Put your old clothes back in circulation, make a llama happy
It is the spring cleaning season and I get rid of stuff. Clothes, mostly. Surely you have had the same dilemma: What to do with things that you don’t want to keep anymore but that are still too good to just throw away? Here are a few tips on how to give them a future in Brno.
1. Take them to Nadace Veronica shops
You can donate clothing and other things that someone might have a use for to Nadace Veronica, the biggest foundation for environmental protection in Moravia. They run three little shops in Brno (in Pekařská street in the city centre, in Jana Babáka in Královo Pole, and in Svážná street in Nový Lískovec) and the money they make this way goes to environmental-related matters.
In 2013, Nadace Veronica acquired 250 000 CZK through their shops. Part of the profit was invested in the llama centre in the north-east part of Brno called Hády. (Btw check out the live webcam, aren’t llamas the cutest thing ever?).
If you decide to take your unneeded garments to Nadace Veronica shops, please remember they should be clean and undamaged, as well as seasonal. They also accept children’s toys, books, pottery and chinaware, jewelery, and accessories.
2. Go for a shwopping spree
Did you know that some of the big clothes chains will take your unwanted apparel off your hands and exchange it for a discount voucher? That’s right. This recycling initiative called shwopping (= swapping + shopping) was first launched by Marks & Spencer in 2012. Today you can donate your old items at seven places in Brno:
Marks & Spencer – Olympia Mall, Campus Square;
Intimissimi – Vaňkovka Shopping Mall, Olympia Mall;
H&M – Česká Street, Avion Shopping Park, Vaňkovka Shopping Mall.
3. Put them in a clothes container
There are about 100 white clothes containers in the streets of Brno, here is the complete lis. Clothes collected from them go to a recycle line where workers sort them manually. Some of them are sent to developing countries, some go to manufacturers that recycle fibres.
You can also happen to spot a clothes container of other colour. For example blue ones belong to Diocesan Charity Brno and red ones to Red Cross and. Clothes from them are given to people in need.
What can one put in clothes containers? Together with old clothes, feel free to insert shoes, bags, curtains, table clothes, blankets, and bedlinen, as long as it is clean and undamaged.
4. Have a go at Fléda flea market
One Sunday every month you can try your luck selling or exchanging stuff you don’t have use for anymore at the flea market organized by Fléda. If you wish to sell something you need to register in advance, the space is limited to 40 sellers. The next market is held on April 20.
5. Try to sell them to a second-hand shop
Some of the second-hand clothes shops will sometimes take your clothes in. This one is tricky to make a rule out of, though, you would just have to try and see. Here and here is a list of the most popular ones in Brno.
