There's little more therapeutic than a wardrobe spring clean. But it's the disposing of your unwanted garments that can put you off.
If there are no nearby charity shops or collection services, clothing banks, or if the items you want to get rid of aren't good enough for reuse or resale, it's too easy to just stuff them in the dustbin and think no more of it. This leads to tonnes of unwanted clothing ending up in landfills every year.
But, since 2013, H&M's Garment Collecting initiative has been making it simple for us to put our unwanted items to good use. Head to any H&M shop with your old clothes - from any brand and in any condition - and they will recycle or reuse them.
[youtube ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i4JSzB8VlU&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
A new film (above) titled 'Bring It' explains the process you garments will then go through - either being resold or recycled for use all sorts of ways - from making textiles for new clothes to cleaning cloths and stuffing for car seats.
It's all about keeping unwanted clothing 'in the loop' for as long as possible and reducing waste.
By 2020, the Swedish retailer aims to be collecting 25,000 tonnes of unwanted clothing per year.
And in case you were thinking 'hang on, that means H&M are making money out of my old clothes', think again. All collected garments are sold to recycling plant I:CO, then H&M donates the funds to the H&M Foundation, which in turn splits the donation 50/50 - one half going to research into textile recycling, and the other to projects that focus on equality and marginalised groups.
In the UK they are currently committed to supporting homeless young people by partnering with Centrepoint, 1625 Independent People, Aberdeen Foyer, The Benjamin Foundation and Roundabout.
So, there's really no excuse to avoid that wardrobe clear out now.
