REFRESH & RECYCLE YOUR WARDROBE
With the new season upon us, there’s never been a better time to have a proper clear-out of your wardrobe and we’re here to help.
It’s never an easy task parting ways with your belongings, but we’re on hand to make it that little bit less stressful — As part of our commitment to a focus on sustainability and doing the right thing, we’re partnering with Oxfam to protect the planet and help beat poverty for good. All you have to do is drop off your pre-loved clothes and footwear at the donation points in every Joules store, and it’ll be collected by Oxfam to be resold, reused or recycled.
If you’re still reluctant to face the monster in your cupboard, here are five questions to ask yourself when deciding whether to keep or donate.
Pssst…Looking for a quick and easy downloadable decision tree to help you? Click below to get yours!
1. Has it been over a year since you last wore it?
We often feel nostalgia for clothes that we loved before, but for whatever reason it just hasn’t made an appearance in any of your outfits over the past twelve months. Perhaps it’s never been worn! If you haven’t reached for it in that long, it’s very unlikely you’ll be longing for it in the near future, so it’s better off in the donation bin.
2. Do you have an occasion in mind?
From backless dresses to tulle-skirted ballgowns, we all have those outfits that we just know we’ll never wear, but hope to maybe one day, if we ever were invited to a red-carpet film premier. Unless you really do have a special event in mind, these items shouldn’t be taking up space in your wardrobe. Maybe snap a photo of yourself wearing it first, then it’s time for them to go.
3. Does it fit?
And we mean really fit, comfortably. It can be hard to get rid of clothing that we think we’d look amazing in, or worse that we used to look amazing in, but having these in your wardrobe can actually have more of a negative effect than motivational. The only clothes you should own are ones that you feel confident in. Which leads us to our next question…
4. Does it make you feel good?
Sometimes clothes make us feel fantastic, and we can’t really explain it. It might be a memory associated with it, or the way it highlights our best features. But some clothes can make us feel bad too. Sometimes we buy clothes just because they’re easy to wear, or because we think we should wear them (high heels, for example), but if they really don’t make you feel like your most fabulous self then they shouldn’t be in your wardrobe. Get rid of that negativity and make space for a confident new you.
5. Is it damaged?
If you have clothing or shoes that are looking a little worse for wear, you can try to fix it yourself or try to take it to a repair shop where experts can try their hand at making your garment look good as new. There are lots of techniques you can try to cover up a small rip or stain, like patchworking or clever embroidery. But if your clothing is too far beyond repair, it may be best to pop it in the donation box. It’s important to make sure you buy good quality clothing that is built to last, like ours – fast fashion may seem kinder to your wallet at first, but consider how much shorter its lifespan will be.
How to recycle your clothes with Joules and Oxfam
By now you’ve hopefully got a big pile of clothes ready to say goodbye to and a nice bit of extra space in your wardrobe. What next?
‘Don’t Let Good Taste Go to Waste’ is our partnership with Oxfam that gives you the chance to give clothes a second chance and increase their lifespan. Simply pop in store, ask a member of staff to show you to one of our drop-off points where you can leave all the clothes and footwear you want to donate. You can drop off clothes from any brand and even wellies too!
From there, the donations will be collected from each store and taken by Oxfam and will be sorted according to whether it will go on to be resold in one of Oxfam’s many charity shops, or sent to Oxfam’s Wastesaver Centre where they will be recycled into new materials.
To keep everyone safe, all donations will be quarantined before they are processed and we’ve added extra measures in-store too.
Every garment that goes on to be sold in an Oxfam charity shop raises money to fight poverty around the world. One dress could raise enough money to buy drought-resistant seeds for a family to keep growing food despite a changing climate.
Here at Joules, we’re so pleased to be working with Oxfam as part of our Responsibly Joules journey, and to be joining them in their fight to stop so many of our clothes going to waste. Want to get involved? You can find our drop-off points in every Joules store.
Lynda Wightman
10.02.2020 at 13:24Great idea and will definitely partake in dropping off some clothes in store soon for Oxfam!
May I ask, the leopard print and red scarf on clothes rail at bottom of page…is this currently for sale? Or coming soon? As I couldn’t find it on website!
Thanks!