An Upcycled Fashion Show was held last week in the Swapshop on Bread Street to inspire people to buy second-hand clothing, and get creative with their already preloved items.
Guests were invited to see an entertaining fashion show, performed by models wearing re-used and upcycled items donated from the Edinburgh Remakery, Moon Dust, R Sustainable fashion Show, Queen Margaret University Costume Design and Construction Course.
The new Swapshop on Bread Street allows customers to swap items they no longer want for something different, in an effort to encourage people to reuse instead of buying new. The shop features a cafe and is stocked with preloved books, clothing, kitchenware and many other curious items that customers bring drop off.
The Swapshop has also partnered with One Cherry, an award-winning social enterprise based in Edinburgh, that aims to make sustainable second-hand shopping easy and convenient for everyone through their App that allows shoppers to browse the stock of second-hand shops online.
Each week, 3.5 tonnes of textiles and footwear goes to waste in central Edinburgh, while every year, 300,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK. Up to 95% of the textiles that are sent to landfill each year could be recycled.
SHRUB Coop is a volunteer-led cooperative with a vision for a world without waste, and also run The Wee Spoke Hub, a DIY bike repair workshop on Guthrie Street. In January, they’ll be opening the Food Sharing Hub, also on bread street, to provide unwanted food from supermarkets that would otherwise be thrown away.
SHRUB Coop also coordinate Zero Waste Edinburgh, a project to establish long-lasting strategies to reduce waste in the southside of Edinburgh’s Old Town and is supported by a grant of £300,000 in funding by Zero Waste Scotland and the European Regional Development Fund until March 2020.
The SHRUB Coop is supported by a grant of £289,937 from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund. The Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) is a Scottish Government grant programme, managed and administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The CCF provides funding and support for community groups to help tackle climate change by running projects that reduce local carbon emissions. The CCF has awarded 1,097 grants totalling £101 million to 658 communities since its introduction in 2008, for projects involving energy efficiency, sustainable travel, local food and resource efficiency.
On behalf of Zero Waste Scotland, Chris Morrison said: “I really enjoyed the whole atmosphere at the event, the volunteers organising the event have inspired others to contribute towards less waste, by showcasing and sharing their collaborations. There was so much positive enthusiasm amongst the audience for the whole evening.”
On behalf of One Cherry, Anton said: “I was surprised how well this whole event was organised by the volunteers. Fantastic effort from all the people making this happen, and also the models. It’s a good way to see the different collaborations formed around the city around textiles, and it’s so important to raise more awareness around it, which SHRUB Coop does.”
“Hopefully fashion shows can be a regular thing, working together with other second-hand shops, as well as local sustainable designers. This would be cool to see for Edinburgh’s vibrant community.”
Melissa Grieve and Sam Reid, Volunteer organisers from SHRUB Coop: “We are proud to have managed to bring people together, both those already aware of recycling issues, but also many new faces getting to learn more about it. Also, our models did a fantastic job, and the whole event was part of creating an even bigger community.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
