UK’s Recycle for Greater Manchester campaign goes outdoor

A campaign encouraging residents of Greater Manchester in the UK to ‘cotton on’ to the impact their old clothes and textiles could have on the planet has gone live.

The Cotton On campaign has been devised by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) in partnership with independent Manchester advertising agency, BuyMeMedia.

Comprising a suite of radio, digital and out of home adverts, the campaign began on August 16 and is expected to reach over 1,000,000 people throughout Summer and Autumn.

The out of home campaign has eye-catching adverts strategically placed in high footfall retail destinations such as the Arndale Centre, Merseyway Shopping Centre, Redrock and the Trafford Centre to grab the attention of those shopping for Summer clothes.

A two-week exhibition is also being organised in Stockport town centre as part of the campaign, showcasing a giant washing line draped with the types of clothing and accessories suitable for recycling, as well as campaign-branded floor tiles and a series of floor-to-ceiling ad boards.

Each year thousands of tonnes of textiles are thrown away in Greater Manchester, with 16,700 tonnes put in general waste bins in 2023/24. On average each person in the UK throws away 35 items of clothing in the general waste bin every year, from socks with holes in to ripped or baggy t-shirts. Much of this also comes from ‘fast fashion’ with poor quality clothes sold cheaply before being quickly thrown away.

By encouraging its 2.8million+ residents to think more responsibly about the impact their waste may have, Greater Manchester Combined Authority is hoping that the area – once dubbed ‘Cottonopolis’ for being at the epicentre of the global cotton trade – can now play a significant role in helping to shape a greener future.

Cllr Tom Ross, GMCA’s lead for Waste and Recycling, said: “The thousands of tonnes of clothes and shoes being thrown away each year adds to our carbon emissions, damaging our ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2038. Under government plans these extra carbon emissions will lead to increased costs for the GMCA and individual local authorities.

“It is great to see this campaign underway to raise awareness of what Greater Manchester residents can do with the unwanted or damaged clothes and shoes in their home and a fantastic example of what R4GM does to make recycling simple.”

As well as being a public awareness campaign, the creative ads also direct residents to a dedicated webpage housed on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority website where they can learn more about the impact of recycling and locate their nearest clothing bank.

Mike Cleary, founder and managing director of BuyMeMedia, said: “We are delighted at BuyMeMedia to be helping to deliver the Cotton On recycling campaign alongside the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

“Our team have crafted a campaign that will provide awareness, reach and engagement within environments that will be relatable, such as the Trafford Centre and Stockport town centre while people are clothes shopping ahead of their Summer holidays.

“Our new planning software will also be able to closely report on the impact the campaign is having by measuring how many people visit the clothes banks after being delivered a message, which will enable us and the Combined Authority to learn from live data and optimise the behavioural changes moving forward for future campaigns.”