Absolute News

Campaign Launched to Scale Unwanted Clothes Mountain

One million tonnes of old clothes end up in the UK’s growing landfill mountain each year - making textiles the fastest growing waste product.

As the clothes pile up, the Government has been forced to act by implementing a Clothing Roadmap* to encourage more textile recycling and greater access to collection banks.

As part of this drive, the Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL) – the UK’s biggest textile recycler – has appointed Absolute PR and Marketing to help launch its biggest-ever national drive to get people to use its 3,300 banks and reverse the trend of just 16% of old clothing being recycled. SATCoL has been a key contributor to the Government’s Clothing Roadmap.

Exeter-based Absolute saw off competition in a competitive three-way pitch to run SATCoL’s first press office, which will create awareness of its banks through the www.wear2bank.co.uk weblink and closer liaison with local authority recycling teams. Using SATCoL’s banks also helps local communities, as revenue generated from the clothes is spent on good causes. SATCoL is also called upon to provide assistance in emergencies such as the Boscastle floods when it provided clothes to local residents that had been made homeless.

Commenting for SATCoL, Paul Ozanne said: “Absolute’s pitch was professional and persuasive, identifying tangible ways in which they could support and grow our work in the UK’s textile recycling market”.

Commenting for Absolute, Rachael Whitson said: “We are proud and excited to be appointed to run such a worthwhile campaign. We were also really chuffed to be recognised against other larger and more established UK agencies”.

Absolute was set up in 1999 by Rachael Whitson and has steadily increased its portfolio of national and regional clients, including international property agents Knight Frank, local food champions Piper’s Farm and Leisure East Devon.

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