Traid, Alterist and OPNY Launch Upcycled T-Shirt Collection to Challenge Throwaway Culture

Each T-shirt is printed on a pre-loved garment, featuring designs by Alterist, and inspired by characters from Our Planet Needs You – a climate-focused storybook illustrated by street artist Kleemu.

Alongside the core designs, students participating in the OPNY school programme have created their own design, placing youth voice at the forefront of the campaign.

Shop the collection

How It Works

Choose your design and place your order online. Once your order is in, we’ll email you to select your blank T-shirt from our available pre-loved options — including black, white, navy and green. For Paradise Lost, we also have a few additional colour options available such as yellow, pink, red and orange.

Your chosen design is then printed onto the pre-loved garment and shipped directly to you.

No new garments are manufactured.
No new fabric is produced.
Existing clothing is simply reworked and recirculated.

According to WRAP’s Textiles 2030 report, upcycling can cut carbon emissions by up to 57% compared to producing new items. Each repurposed T-shirt can save over 7.5kg of CO₂e.

In a culture obsessed with the “new”, this project asks the question: what if the future of fashion is what we already have?

Check Out The Collection

Kids Design

As part of the collection, one of the T-shirt designs was created by children participating in the Our Planet Needs You (OPNY) school programme.

The artwork was selected through a competition run as part of the programme, which encourages young people to think creatively about climate action. The winning design was created by sisters Wow and Chune. 

 Shop the Alterist x Opny x Traid Kids Design T-shirt

Paradies Lost

Shop 'Paradise Lost' Red T-shirt here

Shop 'Paradise Lost' yellow t-shirt here

Earth Not Flat

Shop 'Earth Not Flat' T-shirt here

Keep It Cool

Shop 'Keep It Cool' T-shirt here

Working together is how we influence the next generation to rethink how fashion is made and consumed.

Traid supplies the garments and the infrastructure that have already put more than 240 million items back into use. Alterist provides the creative direction, transforming them through upcycled design. OPNY brings youth mobilisation and cultural momentum.

Together, they demonstrate how circularity can move at the speed of culture.

About Alterist

Alterist is the home of upcycled fashion, bringing together emerging and independent brands on its curated marketplace. Alongside the online platform, they hosts pop-up events, activations and experiences that merge fashion, art, and music to spotlight the creativity behind upcycling.

Through its collaboration programme, Alterist works directly with brands to keep textiles in circulation. By transforming pre-loved, damaged, and surplus materials into limited-edition collections, they help brands divert waste from landfill, meet sustainability targets, and engage customers in creative ways.

www.alterist.com | @alteristmarketplace

About OPNY (Our Planet Needs You)

Our Planet Needs You (OPNY) is a youth-led movement empowering students and communities to take real action for the planet. Combining street art, environmental action, and data-driven learning, the programme inspires measurable change in schools and communities while nurturing the next generation of climate leaders.

Through partnerships with organisations such as Alterist, Traid, Solar for Schools, and Let’s Go Zero, OPNY helps students lead real-world action that reduces waste, carbon emissions, improves local air quality, and builds greener, more connected communities.

www.ourplanetneedsyou.com | @our_planet_needs_you

About Traid

Traid is a charity retailer on a mission to change fashion for the better. In the UK, they collect, curate, and resell second-hand clothes, giving fashion a new lease of life. Globally, they fund good causes that support and empower the people who make our clothes, from organic cotton farmers to garment workers.

Founded in the late 90s, to date, Traid has put over 240 million garments back into use, saving over 655,000 tonnes of CO2 and 111 million m³ of water. Through the charity’s global projects, its funding has supported over 800,000 garment workers and their families, making a meaningful impact on communities around the world.

Traid.org.uk | @Traid