Emily Smith (30) has organised a fashion show with a difference next month, because it will feature outfits sourced from Jersey charity shops.
All of the items will be for sale on the night, and there will also be an auction for designer items.
Money raised at the event on Thursday 21 November will go back to the four charity shops involved, Oxfam, Cancer Research, Silkworth and Jersey Hospice Care.
The event, which is aimed at women and is being sponsored by the Channel Islands Co-operative, takes place at the social enterprise Beresford Street Kitchen.
Ms Smith, who works in marketing, said: ‘I started shopping in charity shops when I was studying at Falmouth University and I wanted to buy new clothes but I didn’t have the money.
‘Since then I have always bought the odd thing from a vintage or charity shop and I love my vintage buys. I always try to look different and I love one-off pieces.’
She added she had not bought anything new since September, having taken part in Oxfam’s Second Hand September campaign.
‘When travelling in New Zealand, India and the Philippines I started to realise how materialistic we are in the western world and how much stuff I had back home,’ she said. ‘It was amazing in India seeing tailors and cobblers on the streets fixing everything – no-one chucks anything away.
‘The aim of this event is to highlight the fact you can buy designer/high-street items for half the price. It’s about reusing clothes and slowing down the fashion industry.’
Statistics from the government show that an estimated 2.1% of the contents of a rubbish bin is textiles, which equates to 21kg of clothes every year per person if individuals throw away approximately one tonne of rubbish annually.
Tickets for the Charity Shop Catwalk cost £10, to include a glass of bubbly and nibbles, and are available online at eventbrite.com. Doors open at 6pm with the show due to start at 6.30pm. All sales on the night will be in cash.
