Climate Challenge Fund Report 2015-2016
R:evolve Recycle Our focus R:evolve Recycle was set up by South Lanarkshire older persons charity LEAP. Our aim is to get people to think differently about their textile consumption, whilst utilising the skills of older people to bring back a make do and mend culture. Our ambition is to see swapping and sharing become a natural part of every high street in South Lanarkshire by bringing together local people to share our abundant resources, skills, time and experiences. Our plan is to create a movement where local communities are educated about the effects textiles have on the planet whilst together finding creative solutions to a shared problem. You can begin to see why we need to make a change! 2600 gallons of water to produce, manufacture & transport one pair of jeans 350,000 tonnes of clothes ending up in UK landfill each year. In the UK the average household has 4,000 of clothes, 30% of which have been unworn for at least a year, however each household also spends an 1,700 per year on buying new clothes. 2 R:evolve Recycle Climate Challenge Fund Report
Number of shops 2 Number of direct participants 1058 Number of indirect participants 2240 Volunteers 48 Training sessions 136 Gained Qualifications 11 Events 10 Employed 3 Car journey miles saved Schools 25,605 6 Facebook followers 906 Twitter followers 337 Total C02e savings 501 tonnes Total waste savings 19 tonnes Statistics up to 21st March 2016 Climate Challenge Fund Report R:evolve Recycle 3
R:evolve Recycle Demographics Cambuslang and Rutherglen has a resident population of 58,583 and contains twenty data zones in the worst 20% and five in the worst 5%, including Lanarkshire s most deprived data zone (Whitlawburn North). Statistics show that 1 in 5 children in Rutherglen lives in poverty whilst Rutherglen Main Street is one of the worst polluted streets in Scotland. In addition, a recent report showed that 1/3 of all reported crimes in South Lanarkshire take place in Rutherglen and Cambuslang. R:evolve members 46% 33% Cambuslang Rutherglen 4 R:evolve Recycle Climate Challenge Fund Report
Average annual spend locally on clothing 923 Plus or minus UK average spend -23% Weight of average item of clothing 0.3kg Percentage of annual income on clothes 3.59% Average items bought per family household 95 Average items bought per older person household 38 Average items bought per non dependent household 56 R:evolve members age stats and income 41% 35% 34% 33% 19% 21% 25% Under 16 Age 14-49 Age 50+ Other Under 12k 13-24k 24+ Climate Challenge Fund Report R:evolve Recycle 5
R:evolve Recycle Swap Shops Outcome: Increase local neighbourhood services and initiatives to help local people to reduce waste by 50 tonnes and C02e by 1645 tonnes by reducing their consumer habits and textile consumption. Swap Shop Boutiques Our boutiques in Cambuslang and Rutherglen offer people a chance to trade in their unwanted clothing for something more relevant, completely free of charge using a points-based system. Both shops are beautifully decorated with found and upcycled items to give that west end shopping experience without the price tag in order to break down barriers and show that second hand doesn t mean second best. Learning & Reflection Gathering baseline data and regularly analysing it helped us with all aspects of the project. For instance we quickly realised that the average weight per item locally is 0.3kg which significantly affected our carbon calculations. We adopted a simple approach to our points-based system with a 1,2,3 and 6 points range to make it transparent for customers and volunteers. We offer 5 free points as an incentive to become a member, which means customers can take something away on their first visit, and feel obliged to empty their wardrobe! We put a limit on the number of points someone can accumulate. This meant that people got into the habit of using up their points before bringing more clothes. With two high street shops available locally we found that our pop up shops in local community centres were not as popular so took them to community events and gatherings instead. We did a lot of research into the best waste collection agency to use for our overstock. We use Nathan s Waste Recycle to ensure that 100% of the items we receive do not end up in landfill. 6 R:evolve Recycle Climate Challenge Fund Report
Average new members per week 28 Clothes in Clothes out 6.54 tonnes 5.21tonnes Percentage reused 80% Swapping encounters 3015 Average swaps per week 79 No. Community Swap events 9 % Clothes to waste recycling company 23% (1.18 tonnes) % Clothes to referal agencies and charities 6% (296kg) Customers swapped once 31% Customers swapped 2-4 times 39% Customers swapped 5-10 times 11% Customers swapped 10+ times 7% C02e savings 276 tonnes June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar* Total Members 124 140 141 131 80 138 38 32 186 48 1058 Clothes in (kg) Clothes out (kg) 413 610 513 669 759 986 480 344 1001 772 6577 80 500 285 471 400 590 470 256 1594 528 5174 *up to 21st March 2016 Climate Challenge Fund Report R:evolve Recycle 7
