep their clothes in circulation and gain a sustainable wardrobe update – in a one stop swap.
We are the world’s only personalised clothes swap, and the world’s most followed clothes swapping company.
- Listing ID: 3422
- Contact: Hudi Charin
- What are your aspirations and plans for the future?: We are currently launching two B2B arm’s. Rehoming returns: The first is for fashion retailers. We are providing a way for brands to rehome their excess stock and returns. We know that some clothes are sent to recycling companies though not all clothes can be recycled and this also requires energy/water. Some clothes are currently sent to charity shops however a large proportion of charity shop items end up in landfill. By rehoming their clothes with us we can include these as used stocked for our customer facing side. By giving these clothes to our customers, we allow brands to be more sustainable, and our customers affordable access to second hand clothes. Styling as a service: With the rise of many resale platforms and marketplaces, we want to partner with these companies and offer our styling expertise. We are one of the only companies who does secondhand styling and there unique to offer this service. We would sit on their platform or website as another options for consumers. Rather than the customer choosing the clothes themselves, they would order a styled bundle, paying a styling fee for this service. They would fill out the same style form we use for swappers. Our stylists would then pick clothes from our partner’s stock and send this bundle to them. The partner receives the usual fee for their items, and we receive the styling fee.
- What types of projects are you interested in working on through Future Fashion Factory?: We would love to work with Future Fashion Factory on a variety of projects. I am not sure I understand the full depth of what the Future Fashion Factory does so I would love to discuss this in more detail. I would love be apart of the Future Fashion Factory’s network. It would be amazing to be able to speak to potential partners for our B2B arm’s. We have a bespoke database and stock control system to allow our stylist to organise our secondhand stock. I can see a lot of work goes into research and innovation. We would love to work with an industry partner on developing more technology. Though currently I’m not sure we can afford to pay for this. We raised our first round of funding last year and are currently trying to raise our next round. As a female founder I have found it difficult to break into the world of investment and venture capital, so any support on the investment side would be amazing. Finally on a personal note, I would love the support of an external organisation who understand fashion and sustainability. I started this business from my University bedroom and we are now a team of 6 full time staff in a 2500 sqft office and over 10,000 items of secondhand stock. I am only 25 and have sometimes found the pressure of running this business difficult, so any support would be really appreciated.