Re-fashion weekend

This weekend (30-31 January), a series of low-cost events will take place across London in a re-fashion experiment to encourage people to refresh and upcycle their wardrobe.

If the experiment is a success, the re-fashion events – a joint venture between behaviour change charity Hubbub and North London Waste Authority – will be rolled out nationally.

DIY fashion

The workshops won’t break the bank and you’ll come away with something new, created from old cast-offs and clothes you already own that need a new lease of life.

There’s something to suit everyone – whether you’re bored of your old denim jacket, want to repair your own jeans or refashion an old Christmas jumper.

The campaign addresses the serious issues of our throw-away fashion culture, captured in the mayhem of the post-Christmas January sales.

Create a new wardrobe

Upcycling your clothes and re-fashioning them – or swapping something you no longer need for something you love – is a great way to create a new wardrobe without spending a fortune or creating more fashion trash.

‘Whilst the January sale madness offers a fast fashion fix to some, others are experiencing a dose of the January blues. After Christmas, our wallets are empty and the likelihood is we’ve ended up with presents we don’t want or need. The prospect of more shopping fills many of us with dread.

‘January is a great time to make new resolutions, to start new ways of doing things, and learn new skills. So come along to the workshop with your friends and have some fun.’

Gavin Ellis, Founder of Hubbub

Throw-away fashion

We own four times as many clothes as we did 30 years ago, yet according to WRAP around 1/3 of the clothes in an average wardrobe haven’t been worn in the last year. Underused clothes are worth around £30 billion in the UK.

In the UK we throw away seven tonnes of clothing every 10 minutes; looking after your clothes for nine months longer than usual will reduce each item’s carbon, waste and water footprint by 20-30%.

‘It is estimated that £1,200 worth of clothes currently sit in each UK home that are completely forgotten about. These workshops will help teach you new ways to deal with forgotten clothing and teach you some skills which could help you transform them, reinventing your wardrobe which ultimately will save you money.’

Councillor Clyde Loakes, chair of North London Waste Authority