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Younger generations COP on to pre-loved fashion

  • As global leaders talk at COP26 in Glasgow, Gen Z opts for planet-friendly fashion choices
  • Almost 1 in 4 16-24 year olds surveyed regularly wear second-hand clothes
  • Almost 3 in 10 say pandemic has made them realise they don’t need to buy as much new clothing
  • But over 65% of 16 to 24 year old Brits are still sending over 23 million items of clothing to landfill annually
  • Love Not Landfill pop-up promoting pre-loved charity fashion collections curated by influencers and slow fashion workshops

Pop up open: 11-14 November 2021, 1st Floor Angel Central, 21 Parkfield Street, London N1 0PS

As we wait to see if world leaders grab the opportunity of COP26 to curb the damage the fashion industry does to the planet, Love Not Landfill has launched a pop-up for fashionistas promoting a slower, more sustainable approach to clothes. Love Not Landfill’s pre-loved fashion pop-up is open from 11-14th November 2021, showcasing the beauty of pre-loved clothing and encouraging young fashion lovers to fight climate change by re-wearing, repairing and sharing clothes.

Sponsored by Vanish and Oxwash, the pop-up features the following fund-raising fashion forward collections from charity shops curated by style-savvy influencers:

Cancer Research UK collection x Shannon Alexandra

Crisis collection x Ismail Stewart

Oxfam collection x Nova Twins

Royal Trinity Hospice collection x The Monica Way

Love Not Landfill x Jake Edwards from clothes donated to Love Not Landfill exclusive Bambi-designed clothes banks

According to the UK Government’s own Fixing Fashion Report the fashion industry is the world’s third biggest manufacturing industry after the automotive and technology industries. Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined (House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, 2019). But there is no agreed solution to holding textile manufacturers and fashion brands to account for the damaging effects of fast fashion. Instead it falls largely to individuals to do what they can.

A new poll commissioned by eco-fashion campaign Love Not Landfill into the attitudes of 16 to 24 year olds shows there is a growing awareness amongst young people around being more sustainable when it comes to fashion, but still some way to go with keeping clothes out of landfill.  

39% admitted to binning perfectly good clothes they no longer want, and 65% said they have binned damaged clothes (e.g. ripped, stained, faded, broken zip), at least sometimes, rather than using a clothes bank or recycling collections.

This means the average 16-24 year old throws away 3.34 items of clothing a year. That is over 23 million items of clothes which could have been repaired, shared, or recycled going to landfill in the UK. 

In better news only 9% of those surveyed said they were unconcerned about the impact fast fashion has on the environment and awareness is increasing about what they can do about it. Only 18% say they don’t know what they can do personally to make a difference about the impact of fast fashion on the environment, which is down 10% from 28% in a similar poll commissioned by Love Not Landfill in 2018.

The poll also found 77% of those surveyed take clothes they no longer want but are in good condition to a charity or community shop – up by 7% since 2018 – and 84% pass them on to family or friends – up 15% since 2018.

In further positive news 24% regularly wear second-hand clothes, and 29% of the young people surveyed say the Covid-19 pandemic has made them realise they don’t need to buy as much new clothing as they used to. So far during the pandemic 28% of those surveyed have bought less new clothing than usual and 18% spent more time repairing and removing stains from clothes.

Olivia Shaw from the Love Not Landfill campaign explains:  

Don’t be fooled, the most sustainable clothes are the pieces you or someone else already own. The ‘buy it, wear it, throw it away’ fashion model is going out of fashion: rewear what you’ve got, donate or swap fashion and keep pieces in circulation. The trend of fast fashion brands “doing sustainability” with baby steps like recycling and conscious collections isn’t always as transparent as it needs to be, and very few fast fashion retailers are making changes fast and deep enough to have a meaningful impact. This is why we champion second-hand shopping and never putting old clothes in the bin.

At this year’s Love Not Landfill pop up in Angel Islington, each influencer has worked with their partner charity to carefully curate a collection of up to 500 pieces from donations. These will be sold at the pop-up with all profits going straight to the charities. Expect designer labels you know and love at affordable prices, plus one-off gems – that is the beauty of pre-loved fashion.

As well as being the place to discover the most on-trend truly sustainable fashion in London, the store will celebrate gender-neutral ‘clothes for everyone’, and will be a space to find out more about eco-fashion and the climate emergency with noticeboards, knowledgeable staff and a workshop on Sunday about making your clothes last longer.

Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues said:  

Clothing and textile production is both resource-intensive and a major contributor to global carbon emissions. The Mayor has set the ambitious target of making London net-zero carbon by 2030, which requires transitioning to a low-carbon circular economy. This means extracting as much value as possible from resources, through their use and reuse, before they become waste.

“It’s great to see another fantastic Love Not Landfill event taking place in London during COP26. Not only will this help engage Londoners in the climate emergency and the environmental cost of fast fashion, but also highlight how to make clothes last longer and of course, how to grab a stylish bargain!

The Love Not Landfill pop-up shop is open from Thursday 11th November to Sunday 14th November at 1st Floor Angel Central, 21 Parkfield Street, London N1 0PS.

ENDS

Please contact Jenny Rose at Barley Communications on 07957 551697 or email jenny.rose@barleycommunications.co.uk for more information.

Notes to eds

  • Polling conducted by Censuswide 19th to 22nd October 2021, surveyed 1003 16-24 year old respondents across the UK.
  • Press preview event on 10th November to preview the full collections and meet the influencers – invitations to follow.
  • Influencers, Love Not Landfill spokespeople and charity representatives are available to interview.
  • High res shots of key pieces available now.
  • Short films by all the influencers involved to be released in run-up to the opening.

Love Not Landfill is a non-profit campaign, run by ReLondon (previously London Waste and Recycling Board), to encourage fast fashion fans to buy second-hand, swap, recycle and give clothes to charity. We aim to encourage 16-24 year old Londoners never to throw unwanted clothes in the bin.

www.lovenotlandfill.org

ReLondon is a partnership of the Mayor of London and the London boroughs to improve waste and resource management and transform the city into a leading low carbon circular economy. Our mission is to revolutionise London’s relationship with stuff, helping London waste less and reuse, share, repair and recycle more.

https://relondon.gov.uk

Vanish is owned by Reckitt. Reckitt* is driven by its purpose to protect, heal and nurture in a relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We fight to make access to the highest-quality hygiene, wellness and nourishment a right, not a privilege, for everyone.

Reckitt is proud to have a stable of trusted household brands found in households in more than 190 countries. These include Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Clearasil, Dettol, Veet, Harpic, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Air Wick and more. 20 million Reckitt products a day are bought by consumers globally.


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