The British Red Cross is asking people across the South Eastto show their support for the charity by donating unwanted shirts, following new research which reveals more than three quarters of people in the South East own clothes they know they should get rid of (77%) but haven’t, with nearly half of people in the region longing to get rid of an item of clothing in their partner’s wardrobe (46%).* (1)
The statistics have been released as T.M.Lewin launches its Shirt Swap campaign with the British Red Cross, fronted by Gary Lineker, calling on people to donate their unwanted shirts to help support the charity’s vital work, following an unprecedented year of humanitarian disasters in the UK. (2) Shirts will be re-sold in British Red Cross shops, helping raise money to support people in crisis across the UK and around the world. (3)
Research commissioned by the two organisations asked more than 2,000 UK adults about their attitudes towards getting rid of old clothes, and found the majority of us are guilty of holding onto clothes we know we don’t need or wear. Even worse than that though, we hold on to these clothes and continue to buy more. Now that there are so many online shops available that do worldwide shipping, such as those that sell Easel Clothing and many more, it’s much harder to resist buying new things. The survey found:
· Almost a quarter of people in the South East (24%) have secretly binned an item of their partner’s clothing*
• More than four in ten people in the South East (42%) have more than ten items of clothing in their wardrobe that they don’t wear
• More than four in ten adults (43%) in the South Easthave owned a piece of clothing forlonger than a decade
• Men hold on to old clothes for longer but women own more clothes they don’t wear (4)
· Some of the most common reasons for holding onto things are because they are comfortable and familiar or have sentimental value.
The findings show how people in the South East can get behind the work of the British Red Cross – which responded to more than a thousand emergencies in the UK alone last year – by donating their unwanted shirts to a British Red Cross or T.M.Lewin shop. Former England striker turned TV presenter Gary Lineker is backing the campaign, and has donated some of his shirts to the appeal.
The Shirt Swap campaign runs from February 19th to March 25th during which time the public will be able to drop in their shirts to a British Red Cross or T.M.Lewin shop and receive a T.M.Lewin voucher in exchange.
Money raised from the campaign will go towards the work of the British Red Cross, including in the UK where staff and volunteers help with establishing rest centres, providing psychosocial support and first aid, and working hand in hand with the emergency services to assist people when tragedy strikes.
