Lost Stock clothing boxes help families in Bangladesh

MORE than 63,000 boxes of unwanted clothes have been bought in just one week through Lost Stock, a website set up by Edinburgh-based online fashion platform Mallzee.

Clothing brands have cancelled orders for around £1.6 billion-worth of stock due to the closure of shops during the global coronavirus lockdowns.

Cancelling orders has a huge knock-on effect on clothes producers in developing countries, with one factory owner in Bangladesh warning: “If coronavirus doesn’t kill my workers then starvation will.”

Mallzee founder Cally Russell and his team responded to the plight of factory workers by setting up Lost Stock, which sells the unwanted clothes to consumer at a 50% discount on their retail prices.

Consumers who buy a box of clothes for £35 will receive at least three garments, with the cash from each box supporting a factory worker and their family.

Lost Stock initially aimed to help 10,000 families but has raised the bar to 100,000 following support for the initiative from the public.

“We’re delighted that our Lost Stock mission is resonating with so many people,” Russell wrote on the site’s blog.

“We are seeing many individuals going above and beyond with some pretty inventive ways when it comes to spreading the Lost Stock word.

“A particular highlight has been a personal trainer who’s encouraging people to buy a box in exchange for a fitness class.

“We have big targets, and we’re working hard to achieve them – it makes it all worthwhile knowing that our fashion boxes can really make a difference in supporting workers and their families in Bangladesh.”

Read more fashion stories on Scottish Field’s fashion pages.