Around Ealing February/March 2020 | Page 11

CLIMATE EMERGENCY OUR OWN BARGAIN HUNT We decided to test the second-hand clothing in local charity shops for ourselves and sent a volunteer out to see what she could find. She was impressed – and ended up buying more than she expected to. Read her story at ealingnewsextra.co.uk/ features/bargain-hunt From the fashion shoot by Elegance in Ealing for Around Ealing. Model:   Yolanda Sissing the project has really caught people’s imagination on social media. They took the photos on this page especially for us, at Gunnersbury Park. Nica explained: “We wanted to do this to show that fashion can be accessible and that everyone can have a sustainable outlook when it comes to buying clothes.” Shopping locally and second-hand for clothing is not only better for the environment and supportive of some really good causes, you can also pick up some genuinely great clothes at a fraction of the cost on the high street. “People might have a preconception that second-hand clothes mean grubby or old,” said Nica. “But we are showing that this is so far from the truth – they can be stylish and fabulous.” YOU CAN RECYCLE CLOTHES TOO As Elegance in Ealing has shown, donating our older clothes to charity shops can be a brilliant way of ensuring nothing is wasted, but there are other ways to ensure you avoid a fashion faux pas when it comes to sustainability. Textiles can be recycled as part of your kerbside collections, on your normal recycling day – just make sure you put them in a clear, secure bag on top of your blue bin. Keep the bags dry and alongside each other and tie any pairs of shoes together. Recycling left in black rubbish bags will not be collected. Alternatively, there are textile collection bins in each of the borough’s town centres or you could take your textile recycling to the re-use and recycling centres at Greenford and Acton. Find out more at www.ealing.gov.uk/recycling ‘NO EXCUSE TO THROW CLOTHES IN THE RUBBISH BIN’ Councillor Mik Sabiers, cabinet member for environment and highways said: “The last thing we want is clothes and textiles being sent off to landfill when they could be re-used or recycled. Elegance in Ealing is showing how easy it is to shop more sustainably; and, if your old clothes aren’t suitable for donation then you can recycle them using the council’s collection service. There is no excuse to throw them in the rubbish bin.” MORE INFO n For the full feature on Elegance in Ealing, and more details on recycling textiles in the borough, visit ealingnewsextra.co.uk/ features/fashion around ealing    February/March 2020 11