Open call to students, artists and makers to respond to the following statement: ‘Each year in the UK we send around 350,000 tonnes of used clothing to landfill......' Your critical analysis and creative responses to this personal investigation could be demonstrated through the experimentation and exploration within a range of specialisms including photography, fine art, textiles, film, sculpture and fashion.

We need to talk about clothes

Open call to students, artists and makers to respond to the following statement:

‘Each year in the UK we send around 350,000 tonnes of used clothing to landfill. Seeing as it could be re-used or recycled, this is a tragic waste. If you think about it in economic terms, that’s around £140 million pounds worth of clothing being chucked in the bin. No one would throw money in the bin, so why do we do it with clothes?

The average UK household owns around £4,000 worth of clothing – yet we never have anything to wear! – and on average, 30% of the clothes in our wardrobes haven’t been worn in the last year. This might be because it doesn’t fit any more or it’s looking a bit bedraggled, but mostly it’ll be perfectly useable’.

loveyourclothes.org.uk

This brief requires you to examine a range of sustainable and ethical issues around fashion, textiles, manufacture, design, consumption and awareness and explore your own ideas about the roles and responsibilities that fashion and clothing consumers have in relation to these issues.

Your critical analysis and creative responses to this personal investigation could be demonstrated through the experimentation and exploration within a range of specialisms including photography, fine art, textiles, film, sculpture and fashion.

And in support of the ‘Love you Clothes’ campaign in collaboration with The Joint Waste Team, working on behalf of Cotswold District Council, Forest of Dean District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council and Gloucestershire County Council and BRT, Bristol Textiles Recyclers.  

You will realise a final outcome and supporting statement with the purpose of raising awareness, causing debate, making an impact.