A sustainable solution for excess stock
Did you know that, as a charity with 14 charity shops across London and three online shops too, we're always looking for Retail Stock Donations? We offer brands and retailers a simple, hassle-free solution to make use of their excess stock in a way that's sustainable, while helping us to fund the brilliant minds and bright ideas putting change in sight for everyone impacted by vision loss.
It was a retail stock donation like this, which enabled us to do something really special this September. When an online retailer donated a huge 8 tonnes of new-with-tags fashion, Ealing Fashion Drop was set up with the aim of saving these clothes from landfill in four weeks...
Ealing pulling together in the name of eco-fashion
The support for Ealing Fashion Drop throughout its four week run was incredible. Make It Ealing shared news of the drop with Ealing Broadway locals. Local legend Trisha Stewart, the founding member of the Ealing Business Club, also dropped in to show solidarity with our mission (and do a bit of shopping in the process).
Then of course, some of the Trailfinders Women players went to the shop on Ealing Broadway, to check out the stock and support the campaign. Local sustainable stylist, Sarah Sole from Sourced Studio helped pick out some pieces for the players, who modelled their outfits at iconic locations around Ealing Broadway, as covered by The Ealing News.
It also happened that a researcher who's PhD we're funding was able to pop by to show their appreciation. AJ was delighted to find out more about how we fund researchers like them and the role our charity shops play in that funding.
And influencers from far and wide heard about what we were up to and created their own fabulous fits from this incredible donation. Hannah from The Thrifted Threds promoted it to her 18k of thrift-loving followers. And slow fashion advocate, Estie Joy (@estielivessustainably) put together this extremely entertaining reel about what the Ealing Fashion Drop had to offer!
So how did we do?
Eight tonnes of clothing is epic. It took us a whole morning for the Fight for Sight team to unload it from the lorry it was delivered on. And as shoppers poured into our Ealing Fashion Drop charity shop, we were able to keep it constantly stocked with new-with-tags fashion gems. That's why we were able to put a huge dent in the donation.
So the good news is that, while we didn't sell all eight tonnes in four weeks, we do have 14 shops across London, between which the clothing will now be shared, so we can finish the job. Please do find your local shop to pick up some gems of your own.
The even better news is that we were able to prevent this clothing from hitting landfill, and in the process we've raised an incredible amount to further our mission to Save Sight. Change Lives.
Thank you to everyone who came down to our Ealing shop to support this event and - of course - to everyone who donates to our shops every day. Whether its eight tonnes, or eight tops, every item counts towards a brighter future for people living with vision loss.
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