Just a little note from Me to You

I’ve decided to take a little moment to do a follow up post that centres on the mission of my blog, and reminds you all of what I hope to achieve through it. As you can see from the ‘story’ section, the whole point of my ‘White Balloon’ campaign is to raise people’s awareness of how fashion can (and is) linking with charity. The bottom line is – I like to help people. I truly believe that this is my life’s calling... it’s one of the few things, along with writing, that makes my heart soar. And so I see this as a strong part of my future. 

I have decided to use my final degree project to explore and promote this as much as I possibly can. I’m really hoping to raise lots of money for some great causes in the process, and hope to encourage you all to do the same, while having a lot of fun along the way. I believe that this campaign is something very unique, and something that might even ending up hopefully changing the world a little for the better, someday (Yeah, I like to dream BIG).

Recently, I’ve found myself pondering about how a lot of the time, we seem to waste our words... and we waste our moments. We fall short of being the people who we were meant to blossom into. And it’s a damn shame. I’m really conscious of the fact that waking up each day is a blessing in itself; so each day I try to make it count. Accomplish something. No regrets.

A wise lady recently told me not to worry about the ones who say you’re weird, who call you names and push you down. Don’t worry about those who try to tell you you can’t do something, because the truth is that you CAN. You can be anything that you want to be. The ones who push you down, and try to break you... well they only do it because they themselves are already broken. Keep your head held high. And shoot for the MOON. BELIEVE in the power of your own voice and your passion. Don’t waste time waiting so long to start using your platform out of fear that you won’t be able to make a difference. Because, trust me, you WILL. 

Why you? Because there’s no one better.

Why now? Because, my friends, tomorrow just isn’t soon enough.

So join me in this venture, and let us be MORE splendid, and MORE extraordinary, and use each and every moment we get to fill ourselves UP. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you who is following and reading – this makes you a part of something that means so much more to me, and the greater good, than you know... 

TRAID clothing banks @ NTU

Did you know that the average student among us manages to scrape the pennies together, while probably existing mostly with the help of ASDA’s 11p packs of noodles, and spend £400 on new clothes every year? But often, given the ‘fast fashion’ culture that we have found ourselves in, many of us will wear an item of clothing only a few times before deciding that we no longer have a need for it and want to throw it away. The majority of these garments are still in good condition, and could be given a new lease of life elsewhere. This is where TRAID comes in.

As some of you may be aware, Nottingham Trent University currently holds the title of ‘greenest uni in the UK’, and it doesn’t look like something that is about to be snatched from under our feet anytime soon...

As I speak, 3 dazzling green clothes recycling banks are being set up around NTU in conjunction with charity organisation TRAID (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) who specialise in the recycling of unwanted clothing.

Banks will be installed on the City campus next to Hampden Halls & Clarendon Court Halls, as well as at Brackenhurst campus between Ash & Beech Halls. So no more excuses for all you fresher’s dumping half your wardrobe into black bins at the end of summer term! Don’t bin it, TRAID it in a cleaner green bin.

TRAID currently operates over 900 recycling bins up and down the UK. All clothing donated is sorted by helping hands, and then sold back to the public in one of TRAID’s charity shops (which can be found at numerous locations across London). Any clothes that do not meet shop floor standards are neatly upcycled into brand spanking new one-off pieces, and are sold under the award-winning recycled fashion label TRAIDremade, which you can take a look at: www.traidremade.com/

TRAID’s 3 main objectives are:

1. To protect the environment by diverting clothes and shoes from landfill;
2. To reduce world poverty by raising funds for overseas development projects; and
3. To educate the UK public on environmental and world poverty issues.

All the money that is raised from the charity shops and TRAIDremade is used to expand the organisations recycling activities and fund a number of overseas development projects (some of which are in partnership with other charities such as Oxfam).

You can read more about what TRAID does @ http://issuu.com/traid/docs/traid_wearing_poverty_out/84

By donating your unwanted clothing instead of throwing it away will help save our planet two-fold: Firstly, fewer clothes disposed of means reduced pressures on landfill, and also reduces the need for so many new clothes to be produced. And secondly, you will be helping charities to raise a lot of money for a lot of great causes.

Listen up TRENT Army: The more you shove into these green beacons of hope, the more waste we will be recycling as a university, which will help us in our bid for green domination.  

Fool proof plan I think.