Asda to sell second-hand clothes in new pop up shop

Asda will trial a new second-hand clothes initiative to promote sustainable fashion.

The ‘Re-Loved’ charity clothing pop up shop will feature donated second hand clothes from a number of different brands.

The pop up shop will run in the Milton Keynes branch and will run for four weeks starting the 2nd September as part of a trial to promote sustainable fashion.

Fast-fashion has emerged as an environmentally damaging ‘hobby’ with recent reports outing the industry as being wasteful and unsustainable.

According to WRAP UK, the value of unused clothing in wardrobes has been estimated at around £30 billion. On top of that, an estimated £140 million worth of clothing goes to landfill in the UK each year.

The new trial will help Asda strive towards their 2025 goal to make all its products with recycled or sustainable polyester or cotton.

The retailer already has a zero-tolerance policy towards incineration of clothing waste and its surplus products are donated to be repurposed or recycled by a number of different charities. It also has clothing recycling points for customers at almost 500 stores.

Melanie Wilson, Senior Director for Sustainable Sourcing at George, said: “As a country, we throw away far too many clothes. At George, we’re committed to doing the right thing by our customers and the planet by improving the sustainability of our products, making sure they are built to last - including our 100 day satisfaction guarantee - and ensuring that any surplus stock we have is repurposed or recycled.”

All proceeds from the shop will go to Asda’s Tickled Pink campaign, which supports Breast Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Now. 

Melanie Wilson added: “By trialling our Re-Loved pop-up shop, we hope to help create another route for unwanted clothes to find a new home and encourage people to think again about throwing away that top or those jeans they no longer love.”