Posh Swaps Blog

The 3 R’s are used a lot to explain how you can reduce your waste and live a more sustainable life. Of the the thousands of tonnes of rubbish that are produced by UK households and business each year, only a relatively small proportion is recycled. There is still a large amount of waste that ends up in landfill when it could be recycled. In 2006, UK clothing and textiles produced up to two million tonnes of waste, 3.1 million tonnes of CO2 and 70 million tonnes of waste water.  Textiles and clothing is an area where the 3 R’s can be applied very successfully for increased sustainability:

Reduce - buying higher quality clothes in classic styles that will not go out of fashion quickly is a great way to reduce your clothing waste and the environmental impacts associated with the manufacture of new clothes.  Buying second hand clothes is also a great way to reduce your environmental impact.

Reuse - Always look after your clothes and repair them when they get damaged. If you get bored with your clothes or they no longer fit, you can also alter, customise them or rework them.

Recycle - Try swapping, selling or donating your old clothes to charity. If it is no longer wearable you can also take it to a clothing bank and it can be recycled as rags.

Defra Minster Lord Hunt announced a sustainable clothing action plan, last week, at the launch of London Fashion Week. We are really pleased to hear that another step is being taken to help combat the environmental impacts of fast fashion. Amidst the glitz and consumerism of London Fashion Week, it is great to hear some really positive news about sustainable fashion.

Full details of the action plan are available on the DEFRA website but it is basically about bringing together the major players in the fashion industry including retailers, designers and textile manufacturers to make positive changes which will make a significant difference to the environmental footprint and social inequalities which blight some of the production and retail processes of consumer fashion.

More than 300 organisations have joined up including Marks and Spencers, Sainsburys and Oxfam with the actions being taken ranging from increasing ranges of Fairtrade and Organic to supporting green clothing factories and increasing consumer awareness on the environmental benefits of clothing reuse.

We at Posh Swaps are in complete support of the Governements action plan and will be continuing to our bit by promoting and enabling the reuse and recycling of second hand clothes.

Second hand clothes are a great starting point for creating your own restyled unique and individual clothing. As you will not have spent too much money, you can experiment and be as creative as you like. I have been seeing lots of very inventive and stylish ideas for restyling second hand clothes. So here are just a few ideas to get you started. If you have restyled any second hand clothes yourself, we would love to see your pictures and hear what you did. Please email them to ceri@heathcotecommunications.co.uk.

• Dyeing - Dip dying or the ombre effect was a big trend last year but still looks great. You can also try dying clothes a whole new colour, tie dying or batik. A  cream or white chiffon prom dress would look amazing dyed with an ombre effect. You could also try shortening and dying a second hand wedding dress for a really different evening dress. For instructions and ideas try http://www.ritdye.com/Ombre+or+Shadow+Dyeing.37.lasso
• Embellishing - there are so many different ways that you can embellish a piece of second hand clothing to make it really special. Try sequins, beads, ribbon, embroidery, fringed trim, applique and buttons.
• Painting - a very ordinary silk dress of shirt can be changed into something magical by painting on it using specialist silk paints and gutter resist.
• Shortening - a number of items can be shortened to create something different. Try shortening skirts, dresses and trousers. A longer style top could also be shortened to create a cropped top.
• Complete restyle - You can change a piece of second hand clothing into something completely different. Try jeans into a denim skirt, a dress into a top, a mans shirt into a ladies blouse or mini dress,  any garment with a beautiful pattern into a scarf.  

picture from http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/fun-ombre-dyed-chiffon-party-dress-vintageous-vintage-clothing