UK – recycled clothing on sale at Topshop, London

Designer clothes made from recycled textiles have gone on sale in TOPSHOP‘‘s flagship store on Oxford Street in London. The new clothing range, ‘‘Emmeline 4 RE‘‘ by talented young designer Emmeline Child, has been sourced from textiles from The Salvation Army‘‘s Recycling Trading Company and Kettering Textiles in Northamptonshire. In the first two days of trading Emmeline sold over £1,000 of stock.



Emmeline is one of a select group of young designers to have a concession in the Oxford Street store and it could represent the first time that clothes from recycled textiles have been sold by a major high street retailer. The ‘‘eco-friendly‘‘ collection goes on sale next week as part of TOPSHOP‘‘s refurbishment of the concessions floor. The items include jackets, blouses, dresses, scarves, hat and mittens. All the profits from the range will go The Salvation Army. “I‘‘m over the moon and it still hasn‘‘t sunk in,” Emmeline commented. “My ‘‘Emmeline 4 Re‘‘ collection is a huge honour for me, Kettering Textiles and The Salvation Army Trading Company.”



Emmeline Child has been working with The Salvation Army‘‘s Trading Company and Kettering Textiles since July 2004 having graduated from the University of Northampton with a BA (Hons) in Fashion. During her studies she gained much experience from working with Ben Di Lisi and Elspeth Gibson.



Emmeline is working at Kettering Textiles/Salvation Army Trading Company, employed by The University of Northampton as one of their staff, on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). This is a national programme organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), where academics give their expertise to provide a solution for a particular area or problem