Lost Stock: Clothing Rescue Initiative
My story of hopefulness is an organisation called Lost Stock. They were formed at the beginning of the pandemic. When the pandemic was growing, $2 billion worth of clothes were cancelled across the world.
These clothes had already been made in countries like Bangladesh, China, and India. However, the fashion labels cancelled those orders, leaving the people—mainly women—who had made those clothes without pay or jobs.
Lost Stock was created to help this situation by enabling workers to be paid and preventing clothes from going into landfills. They created boxes containing up to three garments. On their website, you could choose whether you preferred neutral, dark, or bright colours. You would input your size and clothing preferences, such as baggy or tight fits. For £35 per box, you received three tops in the post.
Lost Stock worked with the Sadija Foundation, based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which has supported nearly 114,000 people. Lost Stock has recently been rebranded to Unfolded.