This February sees the start again of JoJo Maman Bébé's From a Mother to Another. Their aim; to reduce the shocking levels of clothing waste that end up in a landfill whilst helping those in need in the UK with distribution via food banks plus helping thousands of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon.
So how can we help?
JoJo will be collecting good quality outgrown or unwanted baby and children’s clothes in, sizes 0-6 years, at their 72 stores across the UK and Ireland. Customers are requested to make up complete outfits to give something worthwhile this mother’s day.
It's a shocking fact that nearly a third of the UK’s clothing ends up in landfill, equating to 350,000 tonnes a year. By extending the life of clothes by just three months of active use, carbon and water waste could be reduced by up to 5-10% a year.
As a human being and more so if you're a parent I challenge you not to have been affected by the awful scenes of desperate families making horrendous journeys across war torn countries and deadly seas in an attempt to find a safe environment for their children and families. Let's be honest, we've all got excess baby and children's clothes sitting in the cupboard whilst we ponder what to do with them. Well by sending good quality, little worn hand-me-downs to those in need could mean they are worn by many more children, children in desperate need for warm clothing.
The emergency clothing packs will be distributed by some of the Trussell Trust’s 420 Foodbanks across the UK and by a number of partner charities on the ground in Lebanon.
Helen Frank’s from Trussell Trust explains why she jumped at the chance to get involved; “I am delighted Trussell Trust Foodbanks will be participating in the From A Mother To Another campaign with JoJo, it is a natural fit to The Trussell Trust’s ‘More Than Food’ approach, which offers additional services to help alleviate poverty in the UK. Over a third of three day emergency food supplies provided by Trussell Trust foodbanks go to children in crisis. From a Mother to Another is a perfect way for one mum to bring a little light and a lot of comfort to another", and I love this idea.
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| Before |
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| After they've been sorted and repackaged by JoJo |
Laura Tenison, founder & CEO of JoJo, visited refugee camps in the Bekaa Valley on the Lebanese Syrian border late last year. As a result JoJo launched an urgent appeal to collect winter shoes and boots for the children living in tents, now under snow. Customers reacted with empathy and the thousands collected are currently being distributed on the ground to refugees with so little. Laura explained what she found when visiting the camps; “The situation is dire and the millions of women and children living in makeshift tents are in urgent need of emergency humanitarian aid to help until it is safe to travel home – just a few miles across the border. They left Syria with whatever they could carry. Their children have outgrown their clothes long ago and are often in rags. The gift of a FAMTA pack brings tears of gratitude. Children are dying from the cold, we just had to help.”
I could not agree more Laura. So, if you've got ANY children's clothing that you no longer need and you simply do not know what to do with then simply pop them in to your local JoJo Maman Bébé where they will do all the rest - how easy is that?
I'm off to clear the cupboard of all the kids clothes that they've outgrown!
Big love,
Nathalie x
