Woman rescues over £15,000 worth of designer clothes by bin diving outside luxury student digs

A woman has revealed how she rescued over £15,000 worth of designer clothes by bin diving outside luxury student digs.

Sally Sparks says she was shocked at how many items of expensive clothing were thrown away when students moved out of the rented accommodation.

The 31-year-old found designer items such as Burberry shirts, Gucci shoes and Louis Vuitton earrings abandoned in bin bags outside the apartments.

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Sally, who previously worked at the luxury apartments for two years, set herself a challenge to not buy fast fashion.

She also wanted to only buy second-hand clothes.

In a bid to stick to her goal, she rummaged through the piles of discarded clothes and couldn’t believe what she found.

Sally, of Glasgow, says she has kitted out her wardrobe with £5,000 worth of items that would have been thrown away.

She has donated the majority of the expensive items to charities and homeless shelters.

Sally estimates over £10,000 of designer clothes have been donated.

Although designer items are not her style, she says 30% of her wardrobe includes rescued clothes from the likes of Zara and Brandy Melville.

Other impressive items that Sally has found include a long coat from The Kooples, House of CB bodysuits, Nike trainers and even an Apple Watch.

She also gives them a new home by offering them to friends, and family or listing them on Vinted.

She revealed that she would go dumpster diving at the end of the term when old students would move out.

However, there is only a window of a week before the new students would move in.

According to Sally, some luxury items that have been thrown away were brand new.

Alongside a new wardrobe, she admits she grabbed a number of household items for free – including an iron, dishwasher tablets and laundry pods.

Sally told What’s The Jam: “It makes me so sad to see how much is wasted every year, especially knowing that it happens at every accommodation every single year.

”It’s so wasteful and terrible for the planet.

”It would be good if accommodations could work with more charities and shelters and make the students more aware of where to donate.

”I’ve found so many crazy things from Burberry shirts, Gucci shoes and a The Kooples jacket.

”But for me, the craziest thing is when they put brand new things in the bin, I once found a brand new pair of New Balance trainers in their box in the bin.

” I can’t understand why they don’t donate them when they’re in perfect condition.

”I’ve donated so much of the things I’ve rescued to homeless shelters, local charities, family and friends and to people over Facebook.

“My family and friends were so shocked by how much the students throw out, I think most people would be shocked as it’s not something that’s really shown to the public.

”But they love when I rescue things for them and they’re proud of how hard I try to rescue as much as possible from landfill.”

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