If you have any clothing care solutions or hints and tips you would like added to these pages please use the contact and enquiries box to the right of the page.

• Any wardrobe or storage area must be cool, clean, dark and dry to protect your clothing from mould, fading, soiling or perishing.
• Before storing clothing away for any length of time ensure all outfits are thoroughly cleaned. Any residue left on the clothing may cause staining if left to set in over a period of time. Clean clothes are also less appealing to any bugs or insects that may wish to set up residence.
• Avoid using plastic bags and boxes to store clothing as any moisture will be trapped and may cause mould and mildew to form. Individually wrapping your garments in acid free tissue paper and storing them in suitcases will keep them protected and well also save you some space.
• Avoid hanging your knitted garments for a prolonged period of time as this may cause them to become misshapen. Instead where possible store knitted items folded or if hanging them for a short amount of time utilize the hanging loops inside to increase the weight distribution.
• Hair spray can be damaging to your clothing as it can contain alcohol which may cause colour loss in some garments. I you are using hair spray either use it before getting dressed or wrap a towel around your clothes to protect them while using it.
• Before washing close all zips, undo buttons, flatten out collars and cuffs and check all pockets are empty. This will minimize any damage to hardware on your garment.
• To avoid excessive abrasion and color loss turn all garments inside out before washing.
• Use good quality detergent and never more than is required. Follow the recommended guidelines on the packaging.
• Never overload a washing machine.
• Try to rest woolen garments in between wares to help maintain its original shape.
• Use shaped or padded hangers where possible as these are much kinder to your garments than wire hangers.
• When hanging clothing always make sure that the zips and buttons are fastened, belts are removed and pockets are empty.
• Do not over crowd your wardrobe or drawers as this can cause excessive wear and creasing to your clothing.
• Dryers can wear out your clothes and are also bad for the environment so where possible hang your clothing to dry.
• Do not over wash your clothing, for example if you have worn an item once and it still appears clean, hang it up until you need to wear it again. Over washing will cause the garment to wear prematurely and is also bad for the environment. If you stain an item of clothing spot cleaning the stained area immediately will avoid the mark settling into the cloth.
• Make sure you wear an apron when cooking, cleaning or gardening to protect your clothing, they are cheap to buy and even cheaper to make – see our video tutorials page for instructions.
• ‘A stitch in time saves nine’ mending small tears immediately will avoids larger mending jobs later – see our Refashionable or video tutorial pages for tips on mending.
• Throwing away clothing because of a lost button or small tear is such a waste, instead learn a few basic sewing techniques from our video tutorials page so you can make small repairs to your clothing as needed.

Wash Care labels:
Each fabric has its own qualities and so it is always best to follow wash care labels set by the manufacturer to maintain your clothing. This will help to avoid any washing disasters such as burning, colour run or shrinkage and ensure you get the best use out of your garments.

Below are a list of common wash care label symbols and their meaning:

Check out her tips on recycling your wardrobe from borrowing your boyfriend’s clothes like Katie Holmes to wearing your t-shirt backwards.

The stunning 40-year-old actress initially wore the skin-tight frock to the 2008 Canadian premiere of her movie The Brothers Bloom.

But she wore it again for her interview on Friday night with Mr Leno – and he appeared to heartily approve, greeting her with: ‘You look terrific! What a great dress!’

Glad to be grey: Rachel Weisz walks onto the set of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno at Burbank Studios in Los Angeles

The £1,500 bandage dress and contrasting strappy sandals is clearly a favourite outfit, so Ms Weisz brought it out of mothballs once more – even though some fashionistas wouldn’t be seen dead on the red carpet in the same ensemble twice.

But the British beauty, who shot to global fame in The Mummy and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 2005’s The Constant Gardener, has a proven interest in saving the planet and presented at the American leg of Live Earth back in 2007.

Dress rehearsal: Rachel first wore the frock to the premiere of her movie The Brothers Bloom in 2008

Ms Weisz, who starred in both The Lovely Bones and Agora last year, knows what she’s doing when it comes to fashion too, being the muse of designer Narciso Rodriguez, so she is clearly sending out a message to her fans that wearing the same outfit more than once is the eco-friendly thing to do, no matter how famous you are.

Mind you, we reckon more stars would give outfits repeat runs on the red carpet if they looked as good as Rachel does.

