The Clothing Crisis We Exported

In October 2024, McAdam flew to Ghana to visit Kantamanto Market in Accra, one of the world’s largest secondhand clothing markets and a destination for much of the West’s discarded fashion. What she found stopped her cold. “I visited Kantamanto in October 2024. Loom already existed as a website, but seeing the beaches covered in clothes, no sand in sight, was devastating. I’d seen photos online, but nothing prepares you for the scale,” she told me over the phone.

The United Kingdom consumes more clothes per head than any other country in Europe. In 2021 alone, 711,000 tons of used textiles were thrown into household bins or dropped at recycling centres, the equivalent of nearly 30,000 shipping containers of cast-off fashion. 84% of that material was incinerated and 11% sent to landfill and what doesn’t stay in Britain often ends up somewhere far worse. For example, the city of Accra in Ghana can collect and process only 30 of the 100 tonnes that leave the market as waste each day and the remaining 70 tonnes are dumped in open drains, lagoons, wetlands, and coastal areas.

McAdam calls it what it is: waste colonialism. “UK brands are fueling this crisis. Most of what ends up in Kantamanto isn’t damaged but is unsold stock. Loom offers a local solution by helping brands upcycle unsold stock into exclusive new pieces, with impact data that supports ESG goals. For individuals, we're helping people see the value in what they already own.”

How the Clothing Transformation Works

Back in Britain, the app operates as a kind of creative matchmaking service, a marketplace where sentiment meets craft. Customers upload photographs of a garment, describe what they have in mind with optional reference images, set a budget, and wait for designers to pitch their proposals. From there, the two parties collaborate through Loom's in-app chat to refine the vision before agreeing on a final quote. Once a project is confirmed, the item is sent to the designer by post or in person for fittings, and progress updates follow throughout the transformation. The customer confirms satisfaction via the app before final payment is released.

Simple alterations start from £50 ($67), with most projects turning around in one to two weeks. Loom has recently introduced “Quick Projects,” which are curated fixed-price categories for its most popular services including dyeing, alterations, and wedding dress transformations, designed to remove the guesswork for first-timers. The platform now works with over 100 designers across the UK, matched to customers using AI and machine learning based on style and location.

Accessibility is central to the pitch. "You don’t need design experience," McAdam says. "We suggest ideas, guide you through the app and support you at every step. Think of us as your personal stylist." There is always a real person available to chat so that your inspiration is coming from a real person and not a robot.

Why Clothing Should Be Redesigned, Not Discarded

The emotional dimension of what Loom does is, in many ways, its most radical feature. Other platforms encourage you to sell or donate, but Loom encourages you to reimagine and to stay attached.

"We don’t push people to let go," McAdam explains. “If you’re sentimental about something, we don’t want to force the issue but we present. with the options and when you’re ready you have the comfort of knowing you and your clothing are in safe hands.”

That reassurance matters. Amber Bartlett-Gee knew before she even bought her wedding dress that she wanted to transform it afterwards, but still felt the pang when the moment came to pack it up and send it off. It came back as a tie-dyed jacket and a cropped top. "It’s a special item to me, and wearing it makes me feel like I'm bringing a bit of the confidence and love I felt on my wedding day into other situations." Another customer, Latifa, describes the experience as "super smooth, super seamless, super fun," praising the team's care and the respect shown for her individual style.

Bridal is, deliberately, one of Loom's flagship categories. "It really helps people understand what we do," says McAdam. "We take a highly valuable and sentimental dress and dye it, alter it, or completely redesign it." One recent bride had hers transformed into a zebra-print bag.

Language, McAdam has also learned, matters enormously. "Sustainability puts our customers off. Upcycling puts our customers off. Language is so important, so we say redesign instead." The environmental benefit is real and the mission is genuine, but she has found that leading with it is counterproductive.

It is a tension she arrived at the hard way. Before Loom, McAdam spent years in fashion, from the luxury end at Burberry to the discount rails at TK Maxx, and found the same frustration at both: a lack of meaningful impact. At Burberry, sustainability goals moved at a corporate crawl. At TK Maxx, she watched the volume of fast fashion heading toward the bin. "I wanted to take it on my own terms, and find other solutions to move the fashion industry faster."

Her vision for Loom is to make it the global home of redesign: a consumer app, a B2B circular solution for brands with unsold stock, and the largest designer community in the world. She wants transforming clothing to become the default, not the alternative, and to prove that creativity, not guilt, is the most powerful argument for change.