“In total, Brits have sent clothing worth a potential £958,611,987 to landfill”* and that is just from 2020 lockdown clearouts. It’s easy to think that one person can’t have a huge impact, but when there are millions thinking that they are the one, it becomes a problem.

So, here at Bandi, we have compiled our favourite ways of giving your clothes a new lease of life, saving it from landfill. It’s all about the imperfect impact.

Crop it.

This super simple thrift flip works for anything from old t-shirts to jeans to maxi dresses. Get yourself a good pair of scissors, mark where you want the garment to end, make sure it’s straight, then cut! If you aren’t sure of your ideal length, leave an extra inch of fabric as you can always cut again if it’s not the right length. Fabric, like denim and t-shirts, are perfect for this as they usually don’t fray with a raw edge! (Save the excess fabric for cleaning cloths or even to patch up holes later on!)

Dye It.

Dyeing is an often-overlooked way to revamp your clothes. Those black jeans that are now grey? Refresh them with a box of black dye! Not keen on the current colour of a garment? Simply lift the original colour using a colour remover, and then re-dye it to whatever shade you fancy! Super simple. You can even try your hand at Tie Dye for something more unique.

Bleach It.

Get your hands on some bleach, and using a paintbrush, paint whatever design you like onto the clothing! The bleach will lighten the fabric in the pattern you’ve painted, making it a whole new piece. Denim is a perfect fabric for this technique. Some of our fave patterns include flames, smiley faces and cartoon flowers.

Embroider It.

Got a piece that is a little plain? Grab a needle and some embroidery thread, check out some YouTube tutorials for simple patterns and go to town on jazzing up your clothes. The only limit with this one is your imagination, so have fun with it!

—

* https://www.circularonline.co.uk/…/brits-send-clothing…/