Lost Stock, the UK fashion initiative set up in the wake of Covid-19 to support garment workers in Bangladesh, has announced new partnerships with the British Heart Foundation, The Nu Wardrobe and Swopped to encourage customers to make more sustainable choices and reduce landfill waste.
Lost Stock was launched in May by the team at fashion app Mallze to help workers in Bangladesh after over $3bn worth of stock orders were cancelled by retailers in the wake of Covid-19, leaving manufacturers there unable to pay workers and mountains of unwanted stock destined for landfill. Lost Stock helps by selling boxes of clothing for adults and children direct from the manufacturers with funds going back to workers through a local NGO, SAJIDA Foundation. Each box sold will support one Bangladesh worker and their family of four for a week.
More than 100,000 Lost Stock orders were placed within two months of launch, and Lost Stock has now outlined three suggestions for any unwanted or unsuitable clothes received: Donate It, Swap It or Upcycle It to help drive a circular economy.
Through a partnership with the British Heart Foundation, customers will be able to use a free postal service to donate unwanted Lost Stock items to the charity.
Lost Stockers can also exchange their items with other UK and Ireland shoppers via partnerships with swap platforms: The Nu Wardrobe (Nuw) and Swopped, which are offering reduced memberships to encourage more sustainable ways to shop.
Lost Stock is also collaborating with upcycling experts for a series of video tutorials to illustrate ways to repurpose and be creative with clothes. Steel and Stitch kicked-off the tutorials on the Lost Stock Instagram channel.
Cally Russell, CEO of Lost Stock and Mallzee, said:
“The concept of Lost Stock means customers are putting their trust in us to deliver clothing they’ll love, and while every piece is high quality and matched to style preferences, we, of course, understand that not everything will always be to their taste. So instead of throwing it away, we’re working with partners to encourage us all to make better choices, reduce waste, have fun, be creative and continue the positive impact of all of our collective work to help those most in need during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Speaking about the partnership with British Heart Foundation, Karen O’Donoghue, the charity’s Head of Retail Partnerships said:
“Not only will this prevent items from going to landfill, it will help provide much needed stock for our 560 clothing and accessory shops across the UK. Every item sold in our shops will help raise vital funds for life saving research at a time when our income has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
