TRAID
CASE STUDY
Created by Redress, 2013
TRAID
TRAID is a UK-based charity turning textile ‘waste’ into funds and resources to reduce the environmental and social impacts of our clothes. TRAID operates a network of over 1,500 used clothes collection containers around the UK to help British local government authorities, businesses, schools and communities reduce clothing waste and work towards zero clothing waste. Through their collection efforts, TRAID diverts around 3,000 tonnes of discarded clothes from landfill or incineration every year, keeping these clothes in use via various recycling channels instead. In 2001, TRAID also founded their own fashion label, called TRAIDremade, upcycling unwanted textiles and clothes directly sourced from the donation they receive.
In this case study, TRAID shares how their upcycling business concept TRAIDremade came to life.
Image credit: TRAID
Image credit: TRAID
IN CONVERSATION WITH TRAID
How is TRAID creating impact with sustainability?
Sustainability is everything at TRAID. On an organisational level, TRAID works to reduce the impact of the production, consumption, and disposal of clothes by reusing unwanted clothes. This process delivers sustainability education and raises funds for our other projects that improve conditions across the global garment industry.
In 2001, we decided to also focus on sustainable design through our own fashion label, called TRAIDremade. It leverages existing resources using the upcycling and reconstruction design techniques to create ‘new’ pieces exclusively from ‘waste’. Our label was dreamt up when TRAID’s Chief Executive, Maria Chenoweth-Casey, was sitting on our clothes sorting conveyor belt watching discarded clothes pass her by in our sorting process. She saw the opportunity to salvage high-quality but damaged clothes, and soon after, TRAIDremade was born.
How do you approach the upcycling technique at TRAIDremade?
Our first TRAIDremade collection featured reconstructed men’s suit jackets and bags made from old Levi’s denim and hand printed T-shirts. The collection was an immediate success and sold out at Topman. Today, the label has evolved to incorporate surplus fabric as well as damaged clothing, which gives us more creative power over the design process.
Which upcycled design are you most proud of?
It’s always difficult to pick one thing, as every collection produces a couple of standout pieces. In our AW13 collection, a quilted jacket made from both pre-consumer and post-consumer textile waste was hugely popular with our customers. It incorporated end-of-roll fabrics donated by one of the world’s most famous luxury brands as well as reclaimed blankets and fabric remnants.
We are also very proud of our animal motif jumpers, which were embroidered by female artisans in Delhi who work in an embellishment co-operative that was set up with TRAID funding. The project has enabled these embroidery workers to break their dependence on exploitative middlemen for poorly paid piecework by linking them directly with suppliers in order to secure fairly paid work, which typically doubles their incomes.
What have been the most challenging and rewarding aspects of building an upcycling brand?
Both the rewards and the challenges of upcycling are rooted in the fact that we are working with existing resources. This means we have to work with what we have, which demands creativity, risk-taking, and experimentation.
What is your top tip for kick starting an upcycling journey?
Go beyond the technique and be clear about your motivation and philosophy for designing sustainably. Once that’s in place, you will be a sustainable designer for life!