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The new identity launches as Crisis marks this year’s Secondhand September with UNSOLD. RETOLD., a creative collaboration bringing together 12 independent makers and designers to transform unsold donated garments into one-of-a-kind fashion pieces. Giving clothing a new chapter, the initiative sees garments that might otherwise have gone to textile recycling reimagined, reconstructed and brought back to life.

For UNSOLD. RETOLD., the 12 makers were invited into Crisis’ Canning Town warehouse to select unsold donated garments and were given a simple brief: give them a new life.

The result is a series of limited collections in which existing garments have been cut, reconstructed, woven, embellished, printed, painted and transformed into completely new, limited edition pieces. The collections go on sale in 16 Crisis stores across London and online, with 50 percent of sales going towards Crisis’ work to end homelessness and 50 percent to the maker.

Dalziel & Pow partnered with Crisis to create a distinctive identity for the ongoing maker collaboration programme ‘Create for Crisis’ and to bring UNSOLD. RETOLD. to life in-store. With the campaign launching just days ahead of London Fashion Week, the brief was to create something with enough personality, energy and attitude to stand alongside the work of the makers themselves.

The result is bold, playful and proudly handmade. Dalziel & Pow has given Create for Crisis a confident new identity, rooted in the spirit of making, creativity and collaboration – designed to feel as individual as the people and pieces behind it.

The new logo brings together two core elements. The first element, the ‘Create for’ lettering, was lino cut and printed by Dalziel & Pow using traditional techniques, reflecting the craft, time and human touch at the heart of the initiative. Alongside it, the original Crisis logo has been playfully reworked, with a strip sliced from the top of its square and lifted away, creating the impression of a pair of scissors at work. Together, the elements give the identity a distinctly handmade feel, celebrating the creativity and craft behind Create for Crisis.

To complement the new identity, Dalziel & Pow created a trio of graphic symbols: a cluster of pins, a sustainability symbol wrapped around a button, and a pair of scissors. Each was lino printed by hand, bringing a tactile, human quality to the system while representing the ideas at the heart of Create for Crisis – craft, creativity, sustainability, collaboration and joy.

The symbols feature across a suite of in-store assets, from window displays and rail boards to swing tags, creating a cohesive campaign presence throughout the stores. All are brought together under the campaign headline: ‘UNSOLD. RETOLD.’.

Within Crisis stores, each participating maker has been given a dedicated space, marked out with a suite of campaign assets designed to celebrate both the collective spirit of UNSOLD. RETOLD. and the individuality of the people behind it.

Because no two makers – or their creative approaches – are alike, neither are their retail stories. Dalziel & Pow created 24 bespoke pieces of in-store storytelling, two for each of the 12 participating makers and designers, drawing directly from their individual personalities, creative practices and work. Together, they create a cohesive campaign presence across the stores, while giving each maker the space to bring their own creative identity to the fore.

The 12-strong collective spans fashion, textiles, knitwear, weaving, reconstruction and upcycling. It includes Marie Lueder, founder of London fashion label LUEDER, who recently created a custom look for RM of BTS for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final halftime show (Elephant & Castle); Hadiyah Hussain (Walthamstow); Olli Hull (Camden and Streatham);The Marcon Court Project (Peckham); Planet Soph (Hackney and Kilburn); Owen Edward Snaith (Finsbury Park);Grandpa’s Shirts (Islington); Kabo Clothing (Brick Lane); Ashley Jess Knight (Camberwell); Green Ancestors(Ealing and Putney); Sean Marsh (Muswell Hill); and Cheshe (Dalston and Archway).

Molly Goldby, Designer, Branding & Communications at Dalziel & Pow, said: “It’s always a joy working with Crisis and this was no different. To mirror the craft of ‘UNSOLD. RETOLD.’, we gave the campaign an organic, handmade style and lino cut the Create for Crisis logo. Incorporating the designers’ sketches and annotations enriched the final result, making this a collaborative, experimental, and joyful project.”

Liz Choonara, Executive Director of Commerce and Enterprise at Crisis, said: “Dalziel & Pow have developed a bold new identity for Create for Crisis and brought UNSOLD. RETOLD. to life in a way that celebrates the individuality at the heart of the project – creating a cohesive campaign that still gives each maker’s own creative identity space to shine. Dalziel & Pow’s work on Create for Crisis and UNSOLD. RETOLD. builds on its ongoing creative relationship with Crisis, including last year’s Pop-Up Crisis on Savile Row and the Crisis Dropshop retail concept.

