Episode 38 – Zaqiya Cajee of SwopItup

Weetman talks to Zaqiya Cajee, a young entrepreneur in the UK who has set up a not-for-profit scheme. SwopItUp helps young people to swap their fashionable clothes, so they can experiment with different trends, colours, shapes and so on, without being part of the throwaway culture – and save money!We’ll hear how SwopItUp is developing technology to engage users and to help overcome the challenges of distancing during lockdow, to reduce the risk of the virus spreading via the clothes, and to track and analyse swapping trends.Podcast host Catherine Weetman is a circular economy business advisor, workshop facilitator, speaker and writer.  Her award-winning book, includes lots of practical examples and tips on getting started.  Catherine founded Rethink Global in 2013, to help businesses use circular, sustainable approaches to build a better business (and a better world).Stay in touch for free insights and updates...Read on for a summary of the podcast and links to the people, organisations and other resources we mention. You can subscribe to the podcast series on iTunes, Google Podcasts, PlayerFM, Spotify, TuneIn, or search for "circular economy" in your favourite podcast app.  Stay in touch to get free insights and updates, direct to your inbox... Links we mention in the episode: * Big Reuse Week podcasts https://www.mywaste.ie/reuse-month-event/the-big-reuse-event-part-1/ * SwopItUp https://www.swopitup.org/ and @SwopItUp on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn * Zaqiya on Instagram & Twitter @zaqiyacajee * Read more about Zaqiya here https://juliesbicycle.com/news/swopitup-young-people-fast-fashion/ * Reusing school uniforms – Episode 11 - Izzie Eriksen of ApparelXchange https://www.rethinkglobal.info/apparelxchange-reuse-school-uniforms/ * Renting and subscriptions for baby clothes - Episode 18 - Eve Kekeh of Bundlee https://www.rethinkglobal.info/episode-18-eve-kekeh-of-bundlee/ * Richard MacCowan at Biomimicry UK https://www.bio-uk.org/ * Amy and Ella Meek from Kids Against Plastic https://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk About Zaqiya CajeeLeading the charge in tackling the issue of fast fashion is 17 year-old Zaqiya Cajee.Founder of the SwopItUp scheme, Zaqiya is encouraging teenagers across the country to swop their clothes and dispel the throwaway nature of today’s fashion.The scheme sees students hand-in unwanted items of clothing, in exchange for tokens, which then form the ‘Swop Store’.Zaqiya’s ultimate goal is to have 25 schools running SwopItUp by 2021, soon after broadening it to become a national, eventually even international, enterprise. TranscriptAdd ~2:40 to these timings for the finished episodeCatherine Weetman  00:06Today we're talking to our youngest guest so far, 17 year old Zaqiya Cajee. Zaqiya is tackling the issue of fast fashion by encoura...