Cheltenham charity, Linc, is launching a new, 'first-of-its-kind' upcycled fashion collection at one of its high street shops this July 2025.
The Re-loved collection is transforming damaged clothing and accessories into new pieces, including denim aprons made from worn-out jeans; earrings and keyrings from broken jewellery; scrunchies out of blouses; and a unique tie dye range, with every item purchased supporting Linc's work with blood cancer patients in Gloucestershire.
Less than one per cent of the world's clothing is recycled into new garments, with 49 per cent of textiles going to waste in the UK alone, costing around £200 million every year to incinerate.
Charity shops play an important part in diverting clothes away from the incinerator, saving over 330,000 tonnes of textiles from landfill each year.
Linc 'saw an opportunity' to go a step further with its Re-loved collection, supporting its own sustainability and environmental values, raising more funds for its important work, while having fun at the same time.
Volunteers for the charity have donated over 150 hours to upcycle 200 items, turning torn blouses into detachable statement collars, trimming t-shirts into vests and mending cashmere jumpers, saving 85kg of textiles from landfill and 918kg of carbon dioxide.
The Re-loved collection launch coincides with the first anniversary of Linc's Winchcombe Street shop, which is just off Cheltenham High Street – with the collection being exclusively available in this store.
Linc Charity's retail manager, Laura Lee, said: 'Items that can’t be resold would usually be sent to our recycling merchant but the price we get for ‘rag’ continues to fall. We came up with the Re-loved initiative as it fits our strong sustainability ethic while providing us with another source of revenue.
'Extending the life of clothes by just nine months not only reduces carbon, water and waste footprints by 20 per cent, it also means we can turn the average seven pence we might get for ‘rag’ for an item into an average of £4 per item. It’s a win-win!
'We have had so much fun. Re-loved has brought the team closer together and strengthened our shared commitment to sustainability. Both our Winchcombe Street store and our shop on Bath Road produce minimal landfill waste – less than one bin bag a week while we also re-donate some items such as used towels to animal charities and tents to homeless charities.'
Linc Charity CEO, Louise Neal, added: 'Our Re-loved range is a brilliant new step for us! As the first upcycling initiative for Linc, it gives us the chance to reuse items that would otherwise be recycled or discarded, turning them into something unique, stylish and sellable.
'Not only does this support our sustainability goals but it also boosts revenue that directly funds our services to blood cancer patients and their families being treated across Gloucestershire’s hospitals.'
