#SummerWoolies

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For me summer is about beach days, hotter-than-hell days and relaxing, if I get the chance. But it can also be about getting rid of winter clothes I don’t need anymore. As someone whose family used to shop at second-hand stores I know how much those items of clothing are needed.

Sadly many of us put our unwanted clothes into the bin. The 2012 WRAP report found that 140 million pounds’ worth (that’s about 350,000 tonnes) of our clothes ends up in landfill every year. This is a huge waste. Some of those clothes have to be wearable, but they are being thrown away. The report goes on to say that to keep our clothes out of landfill we should re-use them. This could mean that instead of throwing clothes away, which are still wearable, you donate them.

I personally believe that you should donate clothes you don’t wear or clothes you don’t want. It can be a powerful thing to get rid of clothes that don’t fit you, for whatever reason, or to give away clothes that hold painful memories. All you need to do is let them go. You’d be giving clothing to people who need them and keeping clothes from going straight into landfill.

I’d like to take this a step further by getting you involved in not just donating your clothes, which is totally awesome, but by actively getting others involved as well. This is as simple as getting your unwanted winter clothes together, snapping a wacky picture of them, posting it on Facebook, Twitter or tumblr under the hashtag #SummerWoolies, and sending this photo to us. Any pictures you send to us will be posted at the end of this article.

Just in case you need inspiration, the wonderful Magda Knight (Mookychick founder) and I have taken photos of the clothes we are going to donate. Here they are, respectively.

Floating Jumpers

(click the pic below to see the whole thing!)

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Little Dude

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I call my picture Floating Jumpers. My feelings about the items are mixed, so I’m happy to see them drift out of my life. Magda is calling her picture Little Dude.

So, go forth, spread the word and make sure to tweet @mookychick and/or send us a photo of the clothes you’re donating and then go forth and set them free. The most important thing is that you get involved In Real Life. This isn’t some #hashtag movement where people post stuff online and then nothing happens. This is something that could make a difference, no matter how big, or small, but you have to get involved by donating your unwanted clothes. So what are you waiting for?

To contribute your photo: Tweet @mookychick with #SummerWoolies and/or email your photo to [email protected]. If you want to give your photo a title that would be great!