New clothes recycling scheme launches in London

As London Fashion Week draws to a close, the #LoveNotLandfill campaign has launched recycling banks across London for unwanted clothing items.

The London recycling banks will be located at Topshop at Oxford Circus, Beyond Retro, Ealing Broadway shopping centre, Westfield Stratford and Westfield London until at least January 2019.

The campaign is co-funded by EU life and London Waste Recycling Board and is part of the European Clothing Action Plan. They have also partnered with LM Barry textile recyclers to process the unwanted items.

The scheme also encourages people to buy second-hand clothes from charity shops as well as organising a school ‘clothes swap’ to ensure unwanted items are not being thrown away.

The textile industry is contributing to the growing plastic pollution problem. In the UK, 38 million items of new clothing are bought every week and 11 million of these go to landfill. 

Hannah Carter from #LoveNotLandfill said: “We want people to stop throwing clothes away and pass them on instead to slow down the pace of fast fashion. We’re not telling them to stop loving fashion. We want them to enjoy their outfits but then dispose of clothes carefully, because all items have a second hand value.”  

Additional #LoveNotLandfill recycling banks will pop up across London over the following months to ensure that unwanted clothing items can be reused.

The textile industry is making notable efforts to be sustainable. H&M have just announced their 8th eco-friendly clothing line and Stella McCartney, fashion designer, has promoted the importance of a circular economy with her new Adidas line.

To find out more about #LoveNotLandfill click here.

Photo Credit: Love Not Landfill