These days, many charities make use of the spare bras that women in Britain have to offer and one organisation based in Cricklade is collecting such items of lingerie. The charity, which operates in north Wiltshire, helps to install solar lights in schools and medical centres in Gambia, the Swindon Advertiser reports.
It partnered with BCR Global Textiles to install 60 bra bins in the Swindon area and further afield. The bras are recycled to raise £1 per kilogram.
Charity volunteer Jo Heaven noted that she came across BCR Global after she was left with 136 kilograms of spare bras following an appeal for donations. She remarked: “It has been a fantastic response but there must be more out there, so have a look, and if you can drop them off to us, please do, or have your own bin installed.
“The project is really exciting because it means now we can do lots more schools and medical centres across the Gambia. We have had to raise a lot of money to do the schools. It was not the time it took, it’s just having the money to actually get the lights because they cost quite a lot.”
Most of the bra donation boxes were sent out to schools, churches and companies, including Intel and Nationwide. They also went to Slimming World clubs.
It is not only old items of lingerie that are recycled. New bras are also handed over and these are sold for £1 each to bring in extra cash.
The idea of appealing for unused and unwanted bras to raise money for charity is a popular one and it can be a great way for organisations to generate funds. Many women have bras in their drawers at home that they no longer use and are happy to give away.
