Lost Stock for Kids launched to help garment workers in Bangladesh

The Lost Stock initiative to save lives in Bangladesh using fashion chains’ unsold adult clothes has today launched a new version for children.

Lost Stock for Kids follows the same idea but this time selling £35 boxes containing five pieces of children’s wear matched to the customer’s size and fashion preferences.

After shops were closed by coronavirus, retailers cancelled more than $3 billion worth of orders which left manufacturers in Bangladesh unable to pay workers and with mountains of unwanted stock.

Cally Russell, founder of Edinburgh-based fashion app Mallzee, launched Lost Stock as a way of raising money for the affected communities. Each purchase supports a family in Bangladesh for one week, through Lost Stock’s partnership with SAJIDA Foundation, and prevents new clothing ending up in landfill.

Russell said: “Launching Lost Stock for Kids is an exciting next step for us. The response since we launched Lost Stock has been truly amazing – we hoped to sell 50,000 boxes by the end of 2020 and sold nearly double that in the first month alone.

“We know that the Covid-19 crisis is deepening amongst garment worker communities in Bangladesh and we hope that by launching Lost Stock for kids we can help many more families and avoid both a humanitarian crisis and an environmental one. Lost Stock allows consumers to get a great deal whilst at the same time helping a family survive this awful tragedy.”

Lost Stock has sold almost 100,000 boxes for adults in the past five weeks and with the launch of Lost Stock for Kids, they hope to be able to support another 100,000 Bangladeshi families next month.

Lost Stock for Kids caters for boys and girls aged 4-14 and includes at least five items that were originally destined for high-street retailers.

SAJIDA Foundation is an NGO partner which works in 26 districts of Bangladesh to promote ‘health, happiness and dignity for all’. A team of 3,700 are providing essential food and hygiene supplies, supplying PPE kits and have installed 475 portable hand washing devices.

Muhymin Chowdhury, head of Challenge Fund & Fundraising for SAJIDA, said,  “Cancelled orders have affected over 1000 factories and the lives of 2.27 million workers and their families. A recent study found that 47% of these workers now have no income – we are working to deliver them basic necessities.

“We are very pleased to partner with Lost Stock whose approach helps redress the unfortunate failures of global brands to practise responsible sourcing. Every Lost Stock box sold will provide a food and hygiene package to support a family for a week.

“Additionally, Lost Stock purchases garment products at a fair price from Bangladeshi factories helping support them longer term.”

Lost Stock is on the Shopify sales platform with the Royal Mail Group as logistics partner, with support from partners including accountancy firm RSM and law firm Brodies.