This month hundreds of Hong Kongers visited our latest Pop-up shop eager to get their hands on quality secondhand clothes and accessories from the Redress closet. Our pop-up generated valuable funding for Redress and our work to cut waste out of fashion whilst promoting the local circular economy, as shoppers revealed in the treasures that we freed from hibernation in Hong Kong’s wardrobes and put back into use in one of our largest clothing drives to date!
For our fabulous venue space we partnered once again with OnTheList, who share our vision to minimise the negative impacts of fashion. Each year, an inestimable amount of clothing is destroyed by brands as they are no longer of any value. OnTheList helps brands make space in their warehouses sustainably by organising weekly flash sales. Their members can enjoy the best deal in town whilst brands can turn their old inventory into an opportunity.
Working towards a circular system for unwanted clothes
Clothing sold during the Get Redressed Pop-up formed just a small part of the record-breaking 5.4 tonnes collected this Spring from organisations all across the city, including fifteen schools and members clubs, as well as through our growing number of permanent clothing donation boxes across Hong Kong, including our new location in PizzaExpress (Sai Ying Pun) and launching soon - Grana, Hollywood Road!
Redress redistributed the majority of remaining donations to nine local charities including Pathfinders, Crossroads, Impact HK, J Life Foundation and Po Leung Kuk - all carefully sorted to meet their exact beneficiary needs. Any clothes deemed unsuitable for reuse have been allocated for recycling at Hong Kong’s first fibre-to-fibre recycling plant (watch this space - further details coming soon!).
Our volunteers have been a critical part of the success of this record-breaking Spring Clothing Drive and Pop-up, working hard to prepare - including sorting a whopping 2.5 tonnes in just one day! A huge thank you to these amazing volunteers in the shop and warehouse, including the American Women's Association, Goldman Sachs Community Team Works and Hands On Hong Kong. Also a final thank you to our amazing partners at Red Box Storage, without whom our drives and Pop-up Shops would not be possible.
To date Redress has collected over 23 tonnes of unwanted clothing and we have big ambitions to grow our impact, redirecting more clothing from landfill and shifting perceptions around secondhand clothes. Our next clothing drive will take place during October 2018 with a Pop-up shop following soon after. Keep posted on our social media for more and if your organisation is interested in joining in – please get in touch.
