The Textile Reuse Hub: Making an Impact at Sustainable Fashion Week
The Brighton Textile Reuse Hub (TRH) is an exciting and evolving collaboration between Gladrags Costume Hire, Leftover Threads, and Smarter Uniforms in partnership with East Brighton Trust, with a shared goal to promote and facilitate textile reuse, working towards a more sustainable and affordable future for our community.
East Brighton Trust caught up with Sibel from Leftover Threads and Vania and her team from Gladrags at last Saturday’s Sustainable Fashion Week event at The Dome, which saw a celebration of ethical and sustainable fashion with sewing workshops, clothes swapping, revolutionary runways, and a marketplace of eco-conscious fashion.
Over in the marketplace, Leftover Thread’s creative stall brought an abundance of dazzle and colour. Born out of frustration with disposable and mass-produced fast fashion, Sibel created Leftover Threads by recreating, reusing, restyling and embellishing pre-loved clothing, and mixing style with sustainability.
Sibel also works with and supports Purple Community Fund, selling innovative bags and accessories made from ring pulls, the profits of which support communities in the Philippines, and enable children to access education. It was inspiring to see five models dressed by Sibel in the ‘Remake’ runway show. You can see the video here.
With an array of vintage clothing and an amazing collection of repair and refashion clothing, the Gladrags stall was looking spectacular, with many of their preloved costumes featuring in the ‘Rewear’ runway show.
There was also display information about the life of a Gladrags garment which highlighted their sustainability impact.
100% of funds from the vintage stall will also be channelled back into their charitable work, which often benefits groups across East Brighton.
Established 30 years ago, Gladrags are a charity that has over 8000 costumes, all of which can be provided for schools, community groups, theatres and the arts community. With 95% of their collection being made up of donated, recycled, and repurposed items, Gladrags are committed to be part of the solution of a sustainable textile industry.
Speaking about future plans for the TRH, Sibel from Leftover Threads told us:
“The aim is to make ‘reuse and repair’’ more available and acceptable. Plans to host clothes swaps, and repair and alteration workshops are in the pipeline. Tons of rewearable garments and shoes are thrown away each year because of a lack of basic knowledge around how to repair them”
“We also hoping to connect and collaborate with other textile-based organisations to close the loop by re-using and re-homing textiles and materials locally”
Brighton and Hove Council launched the Circular Economy Route Map and Action Plan in 2022, with the vision being for Circular Economy practices and principles to be embraced by all; a society that minimises waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use for as long as possible and supports the regeneration and protection of natural resources.
Although there is currently no mention of textiles in the plan, the Textile Reuse Hub has engaged with the council about this and hopes to continue to speak about how they can work together going forward.
The Textile Reuse Hub is committed to continuing to fuel change locally in a creative and meaningful way, driving positive change, which will ultimately be better for the community as well as the planet.
You can find out more here