VOLUNTEERING

TRAID is a charity working to stop clothes from being thrown away. We turn clothes waste into funds and resources to reduce the environmental and social impacts of our clothes. It is a circular and sustainable approach to the problems of clothes waste tackling disposal, production and consumption by:

• Increasing clothes reuse across the UK reducing waste, carbon emissions and consumption

• Funding international development projects to improve conditions and working practices in the textile industry

• Educating people of all ages about the impacts of textiles on the environment and people’s lives, and how we can make more sustainable choices

TRAID does this by providing the UK public with a network of over 1,500 charity clothes banks, home collections and charity shops diverting around 3,000 tonnes of clothes from landfill and incineration every year. We work in 191 boroughs and districts in the UK supporting local authorities, businesses, schools and communities towards zero waste.

Clothes are given to TRAID as cast offs and waste which we transform into high quality stock for our charity shops. TRAID hand sorts donations at our warehouse in London selecting stock for our shops based on condition, quality and style. It’s a major process which sees our team sorting, hanging, tagging, pricing and merchandising around 11,000 garments per week to reuse and resell.

The funds we raise in our shops from stopping clothes from being thrown away are committed to global projects improving conditions and working practices in the textile industry.

Good Clothes, Fair Pay is a campaign demanding living wage legislation across the garment, textile and footwear sector. We need 1 million signatures from EU citizens to push for legislation that requires companies to conduct living wage due diligence in their supply chains. Sign the petition for Good Clothes, Fair Pay here: Good Clothes, Fair Pay