COMPETITION: Win a tote bag designed by bespoke artist, Bambi, at Freshers' Fair!
Felix has teamed up with Bambi as part of the #LoveNotLandfill campaign
London based eco-fashion campaign #LoveNotLandfill has enlisted the support of anonymous street artist Bambi to redesign clothes banks and encourage recycling of unwanted clothes.
The #LoveNotLandfill campaign, co-funded by the EU and London Waste And Recycling Board (LWARB), aims to educate young fast fashion fans on the perils of throwing unwanted items of clothing into the rubbish bin. The campaign will position bright and eye-catching clothes banks in busy shopping locations around London to make them particularly accessible for young fashion lovers.
Hannah Carter from #LoveNotLandfill says, “We want people to stop throwing clothes away and pass them on instead to slow down the pace of fast fashion. We’re not telling them to stop loving fashion. We want them to enjoy their outfits but then dispose of clothes carefully, because all items have a second hand value.”
At Freshers' Fair, Felix will be offering one lucky fresher the chance to win a custom tote bag designed by Bambi! Bambi shot to notoriety when she created a controversial mural of Theresa May and Donald Trump dancing together, called ‘Lie Lie Land’. She has created a striking image of a young girl holding up a dress with disdain! This image has been sprayed onto a limited number of banks placed in TopShop’s Oxford Circus store, Beyond Retro in Dalston and Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre, plus two more coming later in September in Westfield’s shopping centres in Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford. The image is Bambi’s characteristically tongue-in-cheek way of encouraging young people to use the clothes banks.
When it comes to fashion, young Brits love to shop. Each week, they buy approx. 4.1 million items of clothing to stay up to date with the latest trends. However, whilst they grow ever more stylish, the flip side sees a massive 35 million fast fashion items end up in landfill each year. The #LoveNotLandfill campaign recently commissioned a nationwide poll to better understand the attitude of 16-24 year olds towards clothing disposal. The results prove that more must be done to help them change their recycling habits.
The majority do not realise they can put damaged/stained/faded clothes into clothes banks, all of which can be recycled for industrial use. A massive 63% of under 24 year olds said they were unaware you could donate stained clothes and 40% do not recycle faded items.
Bambi says, “I think people will be shocked how many clothes end up in landfill…. Someone else may love the clothes you no longer want.”
The poll also uncovered a general misconception of what clothing items can go into a clothes bank. For instance, 70% of respondents assumed bras would be unwanted, when in actual fact they have a high resale value in many of the international destinations that UK clothes are sold to, such as Africa and Eastern Europe. The same goes for fancy dress.
The #LoveNotLandfill clothing banks will be in place for a minimum of six months to Jan 2019. Additional #LoveNotLandfill clothes banks will be popping up around London over the coming months. For updates on new banks and locations, please visit https://www.lovenotlandfill.org/.
The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) works in conjunction with the Mayor of London and London Councils and has a remit to improve waste and resource management in the capital. For more information on LWARB visit www.lwarb.gov.uk
