Eco Rangers’ Clothes Sale

On Sunday 1 March, Christ’s Hospital Eco Rangers hosted a second hand clothes sale, organised by the Rangers alongside Bags of Support and Sussex Green Living.

There was a huge turnout of students and staff, and vast sales, with 160 kg of second hand clothes sold, raising just over £600 for Bags of Support and Nkuringo Education & Community Support in Uganda. The money is going to be used to fund a solar oven for that community, to prevent the use of coal and provide a more manageable fuel source.

On the racks were hundreds of garments, in all sizes, with something for everyone. The price of the clothes was decided not per garment but by weight, with a cost of £5 per kg. The clothes were provided by Bags of Support who run clothes sales for charity. It has been great to see staff and students proudly wear their second hand clothes around the School.

The Eco Rangers are focusing this year on the devastating environmental impact of fast fashion, which is the second most polluting industry in the world. Some benefits of the clothes sale include: prevention of textiles going to landfill, prevention of greenhouse gasses in the manufacturing of new clothes, money saved by purchasing second hand garments, money raised for charity and owners being able to flaunt their new sartorial bargains! Some other methods of ‘responsible’ textile disposal involve shipping them to other countries, but the quality of textiles sent means they are not useful and are dumped abroad. This has a bad ecological effect and those who are meant to benefit from the ‘charitable’ donation do not, but are lumbered with excess waste instead.

By Freddie, Deputy Grecian (Year 12)