R:evolve Recycle Workshops Outcome: Increase the skills and understanding of 3000 local people to enable them to reduce their wasteful habits by becoming better informed about CO2 and waste. Skill sharing workshops We run regular weekly textile workshops designed and facilitated by our talented volunteers for local people who wish to learn skills in mending, altering or upcycling their clothes. Number of workshops 93 Learners 78 Materials upcycled Materials donated Environmental education talks and presentations 5 CO2e savings 7kg 104kg 9 tonnes Learning & Reflection We made sure we picked the very best volunteers available to us who had the skills and ability to deign and deliver our workshops. We have offered a range of structured textile craft workshops and free style workshops where people bring in their own item to mend or up-cycle, which has been very popular. 8 R:evolve Recycle Climate Challenge Fund Report
I ve learned to sew and how much damage buying new clothes can do to the planet. P.5 Hallside Primary Climate Challenge Fund Report R:evolve Recycle 9
R:evolve Recycle Schools Programme Outcome: Local people will work together to share and learn new skills across the generations, establishing a lasting legacy of life-long skills and understanding that will increase their carbon awareness, and resourcefulness whilst reducing waste. Schools Education Programme: Our inter generational schools programme is a platform for older people and children to come together and learn textile skills such as sewing and mending and utilising old materials. We also taught children about the effects of textiles on the environment and helped them to calculate their carbon footprint. Schools 4 Workshops 33 Pupils 189 Materials upcycled 84kg C02 savings 216 Initially we had said we would work within 6 schools however schools prefered us to work with all pupils within the year group rather than one class. This meant our plans had to be tweaked to accomodate this. We were not afraid to get the children to calculate their carbon footprint and designed a simple activity which allowed them to see the extent of the impact our clothes have on the environment in a fun and engaging way. We continuously reminded children about our environmental message throughout our six week workshops by incorporating quizzes, games and activities to ensure learning outcomes were met and information retained. 10 R:evolve Recycle Climate Challenge Fund Report
working across generations Evaluation results (115 completed) 37% Learned how to sew 60% 18% Understood the importance of recycling Learned how to upcycle 37% Learned about the environmental impact of their clothes Would/may use their skills to mend or upcycle in the future Retained vital information about the effects clothes have on the environment at the end of the sessions Said that they would/may keep the Tripple T Pledge 97% 90% 93% Climate Challenge Fund Report R:evolve Recycle 11
R:evolve Recycle Uniform Re-Use Outcome: To reduce financial hardship of those most in need or living in poverty by decreasing the annual cost per house hold of buying brand new items of clothing, shoes, linen and school uniforms. Uniform recycle project: We collected old uniforms from local schools at the end of term and breathed new life into them. We then worked with education and social work to identify families in need and donated these uniforms to local families who are struggling financially or who are simply environmentally aware and willing to see that second hand does not mean second best. Schools supported 6 Uniforms donated Uniforms redistributed Families supported 40 Learning & Reflection 60kg 47kg We found that a huge number of the donations we received could not be reused, so we utilsed the materials, buttons and badges within our schools programme. We found that the schools where we were able to have information stalls at parents evening etc were those with the biggest donations and engagement in the project. This is an area we would like to develop in the future as our research shows that this is the area with the biggest amount of waste and over consumption but where people are least likely to change their habits. 12 R:evolve Recycle Climate Challenge Fund Report
R:evolve Recycle Focus on volunteers Outcome: Increase a make do and mend culture by sharing, learning and supporting a creative, innovative and exciting community movement towards the ethos of reduce, reuse recycling in Cambuslang and Rutherglen. Volunteers are at the core of what we do at R:evolve Recycle. Volunteers engaged 48 Employability volunteers 6 Student placements 1 Dedicated Hours 2275 Savings (living wage equivalent) 16,380 Completed training opportunities 15 Volunteers moved onto employment, training or learning 4 Percentage of customers who become volunteers 3.50% Catriona is a retired Headteacher from Hamilton. Already very active within her community Catriona keeps busy by running craft groups for other retired people as well as being the chairperson for Forward @50 in South Lanarkshire. Despite her tight schedule Catriona was keen to be involved with R:evolve as she felt strongly about the vision of the project and currently leads up our schools programme as well as running various textile craft workshops. Catriona has an abundance of skills and experience to share and is keen to pass this onto the next generation. It s both a privilege and a pleasure to pass on sewing, knitting and crafting skills learned over sixty years ago to others. Working with younger people, and with peers, to create something new from fabric which would otherwise end up in landfill is a very satisfying activity. Laughter is a main characteristic of the R:evolve experience as we all seek to learn from each other Climate Challenge Fund Report R:evolve Recycle 13
