Fashion swapping

In times of crisis the call heeds to be creative when it comes to parting with your hard-earned

 money.

Savvy internet users are swapping everything from womenswear, accessories and children's clothing to motorcars and mobile phones. In fact, anything you might see at an online auction site is being regularly swapped at swapping site. www.swapz.co.uk.

The site, which boasts over 300,000 members, says many of its users can no longer afford the climbing cost of selling at online auctions.

In becoming Europe's leading person to person swapping site, Swapz has attracted a "green" following, keeping many unwanted items out of landfill sites as part of the process.

Swapz' Paul Kay says "Every year in January our growth explodes. We anticipate that the uplift in 2012 will be bigger than ever with more people needing to economise and change their consumption patterns. Every home in the UK has drawers, cupboards, lofts and garages of things they no longer want that can now easily be converted into things they want or need!"