The super-toned but still curvy thesp looks incredible in a garment that would be too unforgiving for anyone with an ounce of excess body fat.

Rachel, who also won the coveted Best Actress Olivier Award for her work in the theatre revival of  A Streetcar Named Desire, returns to our screens later this year in The Whistleblower.

A true story, Ms Weisz stars as Kathryn Bolkovac, an American UN peacekeeper who risks her job and her life to uncover a scandal involving American contractors and the United Nations in postwar Bosnia.

It also stars Monica Bellucci and Vanessa Redgrave.

London-born star Ms Weisz, who has previously dated Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey, has been with award-winning American film director Darren Aronovfsky, 41, for the past nine years.

Now engaged, they have a four-year old son Henry Chance and live in Manhattan.

Mr Aronovsky recently relaunched the career of Mickey Rourke by directing him in the Golden Globe-winning The Wrestler.

Rachel was voted most marriageable woman in a poll carried out by Esquire magazine earlier this year.  

Couch cutie: Rachel chats to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show

 

The gown, which was originally worn to a state dinner in Trinidad and Tobago last autumn, had been ‘recycled’ by the Queen’s dresser and personal assistant Angela Kelly.

The dress, which had been decorated with the Caribbean country’s national birds – the scarlet ibis and cocrico, was transformed with Swarovski crystals for last night’s event.

NOVEMBER 2009: The dress was embroidered with appliqué birds and flowers for a state dinner in Trinidad and Tobago

JULY 2010: The sleeve and neckline are embellished with Swarovski crystal maple leaves for last night’s banquet in Toronto

The seamstresses removed the appliqué birds from the tulle lace, which is embroidered with sea pearls and sequins, and stitched dozens of crystals on to it instead.

As a tribute to Canada – one of the Queen’s realms – the crystals formed maple leafs both large and small running up the dress’s right sleeve and shoulder.

The interlocking leaves caught the light and were designed to be a bold statement at last night’s dinner hosted by the Canadian government in honour of its Queen.

The dress was complemented by the sovereign wearing Queen Mary’s dazzling tiara.

Tribute: The scarlet ibis and cocrico birds are national symbols of Trinidad and Tobago, and were embroidered around the hem. Right, the crystal maple leaf design represented the national symbol of Canada

The ‘recycling’ of a previously worn gown by the Queen is something she has done before, and last night’s spectacular ‘maple gown’ follows in a long tradition of themed diplomatic embroidery going right back to the 1953 coronation when the Queen had emblems of all her realms sewn into her dress.

The monarch has worn other gowns featuring significant symbols, colours or motifs but usually when on overseas tours and in honour of the country she is visiting.

The monarch wowed Australians with her ‘wattle dress’ – featuring the national flower – which the Queen first wore on her 1954 tour to the country.

1. Figure out how long you want the arms of your jacket to be. I decided to make the sleeves so that they would hit Neko at the middle of her arms. She likes to dig, so I didn’t want the sleeves to get in the way of that.

2. Cut the sleeves to the measured length.

3. Fold the cut edge of the sleeves towards the inside of the sleeves. Iron and pin in place.

4. Sew the sleeves edges.

5. Find your dog model and try it on!

Neko was a bit shy for her modeling debut, but I was able to get a few photos of her in her new digs.

http://howtoreuseitcreatively.com/tag/upcycled-clothing/

Mari Santos does more than just recycle small-scale clothing extras into new, well-fitting and sufficiently stylish upcycled outfits – she shows how much potential exists in upcycling extremely plain everyday objects, things we would normally trash without a second look.

A baggy t-shirt is one of the most ubiquitous items of excess clothing you can find in almost any closet. These ill-fitting and over-sized extras have a lot more potential than most people realize – from make-your-own dresses to two-piece tops and much more.

“Disposability has caused an explosion of problems,” says Dr Lucy Norris, the co-curator of a new exhibition at the Horniman Museum in south London, which traces the odyssey of clothes dumped in Oxfam clothing banks and charity shops. “Clothing is now given in such huge quantities to British charities that they can’t sell it all in the shops. The volume is increasing, while the quality is decreasing.”