Lisa came to R:evolve initially as a volunteer, however her enthusiasm, skills and creativity made her a perfect candidate when a position came up within the project. Lisa now uses her skills to ensure the smooth operation of our swap shops and uses her creative flare to ensure that we have the best looking shop windows in town I joined R:evolve as a volunteer because I wanted to get out and meet new people and use some of my skills. My two kids are now at school and I was looking for employment but couldnt find anything flexible enough to fit in the school runs and after school activities as my husband work away! I love working for R:evolve and see all the skills the volunteers bring to the table as well as pushing myself both creatively and professonally. Eddie came to R:evolve through voluntary work placement being an unemployed careworker for 8 years. Eddie spent the first few months of his placement mostly sorting and steaming clothes until a busy day in the shop forced him into customer service. Since then he hasnt looked back and works across all sections of the project, even pushing the boundaries by modelling in community fashion shows! Eddie finished his placement at the end of 2015 but remains as a regular volunteer, giving up his time two days a week to help run the shops and train other new volunteers in between strutting his stuff on the cat walk! Being involved in R:evolve has made a huge difference to me. I was unemployed for so long, I was bored and found every day was the same. Since I started with R:evolve I now have a purpose and a reason to get up and out in the morning. I like working in the shop and seeing people I know from Cambuslang as well as telling people about it so they come in and use the service. I also like that I get to use other skills I have like painting and DIY to make sure the shops look good. Would you believe that I have even cut down on my drinking and have stopped smoking all together, and feel all the better for it! 14 R:evolve Recycle Climate Challenge Fund Report
R:evolve Recycle What our customers say Evaluation and social media reviews 442 Number of people taking part in survey 88% of customers are more aware of the effects that clothing has on the environment 64% of customers have said their purchasing of clothes has reduced by around 1/3 79% of customers have been inspired to mend or up-cycle their clothes 98% of customers say they will pass on the information/skills they have learned from the project to other people. 67% of customers have seen a decrease in their house hold clothing budget 99% of customers believe R:evolve Recycle has made a valuable contribution to the local community 5 stars from 21 reviews It is a great shop and a fab way to help the enviroment and get new clothes at the same time cant wait till my next visit I love the whole ethos of this shop. It has a cool boutique vibe and some really lovely stock. I think I ve told everyone I know to get along to it as they wont be disappointed x The best thing to happen to Rutherglen! Clothes are all in excellent condition, lovely store, charming and enthusiastic volunteers, brilliant concept in reducing waste. Well done, and I ll be back soon! xx Annual report 2016 R:evolve Recycle 15
Great shop, brilliant idea,& lovely staff Great shop what a fantastic idea to swap your clothes. Staff are so helpful. Worth a visit. Fabulous idea very stylishly done. Staff are all lovely and helpful, hope I can find some time to volunteer! Great shop what a brilliant idea hope they get more volunteers so it can open longer. After seeing the article in Rutherglen Reformer on 27th May and a fascinating enthusiastic talk from Wendy at Toll Pitch Challengers meeting on 28th May, I got started at once to cut up an old t-shirt and make a unique scarf! I love the swap shop, already have so many nice outfits from there, and more space at home after handing all my old clothes in! So it s doubly beneficial for me plus someone else can hopefully make use of my old stuff, save some cash and save it from adding to landfill waste. So I can feel good about that too, alongside shopping without having to hand over any money! It s a brilliant idea! Went to my first workshop today and had an amazing time everyone in the shop made me feel right at home, they are genuinely lovely people and i cant wait to go back. Finally managed to make our first visit in to the Rutherglen shop after telling people about it for months! Took down some of the little one s clothes and managed to pick up a couple of bits in return. Fabulous idea! Friendly staff, couldn t be more helpful! Have told my friends about it, we all think it s a great service. Will be having a huge clear out of the kids stuff now in time for next week! Been into the Rutherglen shop this week. Fantastic idea, not only can I get myself something new, I know if no one picks up my old clothes, they re being given to people that really need them. Girls in the shop couldn t be nicer, and can t wait to get along to one of the workshops. 16 R:evolve Recycle Annual report 2016
