Over 18,000 garments have been recycled by residents of Richmond upon Thames as part of a clothing recycling service in the borough.

The service, provided by West London Waste Authority and clothing charity TRAID, is simple and easy to use. Residents are able to book a collection online or via their telephone for a time when they will be at home and can hand over the textiles directly to the driver.

Any textiles can be donated and can include anything from clothing to shoes to linen, so long as they are in a clean condition. Duvets or pillows will not be accepted. The collected textiles are sorted and then either sold through TRAID’s charity shops, donated overseas or turned into scraps for industrial use.

By recycling five tonnes of wearable clothes the borough’s residents have helped save over eight million litres of water and forty-nine tonnes of carbon emissions.

Cllr Martin Elengorn, Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning and Sustainability said:

“It’s good to see our residents have been taking advantage of this service and recycling thousands of garments. This is helping to reduce the amount of domestic waste being collected and ensures unwanted textiles are instead re-used and recycled.

“If you have any unwanted clothing that you would like collected give TRAID a call and they’ll come to pick them up for you.”

Andrea Speranza, Head of Campaigns at TRAID said:

“The vast number of clothes hanging unworn in London’s wardrobes is staggering. The environment is buckling under the strain of producing, consuming and disposing of cheap fast fashion. With global consumption projected to rise by 63% by 2030 from 62 million tonnes today to 102 million tonnes, it’s critical we end the linear fast fashion model of take, make, dispose, repeat.

“To address this, we called on Londoners to put the clothes they no longer wear back into use. Thousands took part passing on an incredible 774,365 items of clothes so far. This simple but powerful action shows the hugely positive impacts we can have on the environment when we stop over-consuming clothes.”

Find out more or book a collection by visiting www.traid.org.uk/clothes-donations/book-a-collection/or by calling 0208-733-2595.

— from a Richmond Council press release - 28 March 2019