For charities to get a return on our tat, most of it is exported. But if you had visions of your old treasures being parachuted into Burma as aid, think again. Charities don’t give clothes away, they sell them. “It takes too long to ship things to disaster areas, and to air-freight them is too expensive,” says Rob McNeil of Oxfam.

Instead, the clothes end up in eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, where they are either sold whole or organised into great colour- coded mounds, as in Panipat, north India, then shredded, pulped and respun into what is known as “shoddy” yarn (recycled wool) and made into cheap blankets.

Before it gets to India, though, the charity shops nab the best. Wardrobe turnaround is so fast nowadays that donations are often just a season old and, increasingly, unworn. Anything that isn’t sold within two weeks is sent to Wastesaver, Oxfam’s clothes-sorting depot in Huddersfield. Here, clothing experts cherry-pick the best to sell on eBay. Specialist stuff — wedding gowns, fancy dress, wellies — is sold via Oxfam’s mobile shop, which tours festivals (this year, Glastonbury, T in the Park, Womad, V Festival and more). Many charities are reworking unsaleable stock into seasonal trends to sell in their shops: Oxfam is working with London College of Fashion students, Cancer Research UK with the ecofashion collective Revamp, and Traid with its in-house label Traidremade.

The problem is that much of what is donated is synthetic, which is the most difficult to recycle; cotton is also expensive to reuse. The easiest textile to recycle is wool, but the demise of knitwear over the past 15 years has seen the “shoddy” industry suffer. And while donation bins are being stuffed with synthetics, charity shops are struggling to stay competitive with the likes of £3 jeans.

Now that our castoffs are being shipped halfway around the world, what about the environment? Do the benefits of recycling outweigh the carbon cost of shipping? Oxfam hasn’t assessed that: the environmental benefit is only part of the story — cash is the rest. And it’s a difficult area. Second-hand clothing exports can damage the local garment trade — from 1985 to 1992, 51 out of 72 Zambian clothing firms closed, partly due to foreign competition. “If we sent stuff to where there is already a second-hand clothing market, it could undercut that industry,” says McNeil.

There are further complications. “From an environmental point of view, we need to be recycling more,” says Alan Wheeler of the Textile Recycling Association. Sales of new clothing in the UK have risen by 60% in the past decade — we now consume 2m tonnes of clothing and textiles a year. Of that, 1.1m tonnes go straight in the bin, while just 300,000 tonnes are recycled (the rest is probably still sitting in our wardrobes). “But double the amount would create a real economic problem with regards to the difficult grades.”

What to do? What to recycle, and what to chuck? Perhaps we should cut up our credit cards. No, our economy needs us. Or stop buying synthetics? But synthetics are more energy-efficient on the laundry front than natural fibres. “There’s no straight answer,” says Wheeler. He suggests buying more second-hand clothing and investing in fewer, more durable clothes. Oh, and please, don’t bin the remains of your Friday-night kebab in the clothing bank either.

Starting in September, New York City will launch one of the largest textile recycling initiatives in the nation. The aim is to make it easy to donate clothing, almost as easy as throwing it away.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans pitch almost 10 pounds of socks, jeans, shirts and sheets per year, per person. In New York, where 190,000 tons of textiles entered the city’s landfills in 2008 alone, the plan would place 50 collection bins in high-traffic areas.

“I moved three times in the last five years, and each time I ended up throwing away clothes,” says 25-year-old Tracy Feldman. “It is just too hard to haul it all over the city. If there was a bin on my block, I wouldn’t hesitate to recycle them.”

The city is taking bids for a 10- to 15-year contract with a nonprofit company that will be responsible for the bins. Goodwill Industries International is one of the companies bidding on the contract.

“There has not been another program like this that we know of,” said Goodwill spokesman Alfred Vanderbilt. “We think they are being very creative and we hope this sets a new standard.”

A Goodwill Industries survey of 600 adults in the United States and Canada found that more than half of people who donate clothing say they wouldn’t go more than 10 minutes out of their way to make a donation.

Robert Lange, the director of the Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling in New York, said his department discovered the same problem.

“You can open a black bag at the landfill and see what looks like new clothing,” he said. “It is easier to throw it out than recycle.”

Not all used clothing can be recycled into usable clothing — take those old, stinky sneakers and torn clothing. But that doesn’t mean those items can’t be donated. While Goodwill is mostly looking for clothing that can be resold, there are ways to recycle even the old tattered pieces.

