The Leeds Winter Coat Appeal, run by Zero Waste Leeds, has launched with a call to people across Leeds to donate great quality second-hand winter coats and other items of winter clothing.
Last year’s campaign distributed over 7600 items of free winter clothing across the city, helping to reduce waste and saving people over £144,000 that could be spent on other essentials during the coldest time of the year.
There are 38 winter clothing public donation points, including leisure and community centres, and 15 businesses are supporting this year’s campaign to encourage their staff to donate clothing.
Public donation points are open from 21 October 2024 and the final date for donations is Friday 31 January 2024. Full details of where donations can be made can be found on the Zero Waste Leeds website.
As well as winter coats for adults, children and babies, Zero Waste Leeds is also appealing for people to donate other great quality items of winter clothing that they no longer want or need, including hats, gloves and scarves, waterproof clothing, fleeces.
This year Zero Waste Leeds is also asking for donations of baby cot sleeping bags, snow suits for young children and babies, and footmuffs to keep babies and children warm in their prams and buggies and is collaborating with Leeds Baby Bank to ensure these items are distributed to families who need them.
Tracy Morgan from Zero Waste Leeds said, “Last year’s Leeds Winter Coat Appeal was a huge success thanks to the many businesses, individuals and community groups that got involved donating and distributing coats.
“It’s such a great way to come together as a community and share the things we have. It’s good for the environment because it cuts down on the demand for new and it’s great for families who don’t have to worry about the cost of coats. People in Leeds are so generous, as we’ve also seen through the Leeds School Uniform Exchange, and we are so thankful that people can and want to help.
“Our aim is to collect and distribute thousands of coats and items of clothing this year. We’d love to beat last winter’s campaign total of 7600 items this year, so we’re calling out for even more people to share the coats they no longer want or need rather than throwing them away.”
There are 25 collection points across Leeds where people will be able to get free winter items from 4 November 2024 until the end of February 2025.
Tracy Morgan concluded: “The cost of living crisis has hit families hard and priorities have had to change. Last winter, for many families in Leeds, paying bills or buying food became more important than buying a new winter coat. Sharing thousands of donated, good quality winter coats across the city meant we could help ease some of the financial pressure.
“Freeing up unworn coats from the back of cupboards and wardrobes and passing them on is also so much more sustainable than buying new and people were more than happy to help, so we’re hoping for an even more generous response from the people of Leeds this winter.”
