Sustainable show owners headed out to Bramham Park, where Leeds Festival is held, and collected left behind tents to then make them into coats and bags.
By collecting the tents there was the aim of avoiding landfill. Trad Collective is a shop based in Headingley where owners, Josefin Wanner and James Fenwick, encourage sustainable fashion, household objects and cosmetics.
Josefin said: “My partner went to do the salvaging, it was just a big trash yard basically. We salvaged a little bit, not that much, we only salvaged what we knew we could produce. It is a good way to use it because a lot of it gets taken by charities and donated to various places. But there is so much of it that not all charities can take care of that amount.” Wanner went onto say “It’s a good use for us to take the material and remake it.”
At Trad Collective they also supply art and greeting cards which also have thought into what is the most eco-friendly way to get the artwork to the shop. Artist, Charlotte Wanner said: “I can do my art at home in Sweden and then I send the files to here, in Leeds, and they can print it out here, so it’s not like we’re shipping anything around the world.”
Leeds City Council have an aim to help stop climate change and sustainable fashion is one thing that can help. Councillor David Blackburn said: “You don’t need new all the time, it’s not just about recycling stuff it’s also about making sure that stuff is reparable, making sure it’s reusable. That’s the most important, the recycling is almost the last resort before you actually throw the thing away.”
The store plans to expand into the city centre of Leeds and also has hopes to go back to Leeds Festival next year and collect the abandoned tents to remake them into useful things again.
