UKFT member CrisisUK works towards ending homelessness using pre-loved clothing
13/09/2023
Can you donate excess inventory, returns and end of line to help UKFT member CrisisUK end homelessness? CrisisUK has been working towards ending homelessness for over 55 years, raising funds through selling pre-loved clothing in its charity shops across London and online shop. Scroll down to find out more.
UKFT member CrisisUK is the national charity for people experiencing homelessness. Founded in 1967 as a response to the growing homelessness crisis, it supports thousands of people with finding their way out of homeless each year. In addition to helping people find safe and affordable homes as quickly as possible, it aims to address the roots of homelessness by campaigning for the changes needed to solve the issue for good.
With over a dozen charity shops across London and an online shop, CrisisUK raises funds through sales of donated, pre-loved clothing and accessories, as well as through collaborations with social enterprises and small businesses, and the re-use of waste textiles.
Paula Floyd, E-commerce Manager at CrisisUK, commented:
“We’re encouraging brands to donate excess inventory, returns and end of line, to reduce textile waste. We take excess stock and waste products and work with social enterprises or small businesses to rework these items into products. In September, we are hosting a range of events in our stores across London promoting the upcycling of materials – just keep an eye on our social channels for more.”
CrisisUK has several projects and initiatives coming up over the next few months, including the launch of a responsible gifting range on 1 October 2023 and its annual pop-up event on Savile Row in December 2023. Paula said:
“Our annual pop-up event on Savile row will be running again in December. We raised over 125k from the donated pieces that included old season stock, flawed and samples from luxury brands and press. Donations from supporters including the likes of Globe Trotter, Aries, Jimmy Choo, YMC and Huntsman – contact us if you would like to get involved.”
CrisisUK’s long-term goal is to source responsibly, be part of the stock cycle for retailers and work with social enterprises or small businesses. The Untangled collection, is a past collaboration with three London-based up-and-coming designers (Again & Again, Ms. Maskie and Naïve Knitwear), reflects this objective. Available online, the collection features garments and accessories created using defective stock donated by CrisisUK and upcycled, effectively saving them from landfill.
Earlier this year, the charity’s partnership with Graduate Fashion Foundation and Love Not Landfill also highlighted upcycled fashion. Paula said:
“We Partnered with Graduate Fashion Foundation and Love Not Landfill to run a competition where we asked students to create outfits from pre-loved clothing and the winners were showcased in our shop windows in brick lane and across London.”
Discover CrisisUK:
“CrisisUK became a UKFT member to join the dots between businesses and charities. We want to educate ourselves with the help of UKFT and build a network of retailers that can easily approach us for both collaborations as well as partnership so we can help to offer one solution to textile waste that promotes a circular economy whilst fundraising through fashion.”