St Peter's Collegiate Church in Wolverhampton was turned into a catwalk and clothes swap on Monday as it hosted an event to raise awareness about 'fast fashion'.
The evening included a fashion show where people modeled clothes from local charity shops along with a market-place and clothes swap and spoken word pieces.
It is part of a wider Re:Dress project in Lichfield Diocese to raise awareness of the human and environmental cost of the fast fashion and textile industry.
In addition, a number of local fashion designers brought their ethically-aware products, prayer stations gave ideas for how to pray for the issues raised and a number of charities explained their work.
The prevalence of slavery in the fashion and textile industries - both abroad and to a shocking extent in the UK - was highlighted.
'Hope at Home' is a hosting scheme for survivors of slavery. "We train and support hosts to welcome people into their homes once they come out of the safe house," said Helen Hodgson, a co-founder of the midlands-based charity. "Often they are destitute as they can't work, they can't claim benefits and then they might be trafficked again, so we step in to prevent retrafficking."
At the end of the evening, those attending were invited to make pledges that have a positive effect.
Lichfield Diocese has signed up to the Clewer Initiative which is helping churches to support victims of modern slavery and identify signs of exploitation in their communities. Over 40 million people are victims of modern slavery globally, including many linked to the fashion industry. It is estimated that G20 countries import almost 100 billion worth of garments at risk of including modern slavery in their supply chain every year and UK imports of apparel possibly tainted by slave labour are worth over 7 billion annually.
Re:Dress is linked to the CHAD Living initiative which is exploring what it means to follow Christ in the modern world, through everyday choices, habits, actions and decisions.
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