An organisation in Norwich is helping save businesses hundreds of pounds by “matchmaking” them with companies searching for creative uses for their waste.
Maria Thornberg launched ReDo two years ago, after hearing from charity shops that they were having to throw away hundreds of tonnes of clothes every year.
She wanted to find a way to make use of the textiles that shops were unable to sell and save small local companies money in the process.
Now, the organisation acts as the middleman for more than 40 independent businesses, who pay a fraction of what they would to a regular fabric supplier, directly to the charity shops.
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Their clients include Norwich-based designer Cat Nash, who creates jewellery and clothes from scrap textiles, and local bookbinder Brailsford Learning, which uses old colour sample sheets from The Cotswold Company to make hand-bound notebooks.
And Ms Thornberg said the companies looking for ways to repurpose their waste benefit just as much as those getting cut-costing materials.
She said: “We take an organic approach with the companies we work with.
“We ask them to talk us through what they’re throwing away and then we try to find solutions.
“It can take some time to find the right match, but then it becomes this sustainable, mutually beneficial situation because not only does it make them look good, but it saves them money on waste disposal too.”
For the artisans making use of the discarded materials, Ms Thornberg said the arrangements are game-changing.
She said: “For a business owner like Cat Nash, who’s a mum, has another job on the side, and runs a business, it has helped her source things easier, so she doesn’t have to spend days looking in charity shops.
“It’s cheaper too, because she gets what is basically considered rags, like tablecloths or curtains, which are really hard to sell.”
“It’s a win-win situation.”
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