Stray single gloves matched and sold to new owners

Much like socks, gloves have the tendency to lose their other halves. In the spirit of 'waste not, want not', environmental group Green Thing has launched a venture that pairs up single gloves and sells them to new owners. Matched by size but not colour, Glove Love offers unique pairs for £5. Single gloves are washed, repaired and (re)paired by Green Thing, which also adds recycled labels, name tags and letters of introduction.

Last winter's strays were harvested from lost and found boxes through donations from The Natural History Museum, Transport For London and other organisations, and Green Thing is asking people to send in unpartnered gloves to keep its online store stocked. Profits go to Green Thing Trust, which is a registered charity.

As Green Thing points out, each sale keeps single gloves out of landfills and avoids manufacturing a new pair. It's a fun and practical approach to sustainability, and one that Green Thing hopes will be copied by people in other parts of the world. Not just for gloves, but for "all sorts of single things that can be put together in new, creative and aesthetic ways".