About the Compression Reuse Service
A pilot project to give pre-owned compression garments a second life — and make compression more affordable for people with lipoedema.
Why this service exists
Compression garments are an essential part of managing lipoedema — but they are expensive, often difficult to access, and frequently go to waste.
Research found that 21–39% of ready-made compression garments prescribed to people with lipoedema were never worn — wasting NHS money and resources, and leaving people without effective treatment (Macintyre et al., 2026).
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At the same time, many people with lipoedema reported struggling to find compression that fits — among those who had stopped wearing compression altogether, 44% cited fit as a reason (Macintyre et al., 2026).
The Compression Reuse Service was created to address both problems: reducing waste and making compression more accessible for the lipoedema community.
Macintyre L, Murden S, Welsh L. Compression for managing the symptoms of Lipoedema – findings of user experience survey. British Journal of Community Nursing. 2026;31(Supp2). Read the paper →
What the service does
The Compression Reuse Service collects donated pre-owned compression garments, has them professionally cleaned and safety-checked, and resells them at reduced prices to people with lipoedema.
Every garment in the shop has been:
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Triaged — inspected against a detailed quality checklist
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Professionally cleaned — laundered and ozone-sanitised by ACS Clothing
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Graded and documented — photographed, described, and listed with full label details
We only list garments that meet our quality standards. Items that don't pass triage are not listed.
Who the service is for
The service is open to anyone with lipoedema who needs compression garments.
You do not need to be a Talk Lipoedema member to [browse the shop].
If you have compression garments sitting unused at home, you can also [donate them].
Helping someone else in the community while reducing textile waste.
Who we are
Design HOPES is a collaborative design-led research initiative, comprising five Scottish Universities (University of Strathclyde, University of Dundee, Heriot-Watt University, Abertay University, and the University of Edinburgh), NHS Scotland, the third sector, and design organisations. Design HOPES is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the Future Observatory GTE Hub Programme at the Design Museum [grant number AH/Y00373X/1]. This funding has enabled the service development and background research that showed a solution for compression garment waste was necessary.
Heriot-Watt University's School of Textiles and Design has over 30 years of expertise in medical compression and sustainable textile practices, and has been working with the lipoedema community since 2018 through the AHRC-funded Design HOPES programme. The research team leads on the design and development of this service, including service design, evidence gathering, impact evaluation, and the co-design process with people living with lipoedema. The School of Textiles and Design is based at the Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels, and is internationally recognised for its research into health, wellbeing, and sustainable fashion and textiles.
Our partners
Talk Lipoedema is a registered UK charity providing information and support to people with lipoedema, their families, carers, and professionals. They host the Compression Reuse Service on their platform and connect the service with the lipoedema community.
ACS Clothing is a specialist garment processing company based in Scotland. They handle the cleaning, ozone sanitisation, triage, photography, listing, and fulfilment of all garments in the service. ACS Clothing brings professional-grade garment processing expertise to ensure every item meets a consistent quality standard.
Sustainability
The lipoedema community generates significant compression garment waste — through garments that don't fit, prescriptions that change, and items that are simply unused. Most of this waste ends up in landfill.
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The Compression Reuse Service takes a circular economy approach: keeping garments in use for longer, reducing the environmental impact of compression garment waste, and lowering the cost of access for people who need them most.
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ACS Clothing's ozone sanitisation process uses no harsh chemicals and leaves no residue — the ozone decomposes back to oxygen after treatment, making it a more sustainable cleaning method than conventional laundering alone.
​Where the money goes
We want to be fully transparent about how this service works financially.
The price of each garment covers the cost of:
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Free postage for donations (via Royal Mail)
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Professional cleaning and ozone sanitisation
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Triage, inspection, and photography
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Listing and platform costs
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Packaging and postage to the buyer
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Customer service
After these operational costs are recovered by ACS Clothing, 100% of the remaining profit goes directly to Talk Lipoedema to support its charitable work for the lipoedema community.
This is a pilot
The Compression Reuse Service is currently in a pilot phase — while we evaluate its popularity and whether it can run without making a loss, as handling and sanitisation costs are high.
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We are testing whether this service is feasible, safe, and valued by the lipoedema community. Your experience as a buyer or donor — and your feedback — directly shapes the future of the service.
We will share what we learn openly, including data on garments received, listed, sold, and the environmental impact of the pilot.