ONEE % pledge
Our Pledge - 1% of every sale, not profits, goes towards textile cleanup initiatives. That's how committed we are to change. We're working with organisations on the ground, that see first-hand the impact of clothing waste in the global south.
The problem
In the UK alone, 350,000 tons of textile waste was sent to landfill in 2018* – that was about the same weight as the Empire State building. We know that textile waste is greatly contributing to the environmental crisis - and we just keep shopping.
Our take-back scheme helps take accountability for the clothing you buy from us when you're done with it. But what about the impact of what's already out there? We want to help with the clean-up.
* via WRAP
Everything has to go somewhere
We often send things to charity shops or clothes banks when we no longer want them, but the large majority ends up exported.
Kantamanto in Accra, Ghana is one of the largest second-hand clothing markets in the world - importing 15 million secondhand garments each week.
With the throwaway culture of cheap poor quality clothing there is no desire for our unwanted items. Clothes (even, new with tags) are discarded, burned, overflowing in landfill dumpsites and swept into gutters that flow into the sea, washing up on beaches.
The human impact
It is not just about environmental waste, the OR Foundation works with those most vulnerable in the system.
The Kayayei, are young women employed to carry the bales from the docks to retailers in the resale market. Each bale can weigh as much as 100kg and are head-carried despite the weight. This can lead to catastrophic injury and debilitating pain, for as little as $0.30 per trip.
These grassroots programs provide care and training for these women.
