Independent clothing brand Lucy & Yak has launched an innovative new recirculation partnership with beloved vintage clothing retailer, Beyond Retro, which will tackle the growing environmental impact of textile waste by giving clothes a significantly longer life.
Launching on 22nd March, the Re:Yak Partnership aims to keep clothing in circulation far beyond the lifespan of your typical piece of clothing – and rewards people for doing so. Customers can trade in old Lucy & Yak products at Beyond Retro stores around the UK, which are then ready to be given new homes or recycled responsibly, in order to divert clothing from ending up in landfills.
How does it work?
- Customers can take any Lucy & Yak item in any condition, that they no longer need or want, to a Beyond Retro store (see a list of participating physical locations here).
- For every Lucy & Yak item donated, you will receive a voucher to put towards your next Yaks (value of the voucher depends on what the returned item is). You will also receive a bonus Beyond Retro credit voucher for every Lucy & Yak item they sell on. Customers will not receive a Beyond Retro credit voucher for Lucy & Yak items they recycle.
- Beyond Retro will then either resell the item or recycle it through Love Not Landfill, giving old clothes a longer life.
With a population of 67 million and a total of 745 million kgs of fabric waste each year, the United Kingdom is by far and away one of the most wasteful nations in Europe – we discard the same amount of fabric as the weight of the London Eye every single day.
Lucy & Yak aims to empower people to refresh their wardrobe with sustainability in mind, by offering their pre-loved clothes to a loving new home or have them recycled into something completely new.
The Re:Yak partnership comes as Lucy & Yak launches a Pop Up to platform circularity: Bristol & Yak. Opening its doors on the 26th March through till 16th April, Bristolians will not only find all the latest drops and artist collabs, but a communal space with circularity at its heart; a space where they can also repair, recirculate and upcycle the clothes they no longer wear. More information can be found here.
The launch joins existing initiatives from Lucy & Yak which work towards a fully circular economy to tackle the fashion industry’s growing impact on the climate crisis.
Lucy Greenwood, co-founder of Lucy & Yak, said:
“We believe for a brand to truly call themselves sustainable, they MUST take full responsibility for the full lifecycle of their product. At Lucy & Yak we have always thought big when it comes to circularity, but as a small, fast growing business, resource and space limits what we are able to achieve on our own; collaboration is key to solving the problems of this industry. This is why we are so grateful to everyone at Beyond Retro for working with us to make this exciting collaboration a genuinely useful project that helps our community minimize fashion’s negative impacts, and extends the life of our clothing. We are proud to be associated with a brand that from day one has made circularity accessible to more people.”
Kate Peter, Beyond Retro Director, says:
“We’ve always loved Lucy & Yak, and we’re really excited to launch this fantastic, sustainable-led partnership. Our Beyond Retro Exchange programme is focused on encouraging our customers to recycle their wardrobe, and we’re thrilled to be able to join forces with Lucy & Yak to extend the life of their amazing product. We can’t wait to have recycled Yaks available to shop alongside our handpicked vintage in store, and look forward to working with Lucy & Yak to encourage a more circular lifestyle.”