Spring Clean a more sustainable way!

Now it’s March you may be thinking about doing a spring clean or taking advantage of lockdown to do a clear out. With charity shops currently closed and recycling centres busy you might like to know about some alternative eco-friendly ways to ‘dispose’ of items you no longer need so you can still spring clean in a more sustainable way.

Here at Willow & Eve we love to support other businesses with the same core brand values as ours, especially when it comes to preloved, recycling, repurposing or making do & mending! Both Yvette and I have been sorting out during lockdown and have used Sweet Pea Preloved Clothes and Thrift + for clothing items that we're unable to consign in our store. We’ve also discovered other companies that offer more sustainable ways to shop, recycle or restore so thought it would be helpful to put the information in one post; so here's our guide to helping you help our planet by redirecting our unwanted belongings away from landfill!

Preloved:

Furniture -Re-Nu is a newly launched preloved furniture website, with the tagline 'the green way to grow your home'. Here you can buy and sell second hand, handmade or upcycled furniture. For more details go to their website here or follow them on Instagram.

Children’s clothing - Sweet Pea Preloved buys and sells preloved childrenswear, up to age 12. There are several selling categories and postage options, see website here for more information. I found the guidelines easy to follow and the service friendly and efficient. The items for sale are in good condition and very affordable, perfect for your little ones that grow up so quickly!

Designer clothing- Specialists in selling preloved luxury items Vestiaire collective is the site to visit if you have designer clothing or accessories that no longer fit with your lifestyle. Promoting 'buy less, buy better' they also offer an authentication service if you wish to buy from them too. Become a member, with the option to sell items yourself or let them sell for you, with various rates of commission offered.

Premium Womenswear & accessories- Willow & Eve consignment boutique now accept your preloved premium brands by post. Follow our guidelines, send images to info@willowandeve.com and we can let you know if we’re happy to consign them. You then get 50% of the selling price once they’re sold. Our online store remains open and we plan to re-open the shop on Tuesday 13th April, in line with government guidelines, so hope to see you soon.

Womenswear and Menswear - Thrift + is an online charity shop where you can buy & sell secondhand clothing that you would otherwise take to a charity shop. See their guidelines here. You can order a thrift bag, free of charge, for your donations and proceeds go to a charity of your choice.

Recycle:

Pool/Beach inflatables- Wyatt & Jack give your damaged or no longer ‘fit for purpose’ colourful inflatables a new lease of life as accessories; you can even follow their reincarnation on Instagram or follow their Inflatable Amnesty here.

Broken jewellery- Traidcraft are the pioneers of Fairtrade. Supporting farmers and artisans in exporting their fair trade goods into the UK, they have been instrumental in establishing industry standards of the fair trade mark that is recognisable today. I ordered the jewellery envelope so I can send them my collection of old, unused and broken jewellery. Funds raised support their sister charity Traidcraft Exchange. There is a postage charge but once their shops open after lockdown you can collect envelopes in store

Clothing- Traid is a charity working to stop clothes from being thrown away. Funds raised help improve conditions and working practices of the textile industry across the globe. Read more about their current international projects on their website here. They have over 1,500 textile banks still operating nationwide during lockdown. Find your nearest bank to make a donation. You can also shop online, and they have both an Ebay and Depop store.

Ink cartridges- Zero Waste Recycling offer a more transparent and end use journey for used ink cartridges. According to their website 45,000,000 ink cartridges in the UK each year end up in landfill. You have to pay for a branded recycling box but worth it to recycle all those printer consumables, especially for larger organisations.

Gadgets, stamps or currency-'Recycling for good causes' accepts a variety of items with proceeds going to a number of charities. You can request a sack, free of charge, for your larger ‘recycling project’. See more on their website here.

Make do & mend:

Barbour - Did you know that this British lifestyle brand offer a repair and re-waxing service for those items that may be past their best? Instead of investing in a new coat it's definitely worthwhile getting in touch with them, as one of our customers found out when the wax finish started peeling off the cuffs!

Hunter Boots -Recycle Box powered by The First Mile have collaborated with Hunter wellies so that any worn out wellies sent to them will be repurposed into horse arena or playground and road surfacing. Definitely a better end use than ending up in landfill!

Designer or investment bags and shoes-The restory.com are experts at shoe & bag restoration. If you own an investment pair of heels or a well-loved designer bag it's worth contacting them for a quote for having it restored with various options available. Click here to see how it works.

Designer or investment bags-The Handbag Spa- is another bag restoration service that I often recommend to customers wanting to give their designer bags some much needed TLC.

Mulberry- if you own a classic Mulberry style then you may already know that they offer a care and repair service. They are the specialists to go to, especially if you need any hardware replacing from your plaques to your army ends! See their repair guide here.

Adidas trainers-Trainer Restoration offer cleaning, re-dye or customisation services for your most loved Adidas trainers. The trainer clean and refresh is £15 and other options can be found on the website here.

Obviously this is by no means an exhaustive list so if you have any recommendations for businesses or services that offer more sustainable ways to help you declutter, and redirect anything that may otherwise end up in landfill ,then get in touch so we can add them!

Happy Spring cleaning!