On average, British women hoard approximately £285 worth of unused clothing within their wardrobes. This is the equivalent of £34 million worth of useless purchases in Shropshire alone.
With Love From… is a new project launching in Oswestry, Shropshire. Our vision is to create a shared wardrobe of occasion-wear, for a community of conscientious shoppers. We are encouraging people to donate party clothing, footwear and accessories to a shared wardrobe. For each piece you donate, you will earn points which can be redeemed in our pop-up shops. Every item will be forever labelled “With Love From…YOU”. We are also linking this with a sewing service, so you can upgrade, alter or repair your clothing with us. Our experts can help you to re-imagine an outfit currently in your own wardrobe, or make changes to a new-to-you outfit from our wardrobe.
We have been collecting donations for just over two months and we have already received more than 200 beautiful items from just 25 people, which shows the numerous ‘spare’ items of clothing so many of us have available to share.
Fashion Revolution, is a non-profit organisation that brings together a global movement of people campaigning for a fairer fashion industry, that values people and the planet over profit. It was founded by Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster, ten years ago. It has since grown into the world’s largest fashion activism movement, mobilising citizens, brands and policy makers through research, education and advocacy.
Every year, Fashion Revolution hosts a week-long, international campaign calling for a fair, safe, transparent and accountable fashion industry. This year Fashion Revolution Week runs from Saturday 22nd until Saturday 29th April. With Love From… is working with Booka and a few other amazing businesses across Oswestry to support Fashion Revolution and help to raise awareness. For example, we are partnering with Kinokulture (Oswestry’s Independent Cinema) to bring the screening of the film, ‘Fashion Reimagined’ to Oswestry and we are hosting our first series of pop-up shops at Hadleigh Works (upstairs at the Memorial Hall, Oswestry).
During Fashion Revolution Week, Booka is also supporting this campaign with a display of interesting and informative sustainable fashion literature. Within the collection you will find a broad range of writing styles and themes all discussing important points around this topic. There really is something to suit all readers…Perhaps you are looking to rediscover a love for the clothes you already own and learn some new skills in caring for and repairing clothing (‘Loved Clothes Last’ by Orsola de Castro). Maybe you are new to the topic of sustainable fashion and you’re looking for a non-judgemental guide to changing your shopping habits (‘How to Break Up with Fast Fashion’ by Lauren Bravo). You might prefer a more investigative, journalistic read, which explores the reasons why we need to champion sustainable solutions and break the cycle of exploitative style (‘To Die For – Is Fashion Wearing Out the World?’ by Lucy Siegle). Perhaps you would enjoy a more political and historical study which asks hard-hitting questions of the fashion industry as well as our systemic and societal values (‘Stitched Up – The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion’ by Tansy E.Hoskins). There really are so many different options, but if you are looking for something in particular, please speak to the brilliant team at Booka as they may be able to order it for you or drop us a note via our website – we might be able to help you.
Ultimately, we believe that as individuals we may only be able to make a small impact, but if we work together, the difference we could make could be huge. By slowing down the fashion cycle and sharing our wardrobes, we are not only reducing waste and protecting the earth’s resources, we are also encouraging fashion brands to slow down, be more considerate, pay better, make better and be better.
You can support Fashion Revolution by visiting their website and joining the movement, supporting a campaign, or donating financially. If you would like to know more about With Love From… please visit our website or email us hello@withlovefrom.org.uk with any questions. We would love to hear from you.
With Love From…
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