MADL clothing banks raise over £11,000 for good causes in first year

A sustainability initiative by the Nisa charity Making a Difference Locally (MADL) has raised thousands of pounds for good causes over the last year, while preventing unwanted textiles from going to landfill.

Since their launch to retailers a year ago, MADL clothing banks have raised £11,363 for charities and good causes, with 45 units currently situated outside Nisa stores. May saw the highest monthly figure raised so far, with £2,626 brought in during that month alone.

The clothing banks allow Nisa stores to accumulate additional money into their MADL fund, in turn enabling them to provide further support to their local communities with more frequent or larger donations, whilst also helping to minimise the environmental impact of unwanted clothing and textiles.

MADL clothing banks are available free of charge to Nisa retailers and every clothing and textile donation is either sold, reused, or recycled so no material is wasted. Once clothing banks have been weighed and emptied, funds raised are banked into the store’s MADL account and donated to a local good cause of the store’s choosing.

Nisa Local Ely in Cardiff has had two MADL clothing banks sited outside the store since last June, which have raised £2,275 to date.

Keith Hocking from the store said: “We introduced the clothing banks as we know from past experience that our customers are generous at helping charities. They also demonstrate that we help the community and it increases trust with our customers.

“It has also helped to increase footfall in store as people pop in when they drop off the clothes.Since the clothing bins arrived we have been able to support more great causes within the community as well as providing more regular donations to our existing ones.”