Vulnerable women in Christchurch will benefit from a clothing collaboration between Wardrobe Foundation and women’s charity The Water Lily Project.

Wardrobe Foundation is a new social enterprise, based in Dorset, working to repurpose donated women’s clothing to women in need of clothing support.

It collates donations of items you would typically find in a woman’s wardrobe such as jeans, hoodies, jumpers, skirts, trousers, and coats.

Wardrobe Foundation then curates a capsule wardrobe of foundation pieces presented in beautiful bespoke gift bags.

Eloise Grant, from the social enterprise, said: “Our objective is simple, to work closely with women’s charities and local communities to support women who need clothing.

“There are many women in the UK who are in desperate need of clothing and many women who have a wardrobe full of clothes they no longer need.

“Clothes they do not wear, no longer fit or have fallen out of love with.

“The average garment is worn just ten times.

“We believe we can bridge the gap by supporting women as well as promoting sustainability.

“We hope to move away from the notion that donations should arrive for the women who need them in a black bag (the embodiment of a bag of rubbish).

“The clothes we gift are laundered and beautifully presented in drawstring bags, lovingly handmade using up-cycled fabric.

“Each clothing gift bag contains a minimum of ten items, a lavender heart and an inspirational message.”

Liz Carter, Manager at The Water Lily Project which supports women at risk in the local community, said: “We are so grateful to the Wardrobe Foundation for supplying these wonderful gift bags of clothing for the women we look after.

“Two lockdowns have seen women seeking help from us increase dramatically and often many are going without themselves to support their families.

“These gift bags of clothing will not only be useful for them but also give them a much-needed boost to their self-esteem.

“A fabulous Christmas present for them thanks to the Wardrobe Foundation that will put a smile on their faces.”

Eloise added: “As long as we have the sufficient stock to fulfil the demand, we are happy to donate as many gift bags as needed.

“We think the Water Lily Project do fantastic work and we love to support the project as best we can.”

If you would like to donate clothes to The Wardrobe Foundation or find out how to benefit from their work, please visit wardrobefoundation.co.uk for more information.

The Water Lily Project was founded in 2011 by a group of local Christians.

They identified a need to help women affected by either domestic violence and abuse, addiction, sex trade, financial difficulty or homelessness.

It has been operating out of the Water Lily Cafe in Barrack Road since 2014.

Proceeds from the cafe, which is mainly run by volunteers, go to the charity.

• waterlilyproject.org.uk