The countdown to Christmas is in full swing, but so is the pressure on consumers to buy and spend. Yet, in a world in a constant crisis, the gap between the haves and the have nots has widened and, while some may be able to afford to buy what they want, others may be battling against serious issues, from paying the bills to finding money to buy food.
Antwerp, a city known for its fashion connections, decided to find a way to make shoppers happy, while helping people in need - The Empty Shop, an initiative launched by Kringwinkel Antwerp.
The concept is pretty simple: shops, brands or companies with piles of unsold clothes, donate a portion of their stocks to the shop that boasts empty hangers and cabinets and naked mannequins.
The clothes and accessories fill up the shop that turns into a temporary conceptual Pop Up space, and the proceeds from the sale are used to provide a paid work experience to 250 refugees. The more pieces will be donated and sold, the more refugees can get a first work experience.
Simone Koops from Obelisk Werkbegeleiding highlights that this experience will allow refugees to feel useful, learn the language in practice and meet other people.
At the same time, the initiative ensures that quality clothes do not end up in landfills, but get a second life, breaking the cycle of fast consumption that is polluting our world and cluttering our wadrobes.
The experiment is based on the excellent result from 2015 when The Empty Shop sold over 1,031 pieces to 528 customers, earning in just two weeks over 25,000 Euros, donated to an association for homeless people. In that occasion different people donated their pieces including Antwerp Vice Mayor Philip Heylen, personal shopper Tanguy Ottomer, and fashion designers Walter Van Beirendonck and Anne Kurris, while also clothing chain H&M joined the initiative.
So far The Empty Shop has been successfully held in Sao Paulo, Manchester and Barcelona. The goal has been raised to collect 30,000 euros this year. The initiative is supported by prestigious partners, including Antwerp's Mode Museum and the Flanders Fashion Institute that last year sold at the shop a collection of scarves created by its students.
The Empty Shop will be open until Sunday 18th December at Pulcinella (Bogaardeplein 1) in the heart of Antwerp.
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