UK homelessness charity Crisis is collaborating with the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) to trial a new approach to clothing recycling.
The trial, which forms part of the ACT project led by UKFT and is being embraced by retailers such as Marks & Spencer and New Look, is currently running in the charity’s Peckham and Elephant & Castle stores in London. The pilot scheme will continue until September, and it aims to support customers to better recycle their clothes and create more sustainable solutions to fabric waste.
As consumers visit the store to drop donations they are often unaware of which items in their wardrobe class as ‘wearable’ and ‘unwearable’, which leads to high volumes of clothes that cannot be resold – due to being ripped or having shrunk for example.
The Crisis and UKFT tie-up wants to tackle this problem by educating shoppers on the difference which will help them sort their donations when they come in store. Customers will then also be able to take away helpful resources so they can pre-sort their items before making donations in future.
Ultimately, the scheme and the wider ACT project have been put in place to ensure more materials get recycled rather than thrown away. ACT stands for ‘automatic sorting for circularity in textiles’, and the movement is supported by a coalition of retailers, charities, and organisations including Wrap, Reskinned, and Worn Again.
Paula Floyd, e-commerce manager, and leading on the project at Crisis, commented: “Clothing waste is a real problem, both in terms of its environmental impact and the value of the clothes lost.
“Pre-sorting clothes will allow our customers to cut down on waste while supporting our goal of ending homelessness for good. Working collaboratively means that it is easier to find innovative solutions in the fashion and textile industry.”
She added that being part of the ACT project “can be a key step to changing consumers’ mindsets and make it easier to recycle”.
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[image credit: Green Retail World]
