The Clothes Horse - a Community Story
Published on 27 February 2020 06:02 PM
Please view the latest community story from The Clothes Horse.
As a mum of four, I have been blessed with friends and family who have given me clothes for my children. Three years ago, it got me thinking about families with young children who do not have anyone who can help them and so The Clothes Horse began. The Clothes Horse’s home was first my loft where clothes donations were kept and then expanded in to my husband’s workshop.
SINCE WE’VE STARTED, WE HAVE GIVEN CLOTHES TO OVER 520 CHILDREN.
We have set up our unit like a shop and families can come and take clothes from us for their children. We are happy to take clothing donations up to the age of 16 years to ensure we offer a diverse range to choose from.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MEET CRITERIA TO COME TO US AS WE BELIEVE THERE ARE TIMES WHEN ALL COULD BENEFIT FROM FREE CLOTHING
We have built great relationships with families who return to us as their children grow and new clothes are needed. Families tell us that they enjoy coming to see and their children are excited to see what clothes they have from us.
We have people who come and volunteer with us by helping to sort through clothes donated to us as well as helping families to find clothes suitable for their children.
OUR VOLUNTEERS HAVE SAID HOW THEY ENJOY HELPING AND DOING SOMETHING FOR THE COMMUNITY.
We are also passionate about doing what we can for the current climate crisis. It takes 200 tonnes of water to produce 1 tonne of textile, this relates to 10,000 to 20,000 litres of water to make 1 kg of cotton.
OVER 350,000 TONNES OF USED CLOTHING GOES TO LANDFILL EVERY YEAR FROM THE UK, ACCORDING TO WRAP
Since clothes can be recycled this needs to stop. We estimate we have given 1 tonne of clothes to families since we began and another tonne of clothing donations is in our unit ready to be given to families*. We are currently in talks about working with local schools and organisations to make people aware of the importance to reuse clothes and not putting them in landfill.
If you want to visit The Clothes Horse or get in touch with their organiser, you can find more on their Cornwall Link listing.