Together, the new identity and campaign give unsold clothing a new story, independent makers a platform and Create for Crisis a bold new presence in-store.”

To see the full Create for Crisis collections visit: https://shopfromcrisis.org.uk/collections/create-for-crisis

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AO has surpassed the impressive milestone of 10 million household appliances processed at its state-of-the-art recycling plant.

If all the appliances recycled at the facility were laid end-to-end, it is estimated that they would stretch around 11,000km – roughly the distance from AO’s recycling facility in Telford, Shropshire, to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

To mark the occasion, AO wrapped the 10 millionth appliance to pass through the site – a washing machine – in gold.

The Bolton-headquartered company is the only UK electrical retailer to wholly own its own recycling plant, which has been operational since 2016.

Every year, around half a million fridges are ‘fed’ to AO’s 80-tonne fridge crushing machine Bertha. More than 500,000 washing machines, tumble dryers and cookers also pass through the site annually – these are recycled or skilfully refurbished on site, with large quantities going on to be sold via trade and outlet shops as part of AO’s commitment to reuse and repurpose.

Robert Sant, group recycling director at AO, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have processed 10 million appliances in a decade.

It’s been amazing to watch our operation grow over the past ten years and this feels like a really significant milestone.”

Output from Bertha makes its way to AO’s nearby plastics recycling and refining facility, which uses state-of-the-art electrostatic and sink-float technology to separate and sort around 10,000 tonnes of fridge plastic annually.

Having invested £2 million into an extruder last year, AO is able to produce high-quality HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) and ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) pellets, which can be used to make a wide range of new products.

Plastic processed at the site is currently turned into bathroom extractor fans, sold under well-known brands, including Manrose and Vent-Axia. There are also plans to expand into new areas such as floorcare and broadband products in the future.

Robert added: “Investing millions of pounds in an extruder last year marked another big step forward in our circular capabilities, as it allows us to create more substantial, longer-lasting products.

Our ‘North Star’, as it were, is still to take plastic from an old fridge, process it and feed it into a new one. We’re still not quite there yet but that goal gets closer all the time.”

AO customers can add the Remove & Recycle service at checkout when buying a new appliance; this is included at no extra cost for AO Members.

For anyone not buying a new appliance, AO’s standalone Collect & Recycle service also lets customers book a collection of their old appliance on its own, from just £30.

To see how the process works, you can watch a short video called ‘Recycling the AO Way here.

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The new vans will be deployed within the M25 and across the UK and will take DPD UK’s EV fleet to over 4,000 in total.

The first vehicles will enter service in September, with all of the vans scheduled to be operational by the end of October, helping to deliver what is expected to be a record-breaking peak Christmas period for DPD.

The investment is part of DPD’s ongoing aim to be the UK’s leader in sustainable delivery. In 2025 DPD delivered over 85 million parcels on electric vehicles including a predominantly diesel-free final mile service within the North and South Circular in London. Other initiatives include DPD’s involvement in the high-speed, West Coast Main Line low carbon rail logistics trial with Go-Express.

Olly Craughan, Head of Sustainability DPD UK, commented, “Large panel vans are the workhorse of our final mile operation so the new eSprinters will give us the capability we need to support far more lower emission deliveries over a wider area. Our EV fleet currently operates in more than 7,300 postcodes across the UK, largely focused on inner city locations where we are able to increase the benefits of operating electric vehicles through a decrease in air pollution. The eSprinters can carry the same payload as the equivalent 3.5t Diesel while the new battery technology and improved range mean more of our depots can start deploying larger EVs further afield.

We started this journey in 2018 with the UK’s first all-electric parcel delivery depot and the feedback from our EV drivers and our customers continues to be overwhelmingly positive. The advances in both the vehicle technology and the UK’s charging infrastructure have helped with the wider roll out and ensuring we stay on course to meet our carbon reduction target.”

As part of the deal, the new vans will be supported by Mercedes-Benz CompleteCare repair and maintenance support to maximise uptime and keep deliveries moving.

Iain Forsyth, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Vans UK, said: “In a fast-moving business landscape, it’s becoming increasingly vital for businesses like DPD operating at scale, to need partnerships that ensure vans remain operational to meet customer demands. DPD deliver seven days a week, 52 weeks a year so it feels good to have their backs and really deliver for them.”

