Cardiff residents donated clothes during Love Your Clothes campaign in October, to reduce the amount going to landfill.
The campaign was run by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a charity that aims to change the way that people use clothes. Recycling rather than discarding old clothes is one of their main aims. Jamie Perry, of Love your Clothes, said “Every year, 350,000 tons of clothes go to landfill… this doesn’t need to be the case.”
Love your Clothes held a campaign week in October, in which people were encouraged to donate their own clothes. The centre piece of this was The Swap Shop, which was an initiative that allowed people to pay £1, donate what they please, and take what they please. The overall aim of the campaign to avoid clothes going to landfill when they can be used by others.
The campaign has had huge success elsewhere in Wales. Two tons of clothes were collected in Bangor earlier in 2016, and the Cardiff target was to reach five tons.
Plenty of local businesses helped with the campaign, such as the YMCA giving space for The Swap Shop to take place, and the staff at Halifax bank donated their own clothes.
A big #thankyou to the staff at @AskHalifaxBank Cardiff who donated clothes during #LoveYourClothesCardiff 🙂
— Love Your Clothes (@loveyourclothes) November 3, 2016
The Campaign was carried out in conjunction with Cardiff Fashion Week, which went on from the 24th to the 29th of October.
Free workshops were also put in place to show people how to “upcycle” their old clothes. This involves using old, or damaged clothes, and turning them into something new, like cushions or other clothing.
Jamie Perry said “The campaign encourages consumers to buy smarter and extend the life of their clothing.”