The excitement of getting a huge bag of hand-me-downs has been reinvigorated for East Lothian’s children, thanks to a Naturesave Trust grant awarded to non-profit Lil.
Lil, which stands for Lower Impact Living CIC, has secured more than £3,600 from Naturesave Trust to pay for storage, staff time and increased events.
The funding quickly saw an increase in use of the ReUse suitcases – big bags of hand-me-downs from the community that are available for free, in all sizes from maternity bumps, babies through to teens and adult sizes.
It has supported a donations drive for formal menswear for Knox Academy High School’s leavers event and the creation of a survey looking at attitudes to secondhand/sharing.
Users of the ReUse Suitcases have been delighted.
“It was absolutely brilliant for getting my son into new-to-him clothes and we’ll be looking out for it when he grows again next week. My daughter and I are now also keen to see the teens & ladies bags,” said one mum.
“My sister got 2kg for her kids and I took another 1kg for mine,” said Anna, another user. “My daughter tried on some things that she never normally would have, it’s been brilliant.”
Lil’s ReUse project lead Louise Hastie was delighted the funding was already having an impact:
“We love seeing these reuse projects spreading out into the community. For every 1kg of clothes we keep in reuse, we can potentially save up to 25kg of carbon equivalent. Plus, we hear of how folk have got something special, or something they wouldn’t normally buy – that buzz from a bargain or sense of fun is priceless.”
For those local to East Lothian, please follow this link to book your ReUse Suitcase.
Low Impact Living CIC facilitates, supports and delivers projects, events and learning to empower communities for a sustainable & thriving world. You can read more about their work here.
