If clothing and textiles are not responsibly re-used or re-purposed, they risk ending up in landfill which releases harmful chemicals and microfibres into the environment. In the UK, approximately £140 million worth of textiles is sent to landfill each year.
M&S understands that textile waste is not sustainable and supports reselling, rehoming and recycling as much as possible to reduce the chance of items ending up in landfill. By working with partner organisations Oxfam and Reskinned, M&S supports a circular economy and helps to divert unwanted clothes from landfill.
In 2008, M&S and Oxfam launched a clothing exchange, meaning that customers could donate their unwanted clothing and receive an M&S voucher in return. In 2012 the clothing exchange was re-named Shwopping, and a high-profile publicity campaign featuring celebrity Joanna Lumley helped to raise awareness.
Although it’s no longer called Shwopping, the clothes donation partnership with Oxfam continues, and customers can now donate clothing in M&S stores and by post. Recycling unwanted clothing is one part of a bigger approach to reducing waste called Another Life. This an M&S initiative bringing a range of circularity services together to make it easier for customers to repair and recycle clothing. It includes a beauty takeback scheme with Handle, who turn used beauty packaging into new products, and a repair partnership with SOJO, a company that specialises in clothing repair.
Clothing donated through Another Life is sent to Reskinned, who work in partnership with M&S, to be sorted, repaired and cleaned. Any M&S items that can be resold are listed on the official M&S eBay shop. The rest is sent to Oxfam to be resold, reused or recycled, helping to raise money to tackle poverty across the world. Since 2008, the M&S and Oxfam partnership has resulted in rehoming more than 35 million items, contributing an estimated £23 million to Oxfam’s vital work.
Glossary
Landfill - a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial
Microfibres - very fine synthetic fibres
Oxfam - a leading UK charity fighting global poverty
Circularity/circular economy – the process or idea of reusing or regenerating products and resources to reduce waste