At Wearable Collections, a New Jersey-based textile recycling company, almost half of donations are good for resale, according to the owner. The other half is split nearly evenly between being used for rags for businesses like the automotive industry and being broken down for insulation. Less than 5 percent of the total is unusable and goes to the landfill.

Officials say that if New York’s campaign is successful, it could lead to a nationwide movement to recycle clothing.

Not only would that clear up some room in the nation’s landfills, it could also create jobs, said Brenda Platt, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance based in Washington, D.C. She profiled 20 textile recycling companies and estimates that the industry creates 85 times more jobs than landfills.

Wearable Collections has been offering free bins to apartment buildings and dorm rooms throughout the East Coast for the last few years. The company’s employees collect the bins as often as once a week, and tenants never have to go farther than their lobby to get rid of old clothing.

Adam Baruchowitz, the owner of Wearable Collections, is enthusiastic about city governments and charities working together. “I think it is going to raise the consciousness of textile recycling, which is a good thing for us,” Baruchowitz said.

And if all goes as planned, New York may be just the beginning.

“If this is as effective as it can be, it will influence other locations,” Lange said. “We will be leading by example.”

Here’s the truth about fashion: It changes quickly. So what do you do when you’re stuck with a closet full of barely worn shirts, dresses and shoes?

Starting in September, New York City will launch one of the largest textile recycling initiatives in the nation. The aim is to make it easy to donate clothing, almost as easy as throwing it away.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans pitch almost 10 pounds of socks, jeans, shirts and sheets per year, per person. In New York, where 190,000 tons of textiles entered the city’s landfills in 2008 alone, the plan would place 50 collection bins in high-traffic areas.

“I moved three times in the last five years, and each time I ended up throwing away clothes,” says 25-year-old Tracy Feldman. “It is just too hard to haul it all over the city. If there was a bin on my block, I wouldn’t hesitate to recycle them.”

The city is taking bids for a 10- to 15-year contract with a nonprofit company that will be responsible for the bins. Goodwill Industries International is one of the companies bidding on the contract.

“There has not been another program like this that we know of,” said Goodwill spokesman Alfred Vanderbilt. “We think they are being very creative and we hope this sets a new standard.”

A Goodwill Industries survey of 600 adults in the United States and Canada found that more than half of people who donate clothing say they wouldn’t go more than 10 minutes out of their way to make a donation.

Robert Lange, the director of the Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling in New York, said his department discovered the same problem.

“You can open a black bag at the landfill and see what looks like new clothing,” he said. “It is easier to throw it out than recycle.”

Not all used clothing can be recycled into usable clothing — take those old, stinky sneakers and torn clothing. But that doesn’t mean those items can’t be donated. While Goodwill is mostly looking for clothing that can be resold, there are ways to recycle even the old tattered pieces.

At Wearable Collections, a New Jersey-based textile recycling company, almost half of donations are good for resale, according to the owner. The other half is split nearly evenly between being used for rags for businesses like the automotive industry and being broken down for insulation. Less than 5 percent of the total is unusable and goes to the landfill.

Officials say that if New York’s campaign is successful, it could lead to a nationwide movement to recycle clothing.

Not only would that clear up some room in the nation’s landfills, it could also create jobs, said Brenda Platt, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance based in Washington, D.C. She profiled 20 textile recycling companies and estimates that the industry creates 85 times more jobs than landfills.

Wearable Collections has been offering free bins to apartment buildings and dorm rooms throughout the East Coast for the last few years. The company’s employees collect the bins as often as once a week, and tenants never have to go farther than their lobby to get rid of old clothing.

Adam Baruchowitz, the owner of Wearable Collections, is enthusiastic about city governments and charities working together. “I think it is going to raise the consciousness of textile recycling, which is a good thing for us,” Baruchowitz said.

And if all goes as planned, New York may be just the beginning.

“If this is as effective as it can be, it will influence other locations,” Lange said. “We will be leading by example.”

Follow some of these tips, and you could cut your shopping bills by as much as 50%!

1) Designer clothes

Why pay rip-off prices for a new piece of designer clothing? Instead, simply head to a ‘swishing’ party and swap any designer clothes you currently own with like-minded fashionistas. Check out swishing.org for details of swishing events near you, orsel them online via www.refashionable.com. Alternatively, invite some friends round to yours and host your own clothes swapping party!

