Festival-goers urged to wear upcycled clothes

Music fans heading to festivals this summer are being encouraged to upcycle and rewear clothing, amid warnings that fast fashion is driving tonnes of barely-worn outfits to landfill.

According to the global charity Oxfam, items of clothing in the UK are worn on average fewer than five times each, with outfits bought for festivals one of the worst culprits.

Ahead of events such as Love Saves the Day (LSTD), held at Ashton Court in Bristol, campaigners are emphasising the environmental cost of fast fashion and encouraging the "joy of second-hand style".

Oxfam is hosting pop-up shops at music festivals in the West this year, such as Womad in Wiltshire.

Hannah Davies, from Oxfam, said: "That habit of buying something new and wearing it once is something we collectively need to rethink.

"There's something magical about festival fashion - it can give people an opportunity to express themselves creatively and wear things they might not dream of anywhere else, from sparkly sets and fluorescent catsuits, to vintage cowboy hats and boots.

"But the most show-stopping outfits aren't the ones grabbed new from a fast fashion site, they're the ones with a story behind them."

Of the charity's presence at festivals, she said: "They give festival-goers the chance to find unique and affordable items on site.

"We definitely get positive engagement and last year our shops saved over 6,000 kg of clothing from becoming waste."

Sophie Saint, 37, from Bristol, also known as 'Saint Thrifty' on social media, is an advocate for sustainable style and second-hand fashion.

"The pursuit of having 'the perfect festival fit' can lead to copious fast fashion shopping sprees to nail the festival aesthetic," she said.

"And with huge amounts of orders for one summer of frivolous festival fits, it results in garments flooding charity shops or en-route to landfills before autumn hits."

She said it was important not to buy into "fast-moving trends" that would constantly be changing.

"If you're a festival-head and repeatedly go to numerous festivals every year, it's time to build your own curated festival wardrobe that is thoughtfully and slowly accumulated and of a quality that can withstand repeat wears," she said.

According to Oxfam, by 2050 the fashion industry is on course to produce 138 billion items of unworn clothes every year - enough to almost reach from Earth to Mars and back.

The team behind LSTD - which is one of Bristol's biggest music festivals - recently hosted a workshop for swapping, repairing and customising clothes.

Charlotte Jackson, sustainability coordinator at Team Love, said festivals had a responsibility to challenge throwaway culture.

"Fast fashion thrives in this space but we advocate for a different approach," she said.

"Buy less, choose well and think local, second-hand, swapped or upcycled.

"Festival fashion should be about creativity and self-expression, not overconsumption.

"The future of fashion lies in this balance. The positive change we need is systemic and long-term, and festivals can play a powerful role in shaping that journey."

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.