Clothing production has doubled in the last 15 years with the rise of “fast fashion”. A Leedsnow survey found that more people are choosing fast fashion budget and high street outlets such as Zara and Primark over more sustainable options. When asked how much do they consider where the clothes end up, 29% said they did not consider it at all.
According to Planetradio, the fashion industry contributes towards global warming with 87% of the total input into the textile industry currently ending up in landfill or an incinerator, causing high co2 emissions.
Shop Kilo is a vintage second-hand store in Leeds. They receive two to three deliveries a week of clothing that would have been going to landfill, “From all around the world” says Tee Hogan member of staff.
“We are a sustainable clothing brand helping reduce clothing going to landfill.”
Most garments are in good enough condition to resell in the shop but for those items that are damaged or poor condition (grade zero) they are either reworked into new items or they are sold for as little as one pound in a “bargain bin” in store, making it more affordable to their student demographic. They also have biodegradable bags made from potato starch to limit their use of paper and plastic.
“Lots of Fashion students come and get fabrics from us for cheap.”
Any items not sold in store are kept in circulation by being sent back to the warehouse and then redistributed to a different city.
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Charities in Leeds such as Salvation Army, British heart foundation and Leeds hospitals charity shop also contribute to making Leeds’ fashion industry more sustainable. There are 400 Salvation Army charity shops in the country, they receive over 600 new items a day and they have 20 donation points according to their website.
“We receive donations everyday” says Julie a member of staff at the British heart foundation charity shop in Leeds.
She explained as Leeds has a big student demographic it is mostly donations from students. Clothes that are not selling in store or donations that aren’t fit for resale are sent abroad to be reworked so that nothing is wasted.
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Organisations such as Zero Waste Leeds aim to reduce the impact of textile production and waste on the environment. Most recently they launched a Winter coat appeal with over 3000 pre-loved coats being donated by people across Leeds and then redistributed for free. By redistributing the tonnes of clothing that ends up in Leeds household bins every year they hope to create a more sustainable approach to fashion.
Please note: A total of 35 people took part in the survey mentioned in this article.
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