Crisis and UKFT hope to offer consumers better methods of recycling their clothing and a new way to process fabric waste.

The organisations hope to better educate consumers on which items of clothing are rewearable and non-rewearable, reducing the amount of donated clothing that cannot be resold.

Crisis and the UKFT are currently collecting donations at the charity’s shops in Peckham and Elephant and Castle, London, helping customers to sort the items into rewearable and non-rewearable.

The scheme hopes that consumers will be able to pre-sort their clothing before donating again in future.

UK homes contain an estimated 1.6bn items of unworn clothing, many of which could be reused or recycled.

Crisis’ e-commerce manager Paula Floyd, who is leading the project, commented: “Clothing waste is a real problem, both in terms of its environmental impact and the value of the clothes lost. Pre-sorting clothes will allow our customers to cut down on waste while supporting our goal of ending homelessness for good.

“Working collaboratively means that it is easier to find innovative solutions in the fashion and textile industry. This is why being part of the ACT Take-Back project, with the support of UKFT, can be a key step to changing consumer's mindsets and making it easier to recycle.”

In 2023, UKFT and the British Fashion Council announced they would be collaborating as co-chairs of a new government-funded circular fashion programme, which aims to facilitate and lead the development of a circular fashion ecosystem within the UK.