Are you staring at that pile of clothes you intend to get rid of? Will that pile be dropped off at the charity shop/be sold on eBay/be given to a friend or… be stared at for a few more weeks, haunting you? How about getting some new fitness kit?
It might seem strange that I want to talk about the virtues of new gear in the same breath as decluttering, but sustainable sportswear firm BAM clothing is the official partner to a charity called Sharewear, which focuses on clothing poverty in the UK. In 2020 they co-launched the #noWeartoRun campaign, through which BAM offers customers the chance to request a postage-paid Sharewear recycling bag when placing orders. You can then send up to 5kg of clothing back to the charity – with £5 off your next BAM purchase as a bonus.
Louise Cooke, founder and chief executive of Sharewear, reveals that donations have been severely impacted by self-isolation. “This is our quietest level of January donating ever and yet we are supporting 50 per cent more people than this time last year,” she says. “There is a very real link between poor mental health and clothing poverty. Free outdoor activities in your local neighbourhood aren’t accessible to people who can’t afford even the most basic of clothing for a walk or a run.”
All that is required of us, as donors, is a moment of calm going through that drawer in which lurk pieces you’ve not worn since pre-Covid. Next, a trip to the post office and the price of sending a parcel, which is likely to be the same cost as the two coffees and slice of cake that your new fitness regime doesn’t need.
One way to reduce the excessive amounts of unworn clothing would be to simply give up shopping. I know many people have done or are trying to do this as a resolution. But if you aren’t that person (I’m not) and you do continue to shop, the difference that you can make is in passing on unwanted items to charities such as Sharewear. Items must be in good condition. Cooke says: “If you wouldn’t wear it yourself or can’t see a member of your family in it, we won’t use it.” Simple.
I often get asked about shoe donations, specifically children’s shoes. I send them to Sal’s Shoes. This is a great charity that not only finds a good home for your shoes but also tracks their journey. My daughter donated a pair of trainers and through the power of Instagram got to see her shoes being loved again. It formed a natural way for my children to learn how fortunate they are. They were interested. They asked questions. The cost to me? A quick wipe-down of the shoes so they aren’t too tired looking, a £1 donation per pair to Sal’s Shoes (via Paypal) and the Royal Mail cost of sending the shoes, tracked, to the charity in Kent.
Most of my sports kit is now heavily vetted for fabrics. The best find recently was this BAM blue jacket, made from recycled fabric and, better still, 100 per cent recyclable. “Put simply, recycled fabric delays landfill, while recyclable prevents landfill,” explains Merryn Chilcott, BAM’s sustainability and technical manager. “BAM is focused on taking responsibility for the end of its clothing’s life. Zero should go to landfill.”
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative, 73 per cent of all clothing ends up in landfill or incinerated, so we have to embrace making clothing recyclable. We can do this via the fabrics we wear and by passing on unwanted items that can enjoy a new lease of life elsewhere.
