Name of business - Ecoswap CIC
Grant sum awarded: £1,000
Month awarded: Aug 2022
Principal Awardee(s): Rebecca Rowland
Company Link: www.ecoswapstore.com
Address:
1 Sussex Place, High Street, Bognor Regis, PO211EG
Purpose of Grant:
Provide sewing machines to enable training which could lead to a diversified income stream.
Firstly....who are you and what do you do?!
Hello I'm Rebecca and I am chief 'everything' officer! If it needs doing in the business, I do it!
"We are a refillery, eco and preloved shop. We take in all sorts, from furniture to toys and clean them up to resell at a very affordable price. we also provide a pantry of food and toiletries for free without referrals. Any clothes that can not be sold are deconstructed and turned into new things, like bags and scrubbers."
How do you plan to achieve one or more of the Sustainable Future Fund’s aims?
" 1) Only by generating sustainable income will we be able to pay wages and keep serving our community"
What problem are you trying to solve?
"The amount of textile waste; It needs washing, pressing, fixing and sometimes dismantling altogether to prevent any being thrown in the bin. This all takes a lot of time and skills which we are able to share. Educating people how to repair and value clothes and how damaging fast fashion is to the planet. We also take in a lot of kitchenware!."
Thank you Rebecca, we saw first hand how your community fridges and freezers make a differece to peoples lives and how important you are to the community you serve. We think they are lucky to have you!
A note from Jason - SFF Director.
I think what Rebecca has achieved is remarkable. I witnessed first hand a gentleman who came into the shop, who clearly knew Rebecca, and he asked if he could have a look in the fridge for a meal. Rebecca welcomed 'George', a regular it seems, and said "take what you need". George replied, "i never take more than I need Rebecca, you know me". With that he looked in the fridge and pulled out what looked like a lasagne meal and left the shop.
I then looked around the shop and saw a refil station, a rail with clothes, shelving with items you can buy to help promote healthy living (see pics above) and it struck me how odd it was to have what is a domestic fridge, freezer in the entrance to your shop giving food away to literally anyone who needs it. No referral required.
If you can get over the fact that food banks such as these shouldn't be needed in a supposedly wealthy nation such as the UK, then you can't deny that Ecoswap CIC isn't a business for good and that the passion driving Rebecca to provide 'free' much needed services whilst trying to run a commercial business is nothing short of awe inspiring heroism... I'm very glad SFF could help in some small way and we wish Rebecca every success sustaining her business.