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BREEAM In-Use is the internationally recognised green building certification for operational property and is widely adopted across the real estate sector.

Cribbs’ achievement follows a comprehensive programme of sustainability optimisation across all operations and assets, reflecting its proactive approach to identifying and implementing best-in-class environmental practices, from energy efficiency and resource management to enhancing tenant and customer interactions.

A key contributor to securing the certification is Cribbs’ People, Planet, Purpose campaign which showcases to shoppers and tenants how it is taking steps to encourage greater energy efficiency across the site.

This has resulted in Cribbs achieving ISO50001 certification highlighting continued commitment to improving energy management, installing LED lighting across 98 percent of the site, investing in a solar thermal domestic hot water system powering hot water taps across toilet blocks, replacing its inefficient plant with modern heating/cooling and fresh air systems. Meanwhile, Cribbs has introduced a robotic cleaning machine which uses 35% less water than traditional cleaning methods.

The BREEAM certification also follows wider investment by Cribbs including £300,000 in pedestrian and cycle pathway extensions, installing more electric vehicle charging points, and collaborating with local travel networks offering subsidised rates for employees to encourage more green travel.

Cribbs has also developed a strong recycling and waste procedure which is constantly evolving. Over the past year the team have introduced a tenant waste and recycling strategy, reinstating a recycling coffee grinds initiative for shoppers to collect unwanted coffee grinds for their gardens, and regularly recycling unused uniforms from centre staff.

Meanwhile, Cribbs has undertaken a full biodiversity and ecology management plans which has led to the development of a wildflower garden and the introduction of native beehives to improve biodiversity across the estate.

Alongside the sustainability improvements Cribbs has continued to increase its commitment to the local community which includes its sustainable and accessible free events calendar, investment in first aid, mental health, and dementia and autism awareness training for its guest services team, refurbishing its accessibility unit, and introducing care packages and new sanitary bins across male toilets as part of the Boys Need Bins campaign.

Cribbs’ BREEAM achievement marks a key milestone in its sustainability and wider ESG journey, and the retail destination is working closely with its Sovereign Centros from CBRE asset management team and its partners at Savills to look at more ways to reduce energy consumption and improve waste management, including the installation of solar panels across the centre and new ideas to encourage tenant and community sustainability initiatives.

Katie Searle, Director, Asset Management, at Sovereign Centros from CBRE, said: “We are delighted to have become one of only a few UK retail destinations to have a BREEAM Excellent certification. The award highlights all the hard work the team have undertaken over the past few years as we strive to become one of the most sustainability-friendly destinations in the country.

Becoming BREEAM certified is one of the key steps on this journey and we are looking forward to working closely with our partners at Savills, tenants and the local community to implement new ideas to not only support our ESG goals, but also those of our retailers and the wider community.”

Sovereign Centros from CBRE provide full asset management services across Cribbs on behalf of M&G Real Estate, while Time Retail Partners and Cushman & Wakefield are retained letting agents for the centre, with Green & Partners retained in the leasing advisory role.

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By Inge Bujakiewicz-Baars, Head of Sustainability at ReBound Returns

This summer, sustainable fashion shared the spotlight with villa drama thanks to eBay’s partnership with Love Island, which put pre-loved clothing at the heart of one of the UK’s biggest television programmes. The partnership appeared to influence viewers too, with around a third of Love Island fans* saying the show made them more likely to buy pre-loved fashion. It’s not the only example of circular fashion taking centre stage on screen. Prime Video’s RE/style, a six-part design competition hosted by Emma Willis, challenges eight European designers to create runway looks using only second-hand clothing.

Together, these programmes suggest that circular fashion is becoming part of mainstream entertainment rather than a niche sustainability conversation. The question is whether this could be the summer that buying pre-loved becomes a more established consumer habit.

The rise of ‘sustainable girl summer’

Summer clothing is often among the most short-lived purchases in a wardrobe. Holiday outfits, festival looks and occasionwear are frequently bought for a single event before being forgotten, while social media continues to reinforce the idea that every occasion requires something new. By presenting pre-loved fashion as desirable rather than second best, Love Island has helped challenge those habits.

Turning interest into everyday behaviour

Creating interest is only the first step. The bigger challenge for retailers is converting growing consumer appetite for resale into services that are convenient enough for customers to use repeatedly.

