OVER 11 million items of clothing will end up in landfill each week and Westbury councillor, Jane Russ, is encouraging the town to join a national campaign to upcycle or recycle their unwanted clothes.
“Every week, 11 million items of clothing end up in landfill.” say national charity, Oxfam.
“Throwaway fashion is putting increasing pressure on our planet and its people – it’s unsustainable.”
Oxfam is asking people to take the pledge and say no to new clothes for 30 days in their nationwide campaign ‘second hand September’.
Jane Russ is taking a stand locally and encouraging people in Westbury to make a difference.
She said, “If you want to make a difference there are many options to doing so. You can upcycle the clothes in your wardrobe, that you would otherwise throw away, and make them into something you would wear.
“You could donate your unwanted clothes to a charity shop – there are many in the town that support great causes.
“Or you could buy from a charity shop and upcycle it to create something new!
“I am offering free upcycling workshops where I will be on hand to help you transform unwanted items into something wearable once again. They start on Thursday 5th September and continue on the 12th, 19th, there will then be a two-week break for the Westbury Festival, then it will continue on Thursday 10th and 17th October in the Reading Room at The Laverton from 7pm.”
Local charity shops in the town have also pledged their efforts to reduce the amount of clothing that ends up in landfill.
Barnardo’s, who have a shop in Palamino Place in Leigh Park said, “According to a recent poll conducted by Censuswide for Barnardo’s, this year Britons will potentially spend an extraordinary £2.7bn on fashion that will only be worn once.
“A more sustainable solution is to take your unwanted items to your local charity shop.
“In the last 12 months alone, Barnardo’s in Palomino Place has received more than 8,000 bags of donations, many of them full of pre-loved clothes.”
Barnardo’s area business manager Emma King said, “Wearing clothes just once is wasteful, expensive and unsustainable – both in terms of the environmental costs of making new outfits and the tonnes of wasted clothes which then end up in landfill.
“Buying new is costly to the purse and the planet, and you are also more likely to see someone else in the same outfit.
“However, choosing to buy pre-loved clothes from a Barnardo’s shop means you will often find unique and beautiful vintage pieces.
“You’re also helping to transform the lives of vulnerable children across the UK.”
A Sue Ryder spokesperson said, “Our shops, including our branch on Westbury High Street, stock a wide selection of high-quality women’s, men’s and children’s second-hand clothing, and here you can find a whole outfit for as little as £10 – which could pay for a day’s meals for a patient at one of our seven hospices.”
Rowena Midgley, head of retail at Dorothy House Hospice Care said, “We are very conscious of our responsibility to the environment as a charity and a retailer and are actively striving to make a real difference in Wiltshire. We are calling upon local people to help us in our quest to reduce the amount of clothing going into landfill, whilst simultaneously raising money for your local hospice.
“We accept donated clothes from the public across our 27 shops, including Westbury in the High Street and, with a lot of support from our dedicated shop volunteers, we are able to hand sort through each donated item and save huge volumes of beautiful garments from landfill.
“We use Ebay and our specialist vintage shop to try and sell more unusual items that we may struggle to sell in our regular shops. Even after Dorothy House has exhausted all selling avenues, there is still hope for many unsaleable fashion items, for example, we send these to a recycling company who give these items another chance.
“We encourage local people of all ages who don’t normally shop with us to pop in and discover the choice and quality of the items we’ve saved and even better, donate them back once they’ve finished so we can keep the recycle-cycle going!
“Shopping at a Dorothy House shop is not only a chance to ‘do your bit’ for the environment and the hospice but it is also gives you the chance to express your individuality instead of following the crowd. Why not visit one of our charity shops and create your own style from modern chic to retro by mix and matching prints and fabrics to create your own looks and style. The benefit is you won’t see five other people in the high street wearing the same outfit.”
You too can take the pledge by visiting: https://oxfamapps.org/second handseptember/.
If you would like to attend Jane’s upcycling workshops then contact her on jane.russ@westburytown council.gov.uk. Space is currently limited, however if more people email their interest, a different location can be sought.
