We’ve been teaming up with fashion students at the South Thames College to work together on a sustainable fashion project.
The students came into our Tooting shop to select items from our ragging clothes. These are clothes which are torn or ripped, or have stains on them which make them not suitable for sale. They get ‘ragged’ which is where we use companies who take them away for recycling and pay us for the garments. However due to import, export and exchange rates, the amount we make from these rags has drastically reduced over the course of this year. We wanted to see if there were any other opportunities in our local community where our rags could be of use. We reached out to South Thames College to see if they would like to collaborate at all and they said it would be perfect for their sustainable fashion project.
After a lot of rummaging and selecting, the students took the ‘rags’ back to college with them to start their projects. After a few weeks I was invited back to view the pieces and select the winners!
The winners were:
Sonia who created a ruffle creation in red and yellow. I thought this piece stood out in particular for the skilled use of ruching and the use of alternative materials like the plastic and newspaper strips. A real achievement in sustainable fashion!
Rita’s top and skirt with headband. I really liked the overal shape of this piece and the use of colour blocking and pattern clashing.
Elaine’s feather dress. This was a really pretty, whimsical piece and so much work had gone into cutting up each individual ‘feather’. I was very impressed by how many garments were re-used to create this look.
The garments will be on display at our Tooting shop throughout January so please come down and have a look at the fashion of the future!
With our 3 charity shops, we are very proud that we are contributing towards sustainable fashion and helping to reduce landfill. It’s fantastic that the younger generation are engaging with our shops and even using our rags to create unique clothing.
If you would like to collaborate with us in any way, or you have an idea for a project around sustainable fashion or environmentally friendly retail, please get in touch! office@rspcasouthlondon.org.uk
If you don’t have a project on the go but want to be sustainable, why not try the the Charity Challenge
RSPCA South London - For Every Kind Of Creature 