Cover Raye Padit, founder and chief executive officer of The Fashion Pulpit (Photo: Susannah Jaffer)
Raye Padit, founder and chief executive officer of The Fashion Pulpit (Photo: Susannah Jaffer)
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The Fashion Pulpit has recirculated over half a million garments, creating one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant circular fashion communities. For founder Raye Padit, the goal goes beyond clothes—it is about reshaping consumption itself
On the night of The Fashion Pulpit’s (TFP) 7th anniversary party this past July, its community of swappers gathered on the rooftop of Allenby House in Jalan Besar, where the social enterprise is based. Many greeted one another by name, with some familiar faces tracing back to its very beginning. As the evening unfolded, some paused to thank founder and chief executive officer Raye Padit, while others reflected on growing alongside TFP—through marriage, career changes and motherhood. They had come not just to mark a milestone, but to honour the belief that unites them: that sustainable, circular fashion should be accessible to all.
On ordinary days, swappers trade clothes they no longer need for pieces that reflect who they are now, while also browsing collections from pre-owned luxury marketplaces like HuntStreet or conscious local labels such as Sui. In recent years, TFP has grown into a full-fledged circular fashion hub. Beyond its core swap model, it partners with like-minded organisations to host upcycling workshops, alteration services, styling consultations and educational programmes. Some sessions are casual and drop-in, while others such as corporate swaps with companies such as Ubisoft and AIA, school outreach and government collaborations are more structured.
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Above The official launch of the circular fashion hub by The Fashion Pulpit
Since 2018, TFP has diverted more than half a million fashion items from landfills. Its flexible membership tiers—ranging from one-day passes to three-, six- and 12-month options—allow swappers to trade pieces for points and redeem them for other garments. A year’s membership can save the average shopper hundreds of dollars while curbing their environmental footprint.
The proof is in the numbers: according to its 2023 impact report, the swap model recirculated more than 38,000 pieces that year, avoiding over 116,000kg of carbon emissions and saving some 55 million litres of water compared to producing new garments. “We have three guiding principles: to lessen textile waste, extend the lifespan of clothes already produced, and provide an alternative to how we consume fashion,” shares Padit.
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For him, that alternative has always been personal. Growing up on the remote island of Samar in the Philippines, he was fascinated by fashion from an early age. As a child, he accompanied his mother on fabric runs and visits to the tailor, watching how a simple bolt of cloth could transform the way she carried herself. “It was interesting how a piece of fabric could be transformed. [Fashion] subconsciously became a thing for me.” In time, he began replicating her process by designing and tailoring his own clothes.
Armed with a degree in psychology, he moved to Singapore and began working in customer service, but all roads soon led back to fashion. “I remembered how much I love designing,” he says. With no formal training or industry contacts, he enrolled in evening classes at the Textile and Fashion Industry Training Centre, where he learned to sew and draft patterns. He volunteered at fashion weeks, interned with local designers, and launched a small womenswear label called PR. The work was fulfilling, but it left him questioning whether he could contribute more than just creating clothes.
That period of reflection coincided with the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, when a factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killed more than 1,100 garment workers. The tragedy triggered a global reckoning with the human cost of fast fashion— and became a turning point for Padit. The very system he had once aspired to join now seemed inseparable from the exploitation it depended on. Around that time, he came across Redress, a Hong Kong-based non-profit dedicated to sustainable design. Entering their global competition, he made the Singapore shortlist and immersed himself in its resources. “It opened my eyes,” Padit recalls, noting how eager he was to learn from the industry.
Back in Singapore, he founded Connected Threads Asia, a non-profit dedicated to making sustainability more accessible through talks and documentary screenings. But after two years, Padit realised that awareness alone was not enough. “Knowledge is vital to shifting mindsets,” he reflects. “But without action, it stops there.”
That push for action turned his attention to local fashion habits. A 2013 Wall Street Journal article, A Closet Filled with Regrets, quoted the chief design officer of California Closets estimating that people wear just 20 per cent of their wardrobe. “What happens to the other 80 per cent?” Padit expounds.
The idea of swapping soon emerged as a practical model. A friend’s experience at a US swap event reinforced its potential as a low-barrier, high-impact solution. In 2016, Padit tested the concept through a Kickstarter campaign called Swagalls. While the crowdfunding fell short, its regular pop-up swaps quickly gained momentum. “We averaged 100 to 150 attendees, sometimes as many as 250 at the bigger editions,” he recalls. The demand was undeniable—so too was the need for a permanent space.
Above Photo: The Circular Fashion Hub
Photo: The Circular Fashion Hub
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In 2018, after years of experimentation, Padit opened The Fashion Pulpit as a brick- and-mortar store at Liang Court. Supported by crowdfunding and a favourable lease, it offered a radical proposition: swap instead of shop. Since then, the store has shifted locations several times, from Marina One to the OUE building, which they had to leave unexpectedly. “Had we not been [forced to leave] OUE, we would still be The Fashion Pulpit,” he reflects. “[That move accelerated] the vision of creating a hub—a one-stop shop where everyone could support one another. In a niche market like this, we need to have each other’s backs.”
Today, The Fashion Pulpit stands as a leading voice in Southeast Asia’s circular fashion movement, with more than 6,000 members and expanding partnerships in Singapore and beyond. Yet the journey has been anything but smooth. “There’s no silver bullet,” Padit admits. “It’s painful watching the business grow brick by brick.” Adoption takes time.
“To truly understand the value of swapping, you have to experience it—sometimes more than once, until you find something you love,” he explains. Even as the business grows, his focus remains on building from the inside out, with community as the true measure of success. And that community continues to show up— not only for the racks of clothing, but for the space that Padit and his team have nurtured. “It’s not about what you have, but what you do with it.” For Padit, that belief lies at the heart of The Fashion Pulpit—where small choices, multiplied, have the power to shift an entire system.
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Nafeesa Saini is the Features Editor at Tatler Singapore, where she shapes long-form stories on culture, business, philanthropy, wellness, and the people driving change in Asia. With a deep interest in storytelling that intersects meaningfully with identity and impact, she has profiled a diverse range of visionaries, from scientific pioneers in AI and health to creative trailblazers and literary minds.
Nafeesa’s writing includes cover stories and profiles that spotlight influential voices, alongside commentary on the trends reshaping our world.
Off the clock, Nafeesa unwinds with fiction, a good thrift hunt, and ‘brainrot’ TikTok scroll—while always keeping one eye on her next cultural getaway, usually to Indonesia.
