ReFashion event a hit
The county’s first recycled and reused clothes event ReFashion was a big hit last week. Organised by Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP) and Oxford City Council staff, the event saw over 700 people flock to Oxford’s Town Hall to make the most of unwanted clothes.
Jenny Carr from Oxford City Council helped coordinate the event and says: “As this was the first time we’ve run such an event, we weren’t sure how well received it would be: we couldn’t have been more pleased! Crowds of people came throughout the day, with the clothes swapping area a constant hive of activity. In fact we saw around one thousand items of clothing swapped!”
Over half a tonne of clothing was brought to the event by people wanting to swap, sell, alter or repair it. While this was all happening, regular fashion shows as diverse as students’ textile work, retro garments and wedding outfits entertained the room
Chairman of Oxfordshire Waste Partnership Cllr Lorraine Lindsay-Gale attended the event and watched one of the catwalk shows. She says: “It was fantastic to see so many people at the event getting inspiration about what to do with their old clothes. I personally enjoyed seeing some stylish ReFashioned outfits on the stage. We’d like to offer thanks to all those that helped to make the day a success including all the stall holders and hope that more ReFashion events will happen in the future.”
At the end of the event, Air Ambulance took away any leftover clothes, rags and scraps from the craft area to be recycled. In total they recycled around a quarter of a tonne which raised £150 for the charity. Eleanor Green from Air Ambulance says: "This is a fantastic result for us and we’re really looking forward to getting involved in any similar events."
