A leading Northern Ireland online company Net-Finity has launched a new digital initiative which is being adopted by schools across Northern Ireland to help reduce waste and offer parents the chance to recycle and swap unused school uniforms and equipment.The School Swap Shop initiative, in partnership with Eco Schools, is being supported by the Department of Environment and provides the opportunity for parents to upload unwanted clothing, musical instruments and other school items which their children no longer need. The items are then listed and broken down by area and school, maximising the opportunity for other families to swap or exchange much needed material.The programme has been developed by entrepreneur Anthony Kieran, Director at Net-Finity Group, which has built a number of indigenous Northern Ireland online businesses which are leading their respective markets including UsedCarsNI.com and JookIt.com which houses School Swap Shop.Commenting on the School Swap Shop initiative Anthony Kieran said, “The idea for the School Shop Swap came from our experience with our own children. We realised how quickly they grew out of clothing and equipment and that they were still very good quality.  One thing that our society has learned over the last four or five years is to be more savvy with its disposable income and the whole concept of reduce, re-use and re-cycle which is at the heart of this community based initiative.  School Swap Shop is a win win scenario for both the environment and for families, with reduced waste and savings for parents looking for specific school uniforms or equipment. 

Environment Minister Mark H Durkan said:  “This project is an excellent example of partnership working and I commend Jookit.com and the Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, Eco-Schools’ scheme.

“I fully support the School Swap Shop initiative and the part it will play in preventing waste and minimising the use of primary resources.  My Department’s Rethink Waste programme is aimed at increasing recycling and recovery of materials from the waste stream, diverting them from landfill and maximising their economic value and reducing the impact that waste can have on climate change.” 

Jookit.com <http://www.jookit.com> , which lists everyday items from pets to property, now houses a separate School Swap Shop section with the capacity to host items from all schools across Northern Ireland. With over 100k unique users per month, Jookit.com has become one of Northern Ireland’s busiest free local listings website. 

Anthony Kieran continued “As a society we had become accustomed to buying new and throwing out things that others may benefit from or keeping them boxed up at home. We see School Swap Shop as facilitating changing attitudes in our society both in terms of our environmental and financial outlook and beginning to see items we no longer have a use for, in a different light. We are hugely excited by the possibilities presented by this and by the volumes of schools wishing to become part of the initiative.” 

The School Swap Shop can be accessed by visiting jookit.com/school-swap-shop and following the links. 

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