Salvation Army reveals Reuse2Repurpose Fashion campaign

Major charities are increasingly aligning themselves to the pre-loved fashion market and the latest to join the now-big-business opportunity is The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL) lays claim to be largest charity-owned textiles collector in the UK, has launched the Reuse2Repurpose Fashion campaign to encourage yet more people to buy second hand clothes.

The campaign’s ‘fashion forward’ images feature everyday garments donated to the charity’s clothing banks across the UK.

The looks were created by editorial fashion stylist Joanne Kennedy and photographed by Catherine Harbour. The catwalk-inspired styles “demonstrate the potential of second-hand fashion at a time when new research shows that the environmental impact of reusing textiles is 70 times lower compared to producing new clothing”, said the charity.

The charity said it collects over 62,000 tonnes of textiles each year and has around 8,000 clothing collection banks. Each one holds up to 240 kilos of textiles including clothing, bags and shoes.

Charlene Bent, Marketing Manager at SATCol which operates the clothing banks on behalf of the charity, added: “Textiles is the UK’s fastest growing household waste stream and Salvation Army clothing banks provide an easy-to-use solution to donate pre-loved fashion. 

“By reusing and repurposing these donated textiles, we greatly reduce the amount we send to disposal. The Reuse2Repurpose fashion shoot showcases ways that we can make the old become new with pre-loved fashion and create styles that fashionably stand the test of time.”