Source: Office of John McNally MP. Attendees at meeting.

Last week, in our capacity as Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion, Fashion Roundtable hosted a jam-packed meeting on regenerating the high street, sponsored by academics from Manchester Metropolitan University and Metropolis.

Prior to this meeting, we had briefed the Chair of the APPG for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion, John McNally MP, which prompted a question to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions. The question centred around the “eat out to help out” scheme which was introduced in August 2020, which in turn increased the demand for eating in restaurants by 216% compared to 2019, and tasked the Prime Minister to consider a similar scheme for ‘bricks and mortar’ retail as part of the wider plan to regenerate local high streets –– ‘bricks vs clicks’, if you will.

The meeting entitled, ‘Building Community Agency Through The Purposeful Use Of Unused Retail Spaces,’ was in direct response to the state of our high streets at a national level. Research conducted by Fashion Roundtable, provided evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, shifts to digital rather than ‘bricks and mortar’ shopping, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis have changed consumer behaviour, alongside record retail closures.

To offer a little more context, in 2021, PWC reported over 17,500 chain stores closed in 2020 alone. More recently, the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) recorded that retail closures affected 34,907 employees in 2022. A consumer survey by PWC suggested that the onus to repair the high street should not fall solely on retail solutions, while CRR suggested that remodelling large obsolete stores to add services such as clothing repair, cafes and concessions could provide a solution.

Finally, the PWC survey showed that 44% of participants would prefer a focus on experiencing and exploring [a brand] rather than the only option being to purchase. Seemingly, this opens a discussion on the importance of experience, connection and community to rehabilitate the high street and locality, whilst stimulating local business. Also showcasing a clear opportunity to align investment to deliver town centres that reclaim maximum impact with hyper-locality as a key focus.

Source: Office of John McNally MP. Julia Roebuck speaking.

The event attracted speakers from across the country to share in detail about the opportunities and barriers to utilising vacant spaces in this way. Liz Twist MP (Labour Party), shared her concerns on the loss of the physical presence of retail on the high street and its impact on jobs in her constituency of Blaydon. Liz Twist called for a reform of business rates to take businesses out of their current ‘survival mode’.

While Maria Chenoweth, CEO of Traid and co-founder of Charity Super.Mkt weighed in on the benefits of utilising the vacant Topshop building in Brent Cross, where in just 6 weeks they sold 40,000 items and raised over £370,000. As a retailer with purpose in 12 weeks they have raised just under £600,000 and diverted 17 tonnes of clothes from landfill, while enabling many charities such as Havens Hospices to offer patients 1,000 hours of specialist end of life care, within their own homes, amongst helping many others in the process.

Source: Office of John McNally MP. Left: Kemi Gbadebo, Right: Alison Carlin.

Alison Carlin, founder of Manchester Fashion Movement was also among speakers who had started the community interest company to empower, connect and engage people in a movement that sees communities around Greater Manchester better understand the benefits of approaching fashion with a more sustainable outlook whilst helping them recognise the real impact of the fashion industry and the important role we play as individuals.

One of the brands utilising the space was luxury, sustainable, streetwear brand, Gbadebo –– who specialise in reworking donated, damaged or unwanted textiles and transforming them into new, 90's-inspired streetwear pieces. Founder, Kemi Gbadebo said:

“Having worked with all levels of companies from grassroots like Manchester Fashion Movement to The North Face, Adidas and luxury retail like Flannels in the next couple months, it’s clear that on all levels companies are seeing the benefits of bringing in creatives and small businesses to bridge the gap and reimagine retail spaces on the high-street to provide engaging point of sale experiences for consumers.”

Source: Office of John McNally MP. Fashion Roundtable CEO Tamara Cincik.

To end the session, Julia Roebuck from Thread Republic, a Mend Assembly affiliate based in Huddersfield said:

"It has been so inspiring to learn more about the innovative projects being developed and delivered by third-sector fashion and textile organisations around the UK. These organisations, and many more like them, are perfectly placed to explore new models of fashion and textile experiences on the high street that have sustainability at their core, providing many answers to the question of ‘what next’ for our town centres.

“Whether it's providing new and exciting opportunities for citizens to source pre-loved clothing and textiles, supporting talented makers and independent clothing brands, learning new skills or enabling circularity, all of the innovations we heard about today lead to empowered communities, improved social cohesion and increased footfall on the high street"

Of the event, Manchester Met academic Professor Fiona Hackney commented:

"Shared concerns about the urgent need to change unsustainable fashion behaviours combined with the fear that we are fast losing our high streets ensured that this was a well-attended and stimulating event. MPs, fashion activists, brands, and agencies – many from Fashion Roundtable’s influential network – reviewed problems and responses, much of it based on hard-won, first-hand experience. The event enabled those working on the ground to re-imagine our fashion and retail system to talk to policy makers and meet other like-minded organisations from across the country.”

As a next step, Fashion Roundtable will be taking this work forward with a full report. You can click through to read the full briefing, as well as a look at John McNally’s question on high-street regeneration at PMQs below.

Click through to read the Briefing in full.

Click through to watch John McNally MP deliver his question at PMQs.

Fashion Roundtable Advises MPs On The Importance Of High-Street Regeneration