Sharewear offers free of charge clothing choices to people in economic difficulty in the UK. Using a range of services, we provide clothing to around 30,000 adults and children a year. Our work also helps to reduce the amount of clothing going to landfill.
Textiles are the biggest polluter on the planet. Our clients choose over 10,000 items of clothing and bedding a month -- the same amount that is dumped in UK landfill every five minutes. With our clothing, children who were absent from school or missing sport at school can now attend as well as achieve their full potential; adults can get into work with interview clothes and hold the job down by wearing the correct dress code for their employer. With our support, people with poor mental health can take part in basic 'free of charge' exercise and activity by having appropriate footwear and clothing, to take action for their health, both physical and mental, as well as their wellbeing.
Women fleeing domestic violence with the clothes on their backs can begin to rebuild their lives and the lives of their children; refugees and people experiencing homelessness can have adequate clothing, and families can save money on clothing costs -- making household budgets stretch further. Access to adequate and appropriate clothing unlocks all aspects of someones life that they are currently locked out of, whether that's simply functioning at the basics or really flourishing and achieving their potential. Clothing has rocketed in price in recent years by between 11% and 50%, and we've been plugging the gap in affordability that creates since 2014.