Aim

To empower more people to reduce textile waste by buying less less clothing and swapping quality items in our shops in Cromer & Norwich

How are we Eco-friendly?

New-U encourages people to make a direct impact on climate change by reducing the amount of new clothing they buy.  We offer a simple and accessible way to put clean quality pre-loved clothing back into circulation and receive something in return; literally swapping clothes for clothes.

Our two shops in Norwich and Cromer, are swapping approximately 3,000 items every month.  This equates to staggering saving on the equivalent newly manufactured and transported items of 9 billion litres of water and 6 million kg of CO2!

Why do we do it?

Fashion consumption continues to gain speed at unsustainable levels.  Spending habits are typically influenced by the price of an item rather than the wider environmental impact of producing it. We buy 60% more clothing now than we did 15 years ago, and only keep these garments for half as long.  In the UK alone, 11 million items of clothing are sent to landfill every week, many of these could remain in circulation as wearable items.  Every item that is swapped into our shops is re-used with the vast majority remaining as items of clothing, only a tiny percentage is recycled for rags.

How can you help?

 An individual deciding to reuse clothes is not likely to have a significant impact, however, coming together as a community of multiple re-users starts to make a real difference both in reducing waste and changing attitudes. We must change and replace our culture of buying and disposing of large quantities of clothing with a culture of repairing, sharing and re-using. New-U does just that.  As well as contributing towards the circular economy, our customers are helping us to support long-term unemployed young people to better their lives.  We provide individualised work experience placements and employability support.  Our doors are open to everyone in the community, those with the means to purchase new but wanting to reduce waste and low income families who may not have the resources to buy long-lasting clothing and rely on fast fashion.

A little bit more about us ….

 New-U continues to evolve from its original inception as an employability and waste reduction project. In January 2022 we opened our second high street swap shop for swapping or buying.  This means we can provide more free clothing to anyone in need via the gifting of swap tokens.  Last year we expanded into swapping books and our ambition is to continue to diversify further, swapping CD’s and games in the short term and other household items in the longer term. 

Our small and friendly team are always looking for ways to work within the community and share our knowledge of the circular economy and encourage wider participation.

Say NO to plastic

 Currently we re-use plastic bags to take in items from the public for swapping.  We are crowdfunding to purchase strong jute bags to reduce plastic waste.  These bags will be used time and time again, and last much longer than the random collection of bags we have used to date. Made from natural fibres, each customer will be given a bag in which to place their items for swapping.  

Thank You so much for reading about our campaign. We strongly believe the most sustainable garment is the one you already own, and want to apply this ethos to everything we use in our shops. All of our swap tokens and price tags are in continuous use, many of our shop fittings have been donated from other retailers and eco-friendly long lasting bags is the next step in our green promise.

Sue, Clare, Debbie, Tasha, Kelly, Carla, Christine & Sean

This project successfully funded on 12th April 2022