Partnership Set to Save a Further 100,000 People from Clothing Poverty
An innovative new partnership between an East Midlands clothing charity and a charitable foundation is set to save a further 100,000 people from clothing poverty, as well as provide sustainable employment and volunteering opportunities.
The strategic partnership between Nottingham-based Sharewear Clothing Scheme and Leicestershire-based Randal Foundation will support the growth of the charity, which provides free-of-charge clothing choices to economically disadvantaged adults. Multi-year funding from the foundation will help grow the charity’s referral system for individuals and their outreach services for its partner organisations.
The pioneering business model, which has already helped 100,000 people in the East Midlands tackle clothing poverty, also enables franchisees to set up their own enterprises, which grow and take on more employees through the support of local businesses, community fundraising, benefactors and grant awards.
The charity will also be able to grow its “ReLived” clothing initiative, bringing companies together with community organisations, so that together they can collect clothing for re-distribution to those in need locally, and stem the flow of textiles to landfill – addressing both local clothing poverty and global climate change.
Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, Chairman of the Randal Foundation, which is providing significant multi-year grant funding support, said: “It’s estimated that 5.5 million adults in the UK cannot afford the cost of clothing, while 10,000 items of clothing go into UK landfill every 5 minutes. This is at a time when inflation and the well-publicised cost of living crisis has lowered living standards and widened the gap for the poorest and more disadvantaged in society.
“We’re delighted to be supporting Sharewear, which is looking to grow its entrepreneurial, charitable initiatives, including developing services and creating jobs into new regions throughout the UK.
“We hope our strategic partnership raises the profile of clothing poverty in the East Midlands and far beyond, as we work with Sharewear to significantly improve the lives of a further 100,000 people.
Chief Operating Officer for the Randal Foundation, Rachael McCormack, said “We’re also keen that our partnership will highlight the policy changes that need to be made by Government to mitigate the systemic problems causing clothing poverty. We’ll be working with this fabulous charity to champion the right to clothing, a basic right for everyone in the UK today.”
Sharewear carries out outreach schemes to hospitals and prisons, as well as offering direct referrals, working with social services and agencies who support the most vulnerable in our society. The referrals provide free of charge clothing to help support people in poverty to stay in work and education, as well as to support families unable to adequately clothe their children, relieving pressure on too-often already stretched family budgets.
Sharewear Founder Dr Louise Cooke said: “The numbers speak for themselves. We have provided free clothing choices to over 100,000 people over the past 10 years and there are tens of thousands more people in the East Midlands and beyond who need our help.
“With the Randal Foundation’s support, we aim to grow both our community Sharewear franchise network, and the number of businesses subscribing to our ReLived clothing collection environmental, social, governance (ESG) scheme.
“By helping us to grow both these networks simultaneously, we know we can keep even more good quality clothes out of landfill, to be chosen by people who can’t afford the cost of clothing, enabling them to create truly significant change in their lives.”
