Oct 15, 2013 Sew we've been recycling for Greater Manchester. What happens when Manchester’s most popular advocates for sustainable fashion, team up with the city’s leading pioneers in the fight for widespread urban recycling? The answer - Sew Recycled. Like a match made in environmental friendly heaven; Recycle for Greater Manchester and Junk Shop this year, have joined forces to bring the good people of Greater Manchester the opportunity to recycle, up-cycle and learn life-long skills in a series of free sewing classes, set across all nine Greater Manchester districts, otherwise known as the Sew Recycled sewing classes. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the amount clothing and textile waste currently going into landfill through the promotion and use of up-cycling with second hand materials; residents are able to rekindle their love for their old, unwanted clothes, as well as develop and build confidence in sewing, all the while doing their bit to reduce the impact upon the environment. “With 1.4 million tonnes of clothes being thrown away every year in the UK, we would like to encourage more re-use and divert more textiles out of the waste stream. We are very excited to be able to offer these exciting new sewing classes and inspire people to change the way they think about their clothes” Sheridan Hilton | Waste Prevention Manager | Recycle for Greater Manchester “This is such an exciting time for all of us on the Junk Shop team and for the people of Greater Manchester. We want to put a stop to the £25million worth of clothing and fabric thrown away in the UK and show how much fun and creative up-cycling and re-use can be. We can’t wait to give something back to the City we love.” Charlotte Keyworth |Creative Director | Junk Shop Not forgetting the generosity of Elna Sewing Machines and their supply of sewing apparatus, the recent partnership has meant that Junk Shop; already an award winning, independent city centre based store and course provider, can administer a total of 31 free sewing classes for 500 people, through a period of time stretched out from September 2013 to March 2014. September’s Sew Recycled classes have already proven a hit, with each one a sell-out. Here’s what some of our eager sewer’s had say about their experience - "Definitely encourages me and more people to Up-cycle!" - Manahil "I'll never throw anything out before seeing what use it could be now!" – Eileen "I've done several sewing courses in the past but this by far the most useful, I'll be able to use these skills all the time!" – Kirsty "I loved it (sewing) before and I love it even more now" – Kim The project is be open to all anyone residing in the Greater Manchester area, no matter what all age or ability, including Oldham, Bolton, Stockport, Rochdale, Manchester, Trafford, Bury, Salford and Tameside. Lead by Junk’s most experienced and encouraging seamstresses; classes last a duration of 3 hours, an experience not to be missed! Classes are filling up fast, so if you’d like to be a participant in these Sew Recycled classes, visit www.junkshop.co.uk or www.facebook.com/junkshopsewrecycled for more details.
