New charity shop trail launched to tackle fast fashion
A new Headingley charity shop trail has been launched to help tackle fast fashion and promote preloved shopping in north-west Leeds.
Developed by student Niamh Robertson as part of their role as a Student Sustainability Architect with the University’s Sustainability Service, the trail is designed to encourage students, staff and local residents to explore and support their local charity shops.
By following the trail and shopping with five local charity partners, participants can have the chance to win a £25 voucher to use at local favourite Hyde Park Picture House.
Why shop second hand?
Fast fashion and overconsumption can have a wide range of negative impacts, from concerns over the treatment of workers through to the impact of large quantities of waste materials. Reducing the number of things that we buy and keeping them in use for longer are key to both reducing the environmental impact and improving the social impact of the things that we use.
Shopping second hand helps to reduce the quantity of items going to landfill or needing to be produced, with benefits for the environment and your pocket. And choosing charity shops as your preloved destination has extra benefits, as their proceeds contribute to good causes in the community.
A thriving second hand shopping scene benefits everyone – as well as hunting out those unique pieces that are just what you’re looking for, why not also consider donating items you no longer need so they can benefit someone else? And if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, you could bring it along to one of our regular Repair Cafes on the University campus where our volunteers can help you repair or upcycle into your new favourite find.
How to join the charity shop trail
Starting at the British Heart Foundation on Otley Road in Headingley, the trail takes you through Headingley’s vibrant charity shop scene stopping at Oxfam, Cats Protection and Mind before finishing at the Samaritans store on North Lane. The shops sell all kinds of goods from household items to books and clothing.
Whether you turn it into a fun afternoon out with friends, or spread it over the semester, we’ve created a loyalty card to thank you for shopping sustainably and supporting your local community. You can collect your card from any of the shops on the trail.
Simply purchase an item from each shop to earn a sticker for your loyalty card. Once you’ve completed your card with all five stickers, fill in our prize draw entry form and send a picture of your completed card to the email address given in the form to be entered into our prize draw. Each month, one participant will be picked at random to win a £25 gift card for Hyde Park Picture House.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our work on social impact is linked to the following SDGs:
- Goal 4: Quality Education
- Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
- Goal 17: Partnership for the goals
