More than half a tonne of banner fabrics destined for landfill has been transformed into stylish bags thanks to a unique partnership between M&S on Argyle Street and the Govanhill Baths Community Trust.
The store’s visual merchandiser, Margaret Neil, was looking for a sustainable way to dispose of used banners when she discovered the charity’s Rags to Riches project.
The programme is an award-winning upcycling social enterprise that uses waste to promote environmental sustainability, community engagement and education within Glasgow and the surrounding areas.
Margaret said: “I’m a firm believer that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. This has been a brilliant project to get involved with - nurturing the creative talents of local designers who are producing upcycled pieces that are totally one-off and made-to-order.”
Lauren Hooper, Rags to Riches manager, said: “We were thrilled to receive these fabric banner donations from M&S. Our textiles expert Gail, who studied at Glasgow School of Art, has been creatively reusing the fabric to make products from bags, plant pots, aprons and tote bags. As a reuse social enterprise it's great to see large retailers like M&S taking steps to reduce their waste.”
Grant Henry, store manager, said: “As a business we are committed to driving circularity and sending zero waste to landfill from our own operations, and being able to upcycle these banners is a great way of helping us to achieve this mission. We are always seeking new ways to reuse and refurbish equipment so we look forward to continuing and building on our partnership with Rags to Riches in the future.”
Govanhill Baths Community Trust is a grassroots organisation delivering health, wellbeing, arts, environmental and heritage projects in and around Govanhill. The Baths are temporarily closed for refurbishment, but the organisation’s services continue in venues across Govanhill. To view the charity’s online shop visit its website.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel