Starchild: Why Malaysian kids love to swap and share their favourite items

Muhamad Aiman Qusyairi, 9

Have you ever grown bored of a toy you once loved? Or outgrown a T-shirt that still looks great? Instead of throwing things away, why not start a swap club with your friends?

Swapping is also a great way to learn about sharing and kindness. When you swap items, you practise taking turns, making choices and respecting others.

It teaches us that happiness doesn't always come from buying new things, but from sharing what we already have.Best of all, swap clubs help care for the planet. Making new toys and clothes uses energy and resources, but reusing items means less rubbish ends up in landfills. By swapping, kids become little eco-heroes who help reduce waste and protect Earth.

Hannah Chan Yue Bei, 9

In Malaysia, there are many clothes swapping initiatives. They include The Swap Project and Fashion Revolution Malaysia, which advocate slow fashion. And if you're wondering what is slow fashion, it means making and wearing clothes in a careful way. Choose clothes that last, are made fairly, and don't waste materials, helping the planet and people.

Starting a swap club is easy! Choose a day, invite your friends and ask everyone to bring clean and gently used items. Set simple rules, like being fair and taking good care of swapped items. You can even label the items or talk about why they are special before swapping. Have fun!Here are the letters from Starchild readers on the topic, Swap club.

Wong Chen Wai, 11

"When I grow out of my clothes or finish reading a book, I don’t throw them away. Instead, I bring them to the swap club. My old things become new to my friends, and their things become new to me. This helps reduce rubbish and saves the Earth," says Wong Chen Wai, 11.

"My trading or swap club is for trading items you don't need for the books of your choice. There is a whole library at one side and a long queue at the other, while the option board below is for deciding how many books to take after giving your item," says Hannah Chan Yue Bei, nine.

Muhamad Aiman Qusyairi, nine, wants to organise a swap club where he can exchange food with his friends. "I bring snacks that I like, such as homemade cookies or fruit, and my friends bring theirs too. We talk about what we made and how it tastes. When I swap food, I get to try something new without wasting anything. Swapping food makes me happy."

"My favourite swap club activity is doing arts and crafts with my friends. We swap crayons, stickers and paper, and then we make cards and drawings together. It is fun to create something together instead of doing it alone," writes Aruna Ramdass, 12.

Aruna Ramdass, 12

ITEM: What is your favourite subject in school? Is it Math, Science, English, Art or something else? Draw a picture showing why you like it so much. You can draw your teacher, your classroom, your books or yourself learning and having fun.

Email your contributions to [e-mail] by Feb 20. Please put "STARCHILD: My favourite subject" in the subject line of your email.

Scanned drawings should be in jpeg format, with a resolution of 200dpi. Your contributions must carry your full name, age (open to children aged 12 and below only), gender, phone contact, and address. Instead of handwritten letters, please type out your letters.