R:evolve Recycle Expenditure Salaries 63,915.61 National Insurance on above 4,909.78 Pension 2,030.04 Travel 395.02 Training Courses 1,173.00 Freelance Specialists 1,738.00 Volunteer Expenses 1,128.33 Property Rental x 2 2,383.37 Water Charges 1,102.24 Heating and Lighting 1,979.21 Project & Property Insurance 939.70 Property & Equipment Repairs 250.98 Cleaning / Security 1,101.79 Jobs Advert (Good Moves & TFN) 650.00 Materials 798.45 Tools/Eqipment 5,578.77 Promotional Events/Roadshow/Materials 1,803.21 Shop Fit x 2 2,803.69 Telephone 512.09 Stationary, Printing & Office Costs 1,576.36 Postage 408.44 Audit & Payroll Expenses 1,284.00 98,462.08 Climate Challenge Fund Report R:evolve Recycle 17
R:evolve Recycle The science bit 1. Actual calculations through service provision A. Textile life prolonged Textiles collected 6457kg C02e produced 6457kg x 21.148kg = 136553kg C02e saved through prolonging the life time of textiles is 10% according to Wrap 10% of 136,553kg = 14 tonnes C02e Saved (assumption) Travel miles reduced B. Saved from people having to travel elsewhere to purchase clothing 12,803 travel miles in a small car (x0.247kg) + 12,802 travel miles in a medium car (x0.303kg) = 7 tonnes saved (Please note: a local baseline calculation of miles travelled was unavailable at time of print but is currently being calculated through our continued monitoring) 2. Behavioural change calculations A. Cambuslang, Rutherglen Swap Shops - based on current statistics Older peoples CO2e savings calculations year one Baseline - 38 items bought per year @ 0.3kg per item (avg) = 11.4kg per year per person x 360 = 4104kg x 21.148kg C02e = 86,791kg C02e Project scenario - 64% of customers said they reduced consumption by 1/3 or more (64% of 360 = 230) (230 x 11.4kg)- 874kg = 1748kg savings 1748kg x 21.148 kg conversion rate = 36967kg Savings - 86791kg - 36967kg = 50 tonnes saved People aged 49- with no dependent CO2e savings calculations year one Baseline - 56 items bought per year @ 0.3kg per item (avg) = 16.8kg per year per person x 257 = 4318kg x 21.148kg C02e conversion rate = 91,308kg C02e Project scenario - 64% of people said they reduced consumption by 1/3 or more (64% of 257 = 164) (164 x 16.8kg) - 918kg = 1837kg savings 1837kg x 21.148kg CO2e conversion rate = 38849kg Savings - 91903kg - 38849kg = 53 tonnes saved 18 R:evolve Recycle Climate Challenge Fund Report
Families CO2e savings calculations year one Baseline - 95 items bought per year @ 0.3 kg per item (avg) = 28.5kg per year per person x 441 = 12569kg x 21.148kg C02e = 265,799 C02e Project scenario - 64% of people said they reduced consumption by 1/3 or more (64% of 441 = 282) (282 x 28.5kg) - 2679kg = 5358kg savings 5358kg x 21.148 kg conversion rate = 113311kg Savings - 265799kg - 113311kg = 152 tonnes saved B. Schools education programme in 4 Primary Schools Baseline - 95 items bought per year @ 0.3kg per item (avg) = 28.5kg per year per person x 189 pupils = 5387kg x 21.148 = 113914kg CO2e x 5 yrs =569,569kg C02e Project scenario - 93% of pupils said they would keep the pledge to reduce consumption (93% of 189 = 176) (176 x 28.5kg)- 1672kg = 3344kg savings 3344kg x 21.148kg conversion rate = 70719kg x 5 years = 353595kg Savings - 569569kg -353595kg = 216 tonnes saved C. Skills sharing programme People aged 49- with no dependent CO2e savings calculations year one Baseline - 56 items bought per year @ 0.3kg per item (avg) = 16.8kg per year per person x 78 =1310kg x 21.148kg C02e conversion rate = 27,704kg C02e produced Project scenario - (78 x 16.8kg) - 437kg = 873kg reduction per year 873kg x 21.148kg CO2e conversion rate = 18471kg C02e reduced Savings - 27740kg - 18471kg = 9 tonnes saved Total = 500 tonnes C02e saved! Climate Challenge Fund Report R:evolve Recycle 19
Would like to thank ASDA in the Community Clyde Gateway Community Learning and Development Crown Paints Fabric Bazaar Finacial Inclusion Partnership Hamilton District Men s Shed Hamilton Furniture Initiative Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust Keep Scotland Beautiful Leap Learn Direct MacMillan Cancer Support Marie Trust Momentum Nathans Waste Recycle NHS Lanarkshire Quiz Clothing Seniors Together Simon Community Skills Development Scotland Social work services South Lanarkshire College South Lanarkshire Council Social Work Services South Lanarkshire Council Education South Lanarkshire Council Tackling Poverty Team South Lanarkshire Council Community Learning and Development Home School Partnership West Whitlawburn Housing Association Volunteer Scotland Yooz Zero Waste Scotland www.revolve-recycle.co.uk R:evolve Recycle is a project managed by LEAP (Lightburn Elderly Association Project) LEAP is a registered Scottish Charity (SC024196) and Company Limited by Guarantee (SC300044) Headquarters: 5 Craigallian Avenue, Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire G72 8RN 0141 641 5169a