Mazzy Snape - Creative PR, Journalism & Events

Swingamajig festival is well known for being fabulously diverse with its range of acts and performers, but not everybody knows that it’s also on its way to being fabulously green too.

In fact, they put sustainability right at the top of the bill with an aim of reducing its environmental impacts whilst also improving the audiences experience.

Alongside it’s big sister event, Shambala, the one-day festival of vintage delights is committed to addressing its environmental footprint by implementing a number of initiatives.

Last year, Swingamajig introduced a reusable cup scheme which meant that approximately 20,000 single-use plastic glasses were saved from landfill, and due to the cleanliness of the festival site it will be doing the same in 2016. The glasses cost attendees a mere £1 and they get a fresh glass each time they go to the bar for no extra charge. Sustainability Co-ordinator Livvy Drake said ‘Compared to most urban events where people litter the floor in glasses, our floors were clear for revellers to dance until they dropped!”

The production team behind Swingamajig are Kambe Events who also run the green award winning Shambala and so they take recycling very seriously. This means that whilst this event is in multiple venues the organisation will be implementing a recycling system – this is quite unusual for this type of event which is held across night clubs, streets and even under railway arches. Of course Swingamajig’s dedicated recycling team will be on the case throughout the event to ensure that Kambe’s high standards are maintained.

This year as a first there will also be green inspiration trader award, acknowledging traders environmental, social and cultural commitments.

So how can audiences attending their event do their bit?

The biggest carbon impact for all events is travel emissions, so choosing to travel by public transport or in a full car. You can offer your space through the lift-share option on the Swingamajig website.