The campaign will see a series of events launched across north London over the last two weekends of January (23-24 January and 30-31 January) which are aimed at inspiring people to repair old clothes or swap items rather than throwing them away.
Events are taking place in Tottenham, Enfield, Barnet, Archway, Walthamstow, Camden and Hackney across the two weekends.
If the workshops prove successful, it is hoped that similar events could be rolled out across other local authority areas.
NLWA
The initiative is part of the wider programme of work by the seven boroughs that make up the NWLA – Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest – to reduce the amount of waste produced across the region.
Commenting on the project, councillor Clyde Loakes, chair of NLWA, said: “It is estimated that £1200 worth of clothes currently sit in each UK home that are completely forgotten about.
“These workshops will help teach you new ways to deal with forgotten clothing and teach you some skills which could help you transform them, reinventing your wardrobe which ultimately will save you money.
“If everyone could make one change in just one area of your home, it can make a huge different to your pocket and to the environment. So I am encouraging you to make a change today and think about textiles differently.”
Clothes waste
The clothes waste awareness events will be run with the aid of fashion recycling specialists Rags Revival, clothing charity TRAID and a number of fashion artists and designers.
They will include lessons on how to make alterations and repairs on clothing, and create new products out of old items. Information on the workshops and tickets are available on ticketing website billetto.
According to research carried out by WRAP, the waste and resources charity, up to one third of clothing in UK wardrobes has not been worn for at least one year, whilst the charity claims that if consumers kept clothing for around nine months longer than usual this could reduce each item’s carbon, waste and water footprint by around 20-30%
The events aim to address issues outlined by WRAP in its Sustainable Clothing Guide, published last month (see letsrecycle.com story).
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