MARKS & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland not only wants to change attitudes towards throwing out old clothes, the Dutchman thinks he can introduce a new word to the English language.
Mr Bolland has launched a "shwopping" scheme in all of M&S's clothes stores where customers can bring unwanted clothes, of any brand, to be reused.
To emphasise his point M&S yesterday draped an east London street in the 9513 items it estimates are thrown out every five minutes in Britain.
"We want to make disposable fashion a thing of the past," Mr Bolland said.
Through the charity Oxfam, clothes placed in the "Shwop Drop" cardboard recycling boxes will be resold, reused or recycled.
Mr Bolland believes the UK's largest clothing retailer can help foster a "buy one, give one" culture on the high street. "We already regard as normal behaviour, what happens with bottle recycling. This [clothes recycling] should be normal," he added.
More than that, Mr Bolland believes the term "shwopping" could soon enter common use – although the word is registered by M&S.
"Within 24 hours this word of 'shwopping' might be added to the British language," he enthused.
Some items are more valuable than others, and it was up to actress Joanna Lumley, who fronts M&S's Plan A green and ethical programme, to mention the underwear.
The average British woman has nine bras, she said, of which typically three are never worn. These are in high demand in some parts of Africa, she said.
While Mr Bolland stopped short of suggesting people buy fewer clothes – a position that might not sit well with his shareholders – Ms Lumley was less restrained in her call for a change in Britain's consumer culture.
"If everybody eats hamburgers and buys three new T-shirts a week we are going to be totally scuppered."
Mr Bolland was adamant that the new scheme was not a way of getting more shoppers into its stores, of which there are 67 in Scotland.
"This is not a stunt," he said. "This is not something for the short term."
But he acknowledged the challenges of launching the scheme the day after it was revealed the UK had returned to recession.
"The consumer is not any more putting on the top of his list talking about the environment," he said. But he added: "In five years' time the environment runs the risk of being a bigger problem than the economy."
The strategy marks a step-up from a four-year-old scheme, which will still continue, that meant people taking old clothes to Oxfam received a £5 M&S voucher. Some 10 million items of have been donated, worth some £8 million to the charity.
This new scheme is more ambitious with M&S aiming to recycle as many clothes as it sells – some 350 million a year.
Mr Bolland declined to reveal the cost of the scheme, although he confirmed that M&S is picking up the tab.
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