Photo Credit: Mark Spiske// Pexels
In honour of World Earth Day this April, Fashion North has been investigating how we can be more sustainable when it comes to clothes.
Globally, the fashion industry produces around 92 million tonnes of textile waste each year, according to wastemanaged.co.uk.
According to the website, the UK is the fourth largest producer of textile waste in Europe, with approximately 350,000 tonnes of clothes being sent to landfill every year.
Shopping from sustainable brands can be expensive, but recycling your old and unwanted clothes is free, and you might even get a reward if you help the cause.
It’s not only great for you, but the planet as well.
Recycling old clothes saves energy, water and raw materials, and means less textile waste in landfills and releasing toxic chemicals and dyes into our soils and water supplies.
In 2008, Marks and Spencer launched a ‘Clothes Exchange Campaign’, in partnership with Oxfam, rebranding in 2012 to ‘Shwopping’. Since the launch, the partnership has collected over 34 million garments and committing to collect 3 million garments each year. Sparks customers can get a free treat every time they ‘shwop’.
H&M was among the first brands to launch a garment collection programme, putting textile recycling boxes in their stores globally in 2013. According to the brand, since the launch they have received over 172,000 tonnes of textiles. In 2023, 68% of textiles collected in stores were resold, 24% repurposed, and only 8% were disposed of, H&M also offer a reward of a 10% discount to customers who return unwanted clothes to their stores.
It’s not only clothing brands that offer recycling schemes, but schools do as well. ‘Recycle 4 School’ helps schools raise funds through textile recycling. The aim is to support schools with fundraising goals, while also diverting textiles from landfill and develop students’ awareness of textile recycling.
World Earth Day, on is April 22nd, is a global event aimed at raising environmental awareness and action.
*How are you helping to save the planet with your fashion choices? Let us know on the Fashion_North Instagram.