A relationship with a customer does not need to end at the point of purchase. Branded resale, trade-in programmes, repair services, take-back schemes and rental all extend the life of products while helping retailers recover more value from existing inventory. They also provide greater visibility into how products perform throughout their lifecycle, offering valuable insight into durability, demand and customer behaviour.

The commercial case for these services is becoming stronger as regulation accelerates the shift towards circular retail. The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) introduces new expectations around product durability, repairability, resource efficiency and the management of unsold goods. While implementation will develop over time, the direction of travel is clear: retailers will face increasing scrutiny over how products remain in use for longer and how value is recovered beyond the first sale.

Offering circular services, however, is only one part of the challenge. Consumers are unlikely to embrace resale, repair or take-back schemes if they are slower or more complicated than buying new. Retailers therefore need the operational infrastructure to support them, from reliable reverse logistics and consistent product grading to efficient repair networks and straightforward digital journeys that make participating in circular services simple.

Building on the trend

With TV shows increasing interest in pre-loved fashion, we are seeing how circular fashion can capture mainstream attention when it is presented in ways consumers genuinely want to engage with. For retailers, the opportunity now is to turn that cultural momentum into practical systems that make resale, repair and take-back part of everyday shopping. Those that make circular participation as easy as buying new will be better placed to keep products in use for longer while meeting changing consumer expectations and regulatory requirements.

Image courtesy of iStock. Supplied by ReBound Returns. 

*Data based on anecdotal feedback from Love Island superfans across Reddit forums and Facebook groups. One fan highlighted Jasmine’s outfit rewearing, while more than a third said they were more open to buying pre-loved clothing after seeing Islanders’ style.

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Throughout the partnership, surplus food from more than 1,000 Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores has reached over 165,000 households across the UK via Olio’s Food Waste Hero programme.

The achievement has been made possible by over 45,000 Olio volunteers, known as Food Waste Heroes, who collect surplus food from stores and redistribute it within their local communities.

The milestone comes as Iceland and Olio also celebrate one year of helping shoppers access discounted groceries through Iceland’s national reduced food initiative, launched in partnership with Gander.

Following successful trials in Bristol and London, Iceland’s yellow sticker reductions were made available to view through the Olio app, alerting its 5 million UK users to discounted groceries at their local store.

Since launch, more than 47 million Iceland reduced food listings have been added to the Olio app, with each listing receiving an average of 23 unique impressions. The initiative has helped shoppers stretch their grocery budgets while supporting efforts to reduce food waste.

Stuart Lendrum, Director of Product, Process and Sustainability at Iceland Foods, said: “Reaching 10 million meals redistributed with Olio is a fantastic milestone and demonstrates the impact that can be achieved when businesses and communities work together to make sure good food is eaten, not wasted.

We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved through this partnership over the past four years, helping surplus food reach local households while supporting our commitment to doing the right thing for customers, communities and the planet.”

Saasha Celestial-One, COO and Co-founder of Olio, said: “It’s incredible to see that, through Iceland’s commitment to reducing food waste and the dedication of 45,000 Food Waste Heroes, we’ve been able to share 10 million meals with local households, instead of that food going to waste.

Retailers have a crucial role to play in building a more sustainable food system, and we’re proud to partner with organisations like Iceland that are leading the way. Together, we’ve shown how technology and community action can deliver real impact for people and the planet. Here’s to the next 10 million meals.”

Customers can download the Olio app to find free and discounted items at local Iceland stores and receive alerts about fresh reductions in their area.

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The exhibition reflects Grand Arcade’s ongoing commitment to curating memorable visitor experiences that prioritise environmental responsibility and interactive learning opportunities for shoppers. Partnering with the University Museum of Zoology, which Grand Arcade collaborated with back in 2024 to create ‘Grand Safari’, the exhibition will also offer free educational activities for children and families to promote marine conservation, alongside talks from renowned zoologists at the University of Cambridge, redefining the exhibition experience through interactive, educational storytelling.

Grand Depths is prioritising sustainable practices and bespoke artistry throughout the exhibition. All paper sourced for Grand Depths is FSC-certified, meaning that it has been procured from ethical and responsibly managed forests. To create the installations, six artists have devoted over 800 hours of craftmanship to the project, using techniques such as paper and cut, origami, and low poly to mirror the movement of ocean wildlife and to draw attention to the fragility of our marine ecosystems.

