Fashionistas could soon feel less guilt for swapping clothes as a new project strives to cut the carbon footprint of fast fashion.
Fast fashion items are frequently worn fewer than five times – by utilising the tools and doubling the number of times a garment is worn, the items’ greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 44%.
With funding from the National Lottery, Bath Spa University’s ‘Future Fashion Works’ and charity A Single Thread are joining forces to deliver the ‘Restitch the Future’ project, a four-year programme supported through The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund.
Restitch the Future will develop a playbook for building high street hubs for sustainable fashion, intended to provide accessible, local solutions for engaging in sustainable fashion.
This is expected to include repair workshops, clothing swaps, youth programmes, campaigns and skills-sharing opportunities, aiming to engage more than 250,000 people nationwide.
Amelia Twine, Founder of A Single Thread CIC, said: “Fashion is one of the most urgent but often overlooked climate challenges we face. Yet too often sustainable fashion is perceived as expensive, exclusive or unrealistic. Restitch the Future is about changing that narrative.
“By working with communities, sharing skills and creating practical opportunities for people to repair, reuse and rethink clothing, we’re making sustainable fashion more accessible and empowering people to take meaningful climate action in ways that fit into everyday life.”
Restitch the Future say fashion is responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions, often due to sustainable alternatives being deemed inaccessible, unaffordable or out of reach.
The global sustainable fashion market was valued at $12.44 billion (£9.4 billion) in 2026 and was projected to reach $27.96 billion (£21.1 billion) by 2034, by Fortune Business Insights.
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