Bring along your old bras to collection points to fight breast cancer

Co-op Funeralcare has set up collection points in East Lothian to support the charity Against Breast Cancer.

Lee Rollo Stewart, funeral director, said: “For every tonne we get, we raise £700 which goes to the charity.”

Donations of old bras, sports bra tops and bikini tops can be made at bra banks at all Co-op funeral parlours in East Lothian – Tranent, North Berwick and Prestonpans – and at Hair Couture Ltd on Church Street, Tranent; Hope James Hair on Lodge Street, Haddington; and Newton Port Surgery, Haddington.

Ms Stewart said: “The collection is important as we need to beat this monster of an illness, so this is why we need to help get a cure.

“We started collecting at Christmas and will keep the collection going.”

Margaret Thomson, funeral arranger, at the bra collection point at Co-op Funeralcare in Tranent

The charity said: “Our bra recycling scheme takes your unwanted or unloved bras and, through our network of bra banks, raises vital funds for pioneering breast cancer research.

“Together with our recycling partners, our textile recovery project prevents these bras going into landfill before giving them a new lease of life.

“Successful ventures like this provide employment and an income for people living in the UK.

“Any bras that are genuinely beyond redemption are dismantled and disposed of properly.

“For every tonne of bras collected, Against Breast Cancer receives £700 to fund our research.

“With over 30 million women in the UK, you could really help make a difference.”

A spokesperson for Against Breast Cancer added: “We work with one recycling partner for the bras, Recycling Clothes Company Limited (RCC).

“Once the bras are received in RCC’s warehouse in the UK, they are weighed.

“RCC donates 70p per kilo of bras received.

“All of the weights are sent over to Against Breast Cancer once a month and RCC donates on a monthly basis.”