10,000 items of clothing are thrown away every 5 minutes. ‘vInspired’, the UK’s leading youth volunteering charity believes that it is vital to save items of clothing from just being chucked into landfill. They have therefore set up a ‘Get Trashed’ campaign, encouraging young people to exchange their clothes rather than letting them go to waste. A free event, tag lined the ‘Carboot Disco’ took place at the Ministry of Sound, in Elephant and Castle, and aimed to bring young people together to customise or swap their clothes. As a young person interested in fashion and design, I found the event not only really fun but also eye-opening, as it seemed that everyone at the event was supportive of the idea of recycling fashion rather than putting it to waste. A 16 year old student studying Art-textiles at sixthform, Laura Moulds, commented that “I for one loved swapping an item of clothing that I had no interest in and getting something that I would actually wear, and I didn’t even have to pay for it! It’s definitely an event I would go to again.”
The London-bound ‘Carboot Disco’ took place on the 24th November from 3 to 7pm, and alone saved 376 items from landfill. The Urbanist, Spanglewear and People of Print (the “Customisers”) helped to show people how to update and modernise their clothing as an alternative to throwing it away. Ideas for customisation included screen printing t-shirts and jumpers, getting items of clothing graffitied and adding studs, safety pins and chains to key pieces, thus revamping the wardrobes of young people across the UK.
KISS FM DJs, David Goodings and Will Manning, along with other DJs, Olly Stock and NVoke, supported the event by combining music with fashion and recycling. Celebrities including Jameela Jamil, Millie Mackintosh and singers from ‘Stooshe’ equally showed their support for the campaign by supplying high-end fashion pieces such as fur jackets and high heels for the raffle.
However, despite this ‘Carboot Disco’ having already taken place, the work of this free-of-charge party continues. The ‘Get Trashed’ campaign is encouraging people to hold similar events, whether at schools, youth clubs or between groups of friends. Lisa Hughes, an organiser of the event, says that they hope to “re-educate and empower young people to make better buying and disposing decisions.” The aim is to save 10,000 items of clothing from landfill by February 2014 and prevent the effects of fast-fashion – constantly buying clothes in order to keep up with new trends set by the contemporary role models of society – celebrity figures. The event was a success because it opened the eyes of young people to the environmental issues surrounding fashion. The approach taken by ‘vInspired’ is not a critical one, but a positive one, encouraging more sustainable fashion in a fun and modern atmosphere.
The result of the “credit-crunch” and an increasing pressure amongst young people to be “on trend”, has been the creation of a generation that is obsessed with disposable fashion. However, ‘vInspired’ has identified this way of life as being unsustainable and is determined to change the way we act and dress immediately.
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