Areas of the exhibition include the central piece, Ocean in Motion, which will consist of 500 handmade origami fish made of 100% recycled paper to transform the atrium of Grand Arcade into an underwater experience, along with coral reefs, suspended jelly fish, sea horses, a large-scale octopus, and a shark.

Julie Kervadec, Marketing Manager at Grand Arcade said: “At Grand Arcade, we are committed to creating innovative visitor experiences that continue to redefine what is possible in the retail sector. We are delighted to be curating this installation with our returning partners at the University Museum of Zoology to take visitors on an inspirational learning journey throughout the shopping centre and over to the Museum just a stone’s throw away.

Grand Depths not only celebrates the beauty and importance of our oceans while highlighting the urgent need to protect them but also reflects our dedication to sustainability at every stage of the exhibition process. From the materials selected to the practices employed throughout its development, we want to demonstrate that world-class retail and experiential marketing can be both environmentally responsible and commercially impactful. We are beyond excited to launch our latest exhibition on the 18^th of July.”

Professor Mark Brown, Director of the University Museum of Zoology said: “Now more than ever, it is vital that we protect the health of our oceans and the incredible biodiversity they support. Retail has an important role to play in driving environmental awareness and demonstrating how sustainability can be embedded into everyday experiences. Through this captivating exhibition, we hope to inspire visitors to connect with the natural world, understand the importance of marine conservation, and recognise that collective action is essential to preserving these extraordinary environments for future generations.”

To find out more about Grand Depths, visit: https://www.grandarcade.co.uk/events/grand-depths/

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Supermarket clothing is emerging as one of the biggest winners of the cost-of-living era, with new research revealing that consumers trust grocery retailers more than traditional clothing brands when it comes to ethics, sustainability and value.

38 percent of UK shoppers are buying more clothing from supermarkets than they were two years ago, compared with just 18 percent who are buying less. A huge 81 percent said that they think supermarket brands are more acceptable and stylish and almost two thirds (63 percent) have a more positive perception of supermarket ranges than they used to.

The new consumer research from product intelligence business, Vypr, is timely as summer is the most popular supermarket clothing season with shoppers. 59 percent said supermarkets offer their best clothing collections then. More than half (56 percent) buy the most for summer holidays, compared with 25 percent who buy most at Christmas.

Despite its low prices, supermarket clothing appears to have avoided the fast-fashion stigma associated with many clothing retailers.

While 38 percent of consumers have actively avoided a retailer due to ethical worries, only 8 percent express strong ethical concerns about supermarket clothing specifically

More than a third (35 percent) of consumers have stopped shopping with retailers due to sustainability issues, compared with just 6 percent who have strong concerns about supermarket fashion ranges.

Ben Davies, founder of Vypr, said: “Despite high profile scrutiny of fashion supply chains, supermarket clothing appears to benefit from long-standing brand trust, with shoppers viewing it as a practical, good-value alternative rather than part of the disposable fashion problem.

Quality perceptions have also shifted with 63 percent having improved opinions. Of those, 33 percent say supermarket clothing has improved in quality, while 19 percent say it has become more stylish. As a result, stigma around supermarket fashion has all but disappeared as 41 percent of shoppers say they are proud of their purchases, and a further 40 percent would openly say their outfit came from a supermarket.”

Value remains the dominant driver. 80 percent of shoppers say price matters more than brand, with more than a third (36 percent) saying it matters much more. Convenience is also a major factor, with 76 percent prioritising ease over brand name.

This combination has helped supermarkets grow share: 45 percent of shoppers now buy the same amount of supermarket clothing as two years ago, 38 percent buy more, and only 9 percent buy less, showing the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on clothing.

Sainsbury’s leads the category, with 34 percent naming Tu as their favourite supermarket fashion range, followed by F&F (32 percent) and George (25 percent). Sainsbury’s is also the retailer shoppers trust most to launch a designer collaboration, with 42 percent selecting it, ahead of Tesco (31 percent) and Asda (19 percent).

Image courtesy of Unsplash. Photo credit: charlesdeluvio.

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Westfield Stratford City has partnered with Shelter to launch ‘Reloved Market’, a four-day retail activation designed to demonstrate how physical retail can drive both commercial performance and social impact during key seasonal moments.

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