Clothes and more for sale at CAPE charity shop in Acton
CLIMATE ACTION
Green is in style
Spring has already sprung and , with summer arriving , many people have been de‐cluttering clothes drawers and clearing out cupboards , reports Verity Adams .
And , with shops re-opening and crowds beginning to hit the high streets once more , many charity shops have been inundated with donations and some were even struggling to keep up .
So , with so much on offer at the moment , you could bag a bargain or two – with second-hand shopping a rewarding and sustainable way to get your fashion fix , buy gifts or find items to decorate your home . In the process , you help the charity .
Helen Scanlon , assistant manager at FARA charity shop , in The Broadway , Greenford , said : “ It ’ s great to be open again and the public have been very generous in their donations and we welcome everything we get . We have received more than we would normally .”
In the meantime , with charity shops so full at the moment , residents are being reminded of other ways to
Helen Scanlon at FARA charity shop
lighten the load of unwanted items in a similarly sustainable fashion .
RECYCLE YOUR THREADS 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 .
Shoes , bags , belts , socks and underwear can also be recycled as part of your kerbside collection . 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 , you can take unwanted cast-offs to a textile collections bin near to your home . You can find your nearest one at www . ealing . gov . uk / recycling
This old clothing is taken away and sorted before being sent to be reused or recycled into different products .
‘ THE LAST THING WE WANT ’ Councillor Deirdre Costigan , the council ’ s cabinet member for climate action , said : “ The last thing we want is clothes and textiles being sent off to landfill when they could be re-used , reloved or recycled . As it is , ‘ fast fashion ’ is responsible for lots of waste in the production cycle . But , on top of that , every year hundreds of thousands of tonnes of used clothing gets dumped in UK landfill unnecessarily – damaging the environment , as well as wasting resources and your money .”
MORE READING n We tasked Verity with having a bargain hunt last year . You can read what she did at ealingnewsextra . co . uk / features / bargain-hunt n Read more about how you can help cut back on fast fashion at ealingnewsextra . co . uk / features / fashion n For other ideas on reusing old clothes , visit Ealing Repair Café ’ s page at www . facebook . com / ealingrepaircafe or go to www . loveyourclothes . org . uk / buying-clothes
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