Nisa clothing banks raise £5,700 for good causes

Nisa retailers have raised almost £6,000 for good causes with an initiative designed to benefit both charities and the planet.

Launched last May, the Making a Difference Locally clothing banks have raised more than £5,700 for local causes, with 42 units currently situated outside Nisa stores.

The clothing banks allow Nisa partners to accumulate additional money into their MADL fund; in turn enabling them to provide further support to their local communities, whilst helping to reduce the environmental impact of unwanted clothing and textiles.

Making a Difference Locally clothing banks are available free of charge to Nisa retailers, in partnership with Nathan’s Waste Savers, and every clothing and textile donation is either sold, reused, or recycled so nothing goes to waste.

The banks require no maintenance from retailers as they are installed, serviced, and emptied regularly free of charge, making them a simple and hassle-free way for partners to raise additional charity funds. Once clothing banks have been weighed and emptied, funds raised are banked into the store’s MADL account and donated to a local good cause of the store’s choosing.

In addition, any warm clothes donated via the recycling banks are currently being sent directly to Ukraine and Poland to support refugees and others in need due to the conflict.

Somerset-based retailer Gwilliams of Edington had MADL clothing banks sited in its customer car park since last June, which have raised almost £850 for local causes to date.

Store manager, Jo Hellier said: “The MADL clothing banks have gone down really well since we introduced them, so much so that we now have three of them and they can raise up to around £140 in a month as they’re so popular with the locals!”

Nisa’s head of charity, Kate Carroll, said: “The clothing banks are a great way for retailers to raise more for local causes whilst also helping communities to reduce their environmental impact, by disposing of unwanted clothing in a more sustainable way.

“It’s great to see preloved textiles being given a new lease of life and making a difference for good causes rather than ending up in landfill, and wonderful to see so many Nisa partners and their customers getting behind the initiative.”