Mothercare launches baby clothing redistribution scheme with Hubbub

The #GiftABundle partnership aims to make it easier for people to redistribute the clothing to families in their community. It comes as poll run by Hubbub and Mothercare revealed that a third of parents throw baby clothes in the bin because they needed the space or didn’t know what else to do with them. 

In the run up to Mother’s Day on 26 March, parents are urged to gift bundles of six to 10 items of good quality, outgrown baby clothing for ages between premature to three years, in selected Mothercare stores across the UK. The gifts will be passed on for free to families across the UK via community groups and organisations such as the Salvation Army and Shelter.

A survey of 2,000 parents with children aged 18 and under found that seven in 10 parents still have baby clothes their children have outgrown, which they say they are unlikely to use again. More than half of parents whose youngest children are now in their teens admitted they are still hanging on to their baby clothing.

Support families to save £ & reduce waste baby clothes. Join @hubbubUK @mothercareuk & #GiftABundle for #MothersDay https://t.co/8eKxN6IYHz pic.twitter.com/1CL3fjXgQV

— Family Action (@family_action) March 1, 2017

Re-fashion

The campaign is part of Hubbub’s overarching ambition to reduce the £150m worth of clothes wasted every year in the UK. Last year, Hubbub launched a series of low-cost upcycling events that allow people to ‘re-fashion’ their wardrobes. The environmental charity has previously teamed up with Ocado and a prison in Northumberland to prevent the online retailer’s corporate uniforms being unnecessarily sent to landfill.

Various approaches have been taken by the business community to tackle the issue of textile waste from baby clothing. Dutch multinational Dorel Juvenile, for instance, has focused its comprehensive sustainability plan on leasing, servitization and refurbishing, in a “complete overhaul” of the its business operations and long-term strategy. 

George Ogleby