Drink Beer And Beat Clothes Waste

Clothes make great Christmas presents. That’s why the festive season is one of excessive shopping, gifting and, unfortunately, waste. 

Camden Town Brewery have teamed up with clothes charity TRAID to tackle clothes waste and the toll it is taking on the environment. 

Camden Town Brewery have transformed their 12 packs of Camden Hells lager into donation boxes that you can fill them with your old garments once you have finished your beer. You can send them to TRAID free of charge, and rest assured that they will help people and planet, rather than contributing to the clothes waste problem.

What Is Clothes Waste And How Does It Impact The Environment?

For many of us, Christmas means new clothes. Sadly, this means that so many clothes are needlessly sent to landfill as soon as their brand new replacements are unwrapped. 

According to TRAID, last year in the UK, around 300,000 tons of clothing was sent to landfill. That roughly amounts to the weight of 2,500 blue whales, 600,000 grand pianos and a hell of a lot of lager. 

CEO of TRAID, Maria Chenoweth maintains that “In this era of climate emergency, giving longer life to our clothes is a practical effective way to reduce the amount we consume and produce, to protect our planet and its citizens.”

How Does The 12 Pack Give Back Initiative Work?

TRAID and Camden Town Brewery have collaborated to transform their 12 packs Camden Hells lager into donation boxes. 

Buy a 12 pack of beer, enjoy it with your friends and then fill it with unwanted and unused clothing. Post your pack back to TRAID free of charge.  

TRAID will then do their utmost to extend the life of your garments in a number of ways. Some items will be re-sold through their London-based charity shops. Others will be sent to international textile companies, and pieces that can no longer be worn will be recycled and repurposed as fabric for industrial cloth or car seat filling.

Use Your Love Of Beer To Tackle Clothes Waste This Christmas

To get involved, first simply head to your local supermarket and buy a 12 pack of Camden Hells, (as long as you are over 18). Next, invite some friends over for the evening. 

Enjoy some great beer and a good night in. Treat the next day’s mild hangover, and any guilt that comes with it, by collecting up any items of clothing you no longer wear. Fill your box with them, and reseal it. Take it down to your local post office and show them the Freepost label printed on the top. The post office will send the parcel to TRAID free of charge. 

You can buy Camden Town Brewery’s 12 packs of Hells lager at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado and Morrisons. The campaign is already up and running and you have until the 30th March 2020 to get your clothes packed up and sent off .

Come To The Camden And TRAID Pop-up Shop 

More of a shopper than a beer drinker? You can take part too! Head over to the Camden Town Brewery and TRAID pop-up shop on Saturday 7th December. 

Between 12-4pm you will be able to shop the ‘Camden capsule collection’, that has been collated and curated by TV presenter and veteran thrifter, Laura Jackson. 

Have a brew while you browse if you want, or you can just pick out a great second hand Christmas party outfit. There will be all kinds of second-hand and vintage gems on offer, alongside items from Laura’s very own wardrobe.

The pop-up is free to pop in to and is being held at Camden’s Brewery Bar in Kentish Town, London.  

If you’re always after an excuse to get the beers in, then get involved with this campaign! Combat rather than contribute to clothes waste this Christmas.

It's important to look after the clothes you've got too! 

Here's how to wash less, wash better

Do you get daunted by shopping second hand?

How to (successfully) shop for vintage