Eco youth group Young Alton Climate Action Network’s second pop-up thrift shop, Back On The Rack 2, was a great success at the Alton Maltings Centre on September 23.

Emma Jones, ACAN’s schools and education lead, said the event was aimed at people aged seven to 20.

She added: “No fewer than 105 ‘thrifters’ came along to the event, which was registered for national Sustainable Fashion Week.

“Some 52kg of clothes went to new homes and an awesome 1,325kg of carbon dioxide emissions was saved compared with buying new clothes.”

People could drop off clothes to swap in advance or on the day, but if they did not have clothes to swap they could still take some off the rails. The items included tops, jumpers, trousers, skirts and dresses.

Visitors could learn about customising and repairing clothes in the Upcycling Zone. A jacket was repaired and a shirt was remodelled to fit the owner who had bought it in a charity shop. Several items of second-hand clothing were upcycled by young people using fabric pens.

There was also a climate café, where visitors could chat with Young ACAN’s ambassadors and take the Fast Fashion Quiz.

Back On The Rack 2 demonstrated Young ACAN’s commitment to tackling the damage caused by fast fashion – cheap, poor, disposable clothing requiring vast amounts of water, energy and chemicals to produce.