NEED an excuse to have a sort out of your bulging wardrobes and drawers and help the environment at the same time?

A clothes swap is taking place in Warrington to support a green initiative in the town.

It is widely reported that more than 300,000 tonnes of textiles made in the UK go to landfills each year.

So Culture Warrington has teamed up with the River Reeves Foundation and boutique charity shop Vintage Viola to promote the concept of ‘sustainable fashion’.

The idea is to encourage people to think about what they wear in a different way and to stop throwing out unloved clothes and buying new ones in favour of upcycling and swapping.

The event on Saturday, March 26 is appropriately taking place in the town centre’s former Marks and Spencer in Sankey Street – a retail unit that has been given its own new lease of life as a temporary studio and exhibition space.

The ‘Our Warrington, Our World’ clothes swap will start at 10.30am when people will be invited to drop off clean, good quality clothes and accessories in return for tokens to exchange them for something ‘new’ when the swap shop opens between 11am and 3pm.

The only items not being accepted are shoes, underwear or swimwear.

Amanda Moore, one of the organisers, said: “Every piece of new clothing can be the product of countless chemicals, dyes, water use and transport miles which can be harmful to the earth as well as the people making the clothing.

“When I found out such a huge amount of clothing gets dumped in landfill every year, throwing a clothing swap seemed like a great idea to provide a way for all those clothes to be given at least one more round of life.

“We're delighted to be working with the River Reeves Foundation on this, and any donations or leftover clothes from the event will be donated to this great cause.”

Sharon Dunne, from the River Reeves Foundation, added: “This is an exciting opportunity to show Warrington residents that clothes swaps are a good way of refreshing your wardrobe without harming the environment.

“Around £140 million of used but still wearable clothing goes to landfill each year. We can play a small part in changing that. I think swap shops and charity shops are the way forward.”

Those who do not have clothes to donate can simply buy £2 tokens with all funds going to the River Reeves Foundation, a charity that provides bursaries for young people to pursue careers in the arts.

There will also be upcycling demonstrations and upcycled garments for sale created by Warrington artist Enya Koster.