Charity Begins at Home - in Your Closet
- brittanypanter
- 2014年6月19日
- 讀畢需時 3 分鐘
A closet full of clothes, but nothing to wear. The time-worn expression that plagues every woman at least once in her life. If you are all too friendly with it, then perhaps it’s time for a closet overhaul. At a loss as to what to do with your worn textiles? Thankfully Marks & Spencer and H&M have an eco-friendly solution.
In April of this year, Marks & Spencer Hong Kong launched a clothing exchange drive. You can take any unwanted clothes to one of their 14 locations around the city where it will be sent to be repurposed. The program was designed to help reduce the amount of clothing thrown into landfills. Adam Elman, global head of Plan A delivery (the company’s eco/ethical plan for transformational change) at Marks and Spencer said, “We’re delighted to launch our new clothing exchange in Hong Kong ... We want to stop clothes ending up in landfill and change the way we all shop clothing forever.”
European company H&M have a similar initiative called Don’t Let Fashion Go to Waste. CEO Karl-Johan Persson says, “Our sustainability efforts are rooted in a dedication to social and environmental responsibility. We want to do good for the environment, which is why we are now offering our customers a convenient solution - to be able to leave their worn out or defective garments with H&M.” As of February 2013 the garment collection program operates worldwide and allows you to bring in any article of clothing or home textiles to H&M for recycling.
Both Marks and Spencer and H&M are working with leading international clothing recycling company I:CO to handle the sorting and recycling of the collected goods. Items suitable for reuse are labeled as second-hand goods, and items that are too worn are either recycled into clothing, upholstery or insulation or used to produce energy.
All profits from Marks and Spencer’s clothing exchange drive will go to UNICEF. H&M will donate €0.002 per kilo to UNICEF Hong Kong. So far H&M has donated €116,372 to charities worldwide.
Marks and Spencer also offers a HK$50 coupon that can be used on purchases over HK$500 for each bag of clothing donated. For every bag donated at H&M (up to two bags daily) you will receive a 10% off coupon valid for your next purchase.
Not sure what to get rid of? If you have any items in your closet that you haven’t worn in a year, they’re probably safe to donate. A good trick to keep track of what you’ve worn (or what you haven’t) is to use your hangers as a reminder. Turn all your hangers around so they are facing the same way. When you hang something up after wearing it turn the hanger the opposite way. At the end of the year (or month if you have a huge closet), all the clothes on hangers that are still facing the original way would probably be better of being donated. And keep in mind it’s not only clothes that you can donate. Home textiles such a curtains, towels and linens are also very welcome.
So as the hot weather refuses to relent and you need to free up some space in that wardrobe for summer clothes, don’t forget to help the environment and your wallet by recycling your fashion.
