An immersive and eye-catching display has taken over a town centre’s shopping centre to encourage residents to think about how they get rid of their unwanted clothes.
Each year thousands of tonnes of textiles are thrown away in Greater Manchester, with 16,700 tonnes put in general waste bins in 2023/24. On average each person in the UK puts 35 items of clothing in the general waste bin every year, from socks with holes to ripped or faded t-shirts. Much of this also comes from ‘fast fashion’ with poor quality clothes sold cheaply before being quickly thrown away.
However, damaged clothes and shoes can be recycled, with residents being encouraged to donate their damaged or unwanted clothes and shoes to textile banks across Greater Manchester as part of the #CottonOn campaign.
R4GM has taken this campaign to Stockport town centre with an immersive installation at Merseyway shopping centre.
The installation shows unwearable clothes covered with imperfections from stains to rips and key messages about recycling. In addition to the installation, adverts will run across Greater Manchester.
There are textile banks across Greater Manchester – including at all 20 of R4GM’s recycling centres – while many can also be found in supermarket carparks and large clothing stores. To find your nearest – Recycling Locator tool | Recycle Now
All clothes from our textile banks are hand sorted in Greater Manchester. Clothing that can’t be re-worn is recycled into something new like animal bedding, carpet underlay and even car seats, right here in the UK.
Cllr Tom Ross, GMCA’s lead for Waste and Recycling, said:
“It is great to see this eye-opening display in busy hub of Stockport where residents can learn about this issue. Throwing away clothes and shoes wastes valuable resources, especially considering the production of clothing and footwear requires significant amounts of energy, water, and raw materials.
“This is another fantastic example of what Recycle for Greater Manchester does to highlight easy changes that people can make to recycle more and help improve our environment.”
The display will be at Merseyway from September 30 to October 11
