The Woodleigh Swap Shop: Wear, Share, Repair

Did you know the average Victorian throws away 28 kilograms of textile waste every year? That’s two fully loaded Hattah hiking packs, 40 basketballs or 140,000 jelly beans. A measly 7% of that is recycled. Despite the best efforts of op-shops, 43,444 tonnes still end up in landfill in Victoria alone. Yikes.

In a free-dress school like Woodleigh, students have the freedom to express who they are - but with that freedom comes the responsibility to consume consciously.

Introducing The Woodleigh Swap Shop! A prime example of a local, regenerative response to a global challenge as part of our Year 10s Futures Project. A response that restores hope, embraces style, creativity and identity, all while building on a culture of repurposing.

Year 10 RFP students Henry and Maeve launched The Woodleigh Swap Shop at the end of Term 3 this year. For the purpose of their Futures Projects, they both considered the information and data in different ways; Henry’s research project explored creative ways to repurpose school resources physically, while Maeve investigated the social and economic factors shaping second-hand markets, from personal ethics to economic influences.

The Woodleigh Swap Shop is a student-led initiative born from the Futures Project's quest for solutions that give more than they take, in an ongoing capacity. In this case, the solution was one that keeps clothing, camping gear, specialist equipment and textbooks in circulation long after they would otherwise be disposed of. The Swap Shop is proof that when students combine curiosity with care, they can turn big ideas into meaningful impact.

So how does it work? Simply. The Swap Shop will be student-led and supported by RFP tutor Hannah Watts. It will be open once a week during lunchtime and will operate on a direct exchange system: bring an item and swap it directly for a new item you want! Operating on a garment-for-garment, like-for-like basis creates a steady, regenerative flow that keeps exchanges balanced, predictable and inherently fair to ensure its ongoing success! 

The Woodleigh Swap Shop is located in the shipping container that faces the green lawn outside the Futures Studio. In September, the container was cleared of unused bikes, which were donated to a Melbourne grassroots charity called Bicycles for Humanity . This organisation provides sustainable transport options to communities in Africa.

Our plans for 2026 at The Swap Shop are BIG! It will be part of the Year 10 Collaborative Regenerative Projects (more to come on this), where students collaborate on a series of hands-on projects that reimagine how communities can live, learn and grow regeneratively. The Swap Shop will include repairing workshops, design, promotion, clothing accessibility for Irrultja and Ampilatwatja visits, and potential collaborations with Dorsu, an ethical fashion brand from Cambodia.

Let’s be more regenerative, together, as a school community!