Vintage fashion to upcycling: five great reasons to visit the Westfield Good Festival

As consumers, we’ve all come to appreciate that individual changes to our behaviours can have a collective impact on efforts to protect the planet and reduce environmental damage.

The Westfield Good Festival, which is taking place at Westfield shopping centres across Europe this month, aims to help consumers make these kind of changes to their behaviour. The event, in collaboration with brands and with organisations working in the community, will showcase activities and initiatives to inspire people to embrace the circular economy and get creative with repairing and repurposing. “Brands and consumers can share insights, best practice and motivate one another towards adopting eco-friendlier shopping habits,” says Katie Wyle, UK head of shopping centre management for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW).

“Our consumers expect us to enable their sustainable practices,” adds Anne-Sophie Sancerre, URW’s chief customer and retail officer. “This second edition will again give brands, through our Westfield platform, the opportunity to share their sustainability journey with our visitors.”

Now in its second year in the UK, the Good Festival is being held at Westfield London from Thursday to Sunday, 16-19 May, having already had a successful airing at Westfield Stratford City earlier in May. Here are five good reasons to take part:

1. A treasure trove of preloved fashion
Buying secondhand is more on-trend for consumers than ever, particularly when it comes to clothing. Last year, sales of secondhand clothes in the UK increased by 49% (pdf), according to a report from the Ethical Consumer Research Association. The global pre-owned clothing market is on track to reach $350bn by 2028, according to US resale site ThredUp. The market is being driven by several factors, including shifts towards more sustainable living, concerns about the cost of living, and an increasing appetite for vintage and preloved fashion.

By choosing preloved fashion, you can reduce waste, cut your carbon footprint, and transform your wardrobe. At the Good Festival you can delve into a treasure trove of preloved fashion, from vintage and timeless denim to sportswear and well-known brands.

2. Repair, don’t replace
Throwaway culture, especially when it comes to clothing, has been the norm for decades. Today about 30% of unwanted clothes end up in UK landfill sites, according to research cited by Business Waste. Hopefully that tide will turn as people become less inclined to make unnecessary purchases and adopt a repair and reuse mindset.

Extending the average lifespan of clothes by just nine months would save £5bn in resources used to supply and dispose of clothing, according to Wrap, a climate action NGO. The fact is that clothes are often dispatched to the bin because of minor flaws, such as broken zips and straps, or drooping hemlines. Repairing and reworking garments as part of the circular economy helps keep them in the loop for longer.

At Good Fest, you can take advantage of free basic alterations, from hemming and tapering to simple clothing repairs, as well as rejuvenating old items with embroidery, all courtesy of the experts at The Seam, which connects skilled menders, cleaners and restorers with the public. It was a recent finalist in the Westfield Grand Prix, for entrepreneurs who place sustainability at the core of their output. Over the past 15 years, the Westfield Grand Prix has given more than 50 businesses physical space in shopping centres.

3. Get hands-on with sustainability
When it comes to tackling throwaway culture, nothing beats getting hands-on. If you’ve never tried to upcycle household items, darn a favourite piece of knitwear, or give broken crockery a new lease of life, the festival provides the opportunity to learn at a series of craft workshops designed to encourage upcycling, mending and expanding the life of products rather than throwing them away.

Learn to upcycle lampshades using decoupage, paint and trimmings, create your own shampoo bar using natural ingredients, or breathe new life into your old jeans or denim jacket at the patchwork denim workshop.

Youngsters can get involved too. At the children’s tie-dye T-shirt upcycling workshop they can bring a favourite cotton T-shirt or hoodie back to life, while the sock monster workshop lets them transform odd socks into monster puppets using sustainable craft materials.

Even broken pottery can be salvaged and transformed into beautiful pieces of art, via the Japanese technique of kintsugi (kin = gold + tsugi = joining). If a bowl is broken, instead of discarding the pieces, the fragments are put back together and the cracks are adorned with gold. Learn about the history and philosophy of this art form at the kintsugi workshop, where you can create your own piece.

4. Swap don’t shop
Swapping clothes is one of the smartest tricks for maintaining a minimal yet constantly updated wardrobe, acquiring a new item only when you give up another. Extending the longevity of clothes by swapping them reduces purchases and waste, refreshes your wardrobe and saves money. The trend is gathering pace, particularly among young people, with 75% of 16 to 24 year olds saying they either have swapped fashion items with others or would be interested in doing so, according to the market research agency Mintel.

Swap shops offer a sustainable alternative to fast fashion, especially for kids’ clothes, which are quickly outgrown, while still almost new. Youngsters also outgrow their favourite books, so the festival’s kids’ clothes and book swap shop, for children up to the age of 12, is the perfect place to support a trend that extends the lifespan of clothes and books.

5. A green retreat
One of the highlights of the festival is the tranquil greenhouse oasis, the perfect retreat for relaxing and reconnecting with nature. In this immersive feature, you can learn about the role that living walls play, not just by improving air quality and increasing the biodiversity of an urban space with plants, but also by offering a vital nesting space, shelter and food for birds and insects. Discover how houseplants thrive in different conditions and how to choose plants that will enhance your living space.

Find out more about the Westfield Good Festival and view the full event schedule