2) Electrical goods

You may worry that if you buy electrical goods secondhand, they won’t work. But did you know several well-known high street retailers sell their reconditioned electrical goods online, complete with limited warranties? For example:

• the Comet Clearance auction website specialises in refurbished kitchen appliances
• the Tesco Outlet on eBay sells everything from refurbished digital cameras to televisions
• Argos Clearance Bargains sells a wide range of refurbished electrical goods including laptops and DIY tools
• whilst MPB Photographic sells high-end used digital camera equipment.

Just remember to research such websites first using search engines, to pick up any bad reviews.

3) Self-assembly furniture

Why bother buying furniture from Ikea and Homebase when community freebie sites such as Freegle and SnaffleUp often offer the items you want, pre-assembled, for free? You can even post ‘wanted’ notices asking for specific items. Alternatively, find out where regular house clearance auctions are held in your local area, and bag some bargains that way.

4) Cars

Everyone knows the price of a brand new car depreciates the moment you drive it out of the showroom. As long as you know how to buy a good value used car, it shouldn’t depreciate too much and your car insurance should be reduced as a result. Follow these tips to pick up a bargain at a car auction and read up on what to check before you buy.

5) Books

As long as you can read the words on the page, a book is exactly the same whether you buy it new or secondhand. So stop buying books! Either head down to your local library, or if you hate the hassle of returning your books, swap them instead for free. Read Where to get free books for more information.

6) Software

Instead of buying software, get it for free online. Here are some alternatives to the big brands:

7) Property

If you buy a newly-built property, you’re likely to pay what’s known as a ‘new-build’ premium. In other words, it’s worth more because it’s all shiny and new – but the moment you move in, it falls in value. Plus, developers often give discounts to buyers if they can’t sell the entire block – which means an identical property to the one you buy may be sold soon after yours at a lower price. Also, if you buy in an area with lots of space for other new build developments, you may be surrounded by a building site before too long, and local buyers may prefer newer properties to yours. Read The true value of new build property to find out more.

Sports equipment

The world is full of people who try, and fail, to take up a new sport, despite their best intentions. That’s a fact. Many of them end up selling the equipment they bought at knockdown prices on gumtree, vivastreet, eBay or even for free on Freegle and Snaffleup. Most have hardly been used at all.

9) Blu-ray DVDs

Everyone knows it’s much cheaper to buy a CD, DVD or computer game secondhand – the big concern is whether the disc is scratched. However, bear in mind there are lots of ways to fix a scratched CD and blu-ray DVDs are particularly hard to scratch. Swap them via xhangemy.co.uk or swapshop.co.uk, or buy them from musicmagpie.com.

10) Pedigree pets

Why pay hundreds – if not thousands – of pounds for a pedigree pet when you can rescue one for a fraction of the cost? If you’re set on a pedigree cat, for example, there are loads of pedigree cat rescue centres around the country for specific breeds, while the Kennel Club allows you to search for a pedigree rescue dog by breed.

Get help from lovemoney.com

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First, adopt this goal: Save money in every room of your home

Then, watch this video: Slash your energy bills

Finally, why not have a wander over to Q&A and ask other lovemoney.com members for hints and tips about what worked best for them?

Now before we go any further, I want you all to just chill. OK? Are we all chill? Good. Let’s continue…

Actress and animal-advocate Brigitte Bardot made headlines this week after teaming up with Lancel — a leather goods company — to create an eco-friendly, cruelty-free handbag.

The product hasn’t been released yet, but it’s being described as an “eco-friendly/green bag made of 100 percent natural fibers”

While, of course, no animals will be harmed in the making of said bag, many are complaining that Bardot shouldn’t work with a company that for over a hundred years has been making leather products. I, however, disagree.

I argue that Bardot’s choice to work with Lancel was strategic. Sure, it would have been fine if she had teamed up with an eco company, but then wouldn’t she just be preaching to the choir? It seems entirely more effective for Bardot to convince a new demographic of consumers, who traditionally buy leather, that green is stylish and cool. What’s more, is there anything better than educating an out-of-date company about the potential of natural fibers? No, no and no!

Sounds to us like Bardot is getting creative with her activism and we heart that big time!