Blood cancer charity, Linc celebrates one year of its Winchcombe Street shop with the launch of its ‘Re-loved’ collection – Cheltenham’s ‘first-of-its-kind’ upcycling initiative turning damaged clothing and accessories into stylish new pieces.
Less than 1% of clothing globally is recycled into new items and in the UK 49% of textiles currently go to waste, costing £200 million to incinerate annually. Helping to reduce this waste, charity shops remain the UK’s main clothing collection infrastructure. The country’s 11,000 shops currently divert over 330,000 tonnes of textiles from landfill each year, according to 2017 figures.
Wanting to keep more garments out of landfill, Linc saw an opportunity with its ‘Re-loved’ collection which supports the charity’s strong sustainability and environmental values, while also having some fun and raising even more vital funds for local blood cancer patients along the way.
Over 150 volunteer hours have already been dedicated to upcycling 200 items, saving 918 kg of CO2 and avoiding 85 kg of landfill. Tired blouses turned into statement detachable collars, t-shirts cropped into vests, sweatshirts and joggers revived with neon camo fabric and mended cashmere jumpers ready for the Autumn, are among some of the items that have been reimagined.
Laura Lee, Retail Manager at Linc Charity said:
“Items that can’t be resold would usually be sent to our recycling merchant but the price we get for ‘rag’ continues to fall. We came up with the Re-loved initiative as it fits our strong sustainability ethic while providing us with another source of revenue. Extending the life of clothes by just 9 months not only reduces carbon, water and waste footprints by 20%, it also means we can turn the average 7p we might get for ‘rag’ for an item into an average of £4 per item. It’s a win-win!”
The Re-loved collection is exclusive to the Winchcombe Street store, located just off Cheltenham High Street, and also includes accessories like denim aprons made from worn-out jeans, earrings and keyrings made from donated broken jewellery, and scrunchies reimagined from silk blouses, plus a unique tie-dyed range. Every purchase supports Linc’s vital work with blood cancer patients in the local area.
Laura continues:
“We have had so much fun. Re-loved has brought the team closer together and strengthened our shared commitment to sustainability. Both our Winchcombe Street store and our shop on Bath Road produce minimal landfill waste – less than one bin bag a week while we also re-donate some items such as used towels to animal charities and tents to homeless charities.”
Louise Neal, CEO at Linc Charity added:
“Our Re-loved range is a brilliant new step for us! As the first upcycling initiative for Linc, it gives us the chance to reuse items that would otherwise be recycled or discarded, turning them into something unique, stylish and sellable.
“Not only does this support our sustainability goals but also boosts revenue that directly funds our services to blood cancer patients and their families being treated across Gloucestershire’s Hospitals.”
