// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
New clothing saved from waste by sewing charity
Dressability volunteer Linda Maplestone helps alter branded items so that they can be donated to people in need and saved from landfill
A clothing charity has helped save thousands of brand new coats, fleeces and other garments from going to landfill by removing company branding and donating them to people in need.
Dressability in Swindon said demand for its clothing rebranding project has grown rapidly, with more than 1,000 items now altered and distributed every year.
Initially the clothing was donated to organisations in Swindon and Wiltshire, but growing volumes mean items are now being sent as far away as Liverpool and Ukraine.
"We get a brand new coat for example that can be worth up to £100 and people in need, such as the homeless, can benefit," said general manager Sharon Tombs.
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One charity that benefits is the Swindon Night Shelter.
Patrick Lewis volunteers there after using the shelter himself when he was homeless.
He remembers receiving one of the coats from the project.
"I wasn't expecting something like that and I really needed it because when I was homeless I lost all my things, everything."