More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A supermarket is asking customers to bring back unwanted old clothes in return for a money-off voucher.
George at Asda, which has stores across Kent, is the latest retailer encouraging its shoppers to be more environmentally conscious.
The George Take Back scheme is appealing for donations of clothes and other textiles, to prevent them ending up in landfill, and in return is offering discount vouchers to reward people for their efforts.
The supermarket clothing brand, which earlier this year began trials of selling pre-loved clothing in a small number of its stores, has teamed up with company Yellow Octopus to run the scheme - with all proceeds set to be donated to breast cancer charities.
Described as a 'simple, painless process' and completely free, shoppers can donate clothing from any brand - not just George - and in any condition.
A minimum of 10 items must be included in each parcel with a maximum weight limit for each package of 10kg.
Using the George Take Back dedicated website shoppers can find their nearest store accepting donations, which is most Asda supermarkets with an existing click and collect service.
Once the parcel has been registered online through the site, a QR code will be sent that can be scanned - either by a member of staff or at a self-service screen - when the parcel is dropped at Asda to generate the label it needs to then be left in the dedicated drop box.
A 10% George at Asda discount voucher should then arrive by email, says Asda, within 30 minutes.
Retailers are coming under increasing pressure to offer customers more sustainable options when it comes to buying both clothes, food and furniture.
Earlier this year IKEA launched a scheme to re-sell unwanted second-hand furniture inside its stores while John Lewis will relaunch its furniture rental service this month.
Meanwhile Morrisons is reintroducing glass milk bottles to some supermarkets and asking customers to bring their own refillable containers when shopping for fish, meat or deli items.
Clothing label H&M also has its own sustainability programme enabling customers to collect points for making environmentally conscious shopping choices that includes recycling clothes, buying particular items or bringing their own bags to shop with. Learn more about the scheme here.
George at Asda says only around 1% of clothes are currently recycled.
Unwanted items collected at its stores could be given a second lease of life in a number of ways but will not end up in landfill, the retailer promises.
On its website it explains: "All the collected items are sorted to be reused or recycled. For each garment, we choose the most sustainable way to prolong its lifecycle and make sure no textile end-up in landfill. Some of your pre-loved items will be donated to a number of student projects, where upcycled into new fashion garments, sustainable clothing collections, safety masks, etc. Also, some collected items will be used as material for testing new innovative solutions in textile recycling and manufacturing.
"We are strong believers in sustainable economy and think closing the loop in the clothing supply chain is the way forward for the whole clothing industry."
To learn more about the George Take Back scheme click here.
