VisitSweden and the Swedish Institute are the initiators of ShareWear. They are both responsible for promoting and creating interest in Sweden around the world. The brief was to promote Sweden as a creative and sustainable country abroad, whilst highlighting one of the country’s creative industries. Our research found that millions of tons of textiles are thrown away globally each year – even though almost all of it could be recycled, reused or repurposed. So we wanted to find a creative way to inspire a more sustainable way of being fashionable, and the same time showcase Swedish fashion.

The collection was launched on Instagram using #sharewear. The first person who commented on a photo of the item got to borrow it for a week. Once the week was over, the user shared the items forward by uploading a photo to Instagram and handing it over to the first person who commented. The ShareWear collection is also available in a digital showroom at Sharewear.se where fashion-sharers can learn more and browse the different items.

We employed a trickle down media strategy targeting elite media in relevant segments, allowing our initiative to filter down. To spark discussion we invited journalist to take part in the initiative and try out the item available in their city. This launch plan was executed on January 20, 2016, a few days before Swedish fashion week.