Council helps clothing donations rocket in Redbridge as local people take action to make fast fashion last longer

People across the borough have been giving clothes they no longer wear a new lease of life by donating more than 25 tonnes of clothing and other textiles to Redbridge Council’s clothing reuse charity partner, TRAID.

An estimated 350,000 tonnes of clothing are binned in the UK each year, and every time you throw away an item of clothing it’s costing the earth, as well as your wallet.

To produce new clothing the fashion industry uses unsustainable amounts of water, fossil fuels and energy. Many manufacturing processes are also associated with toxic chemicals, waste and pollution – all of which has a harmful impact on our environment.

Redbridge Council teamed up with TRAID to offer local people a convenient way to donate clothing using a bookable free home collection service where a driver will collect directly from you at the doorstep.

Since launching two years ago, local people have donated more than 25 tonnes of clothing and other textiles through TRAID - that's more than the weight of 10 average cars.

This year got off to a fantastic start too with TRAID so far collecting more than 7 tonnes of clothing from local doorsteps, helping reduce clothing waste in Redbridge and saving 65 tonnes of CO2 and 12,000 m3 of water.

This summer, join TRAID’S Closet Clear-Out Challenge to help keep clothes in use for longer. All you need to do is Pick - Click - Collect. Pick your clothes, click to donate, and TRAID will collect it for free.

To book a collection go to: https://traid.org.uk/book-a-collection/ or call 020 8733 2595.

Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability Cllr Jo Blackman said: “With fashion trends changing fast, and cheap clothing readily available online and on the high street, it might be tempting to change wardrobes often, but it comes at a great cost to our environment. One of the easiest ways we can all play a part to help tackle the climate crisis is to reduce, re-use and recycle, and clothing is good place to start.” 

Clothes donated to TRAID go on to be reused and sold in their charity shops to reduce the environmental  impact of clothing, and to raise vital funds for global projects to improve conditions and working practices in the textile industry.

Every garment TRAID receive is hand sorted and re-sold via their 12 London based charity shops. They also have some creative uses for clothing they can't re-sell including donating to local Universities and fashion schools and partnering with a company that turns waste textiles into insulation bricks.

For more information on reducing your clothing waste go to: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/our-streets/love-your-clothes/