Clothes that Redbridge residents no longer wear are being given a new lease of life by to help save the planet.
An estimated 350,000 tonnes of clothes and textiles are said to be binned in Britain every year.
But it’s “costing the earth” every time people chuck garments away, Redbridge Council says.
“It might be tempting to change wardrobes often, with fashion trends changing fast,” the authority’s environment and sustainability cabinet member Jo Blackman said. “But it comes at a cost to our environment.
“Yet we can play a part to help tackle the climate crisis by reducing, reusing and recycling anything we don't wear any more. That’s a good place to start.”
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The council’s charity partner Traid is throwing down a ‘closet clear-out’ challenge to help keep clothes in use longer.
It is running a free home collection service to pick up clothes at the doorstep, which can be booked by phone on 020 8733 2595 or on the charity's book-a-collection page at traid.org.uk.
The people of Redbridge have donated 25 tonnes of clothing since collections began two years ago, the council said, with seven tonnes so far this year alone.
That has saved 65 tonnes of CO2 and 12,000 cubic metres of water, the local authority reckons.
Every garment Traid receives is hand sorted and re-sold through its 12 London charity shops.
Clothes they cannot re-sell are usually sent to a company that turns waste textiles into insulation bricks for the building trade.
The charity’s mission is “getting the world of fashion to work differently”, as a pioneer for collecting and selling second-hand clothes.
It is spreading the idea of reusing garments so that it becomes “the first choice” for as many people as possible.
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