Campaign: Promoting Reuse through Charity Shops in the Anglia Region

The Association of Charity Shops in partnership with the Cambridgeshire and Essex Community Reuse and Recycling Networks (CCORRN and ECORRN) is working to deliver a reuse campaign, the first known of its type in the UK.

The campaign (funded by Defra) will run in the Anglia region (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk) over the next 3 years.

Our aim is to build a strong, sustainable 'reuse' campaign adopting shared messages and artwork by charity shops and others, to change consumer behaviour.

Year 3: January Campaign Update

In January, the campaign focus switches to attracting good quality donations into shops, as well as volunteers, with our free window decals asking people to Become A Reuse Champion, and our posters urging them to Donate It! Participating charities will also be providing free information leaflets to customers.

Following the success of Year 1's Green Santa events in Norwich and Chelmsford, we are extending the concept in 2007 to include donations from members of the public by facilitating Green Santa “Grottos”, ideally one in each of the seven counties in the Anglia region. Members of the public will be invited to bring good-quality donations resulting from unwanted, duplicate or replacement gifts or sale purchases. January will thus see a series of Green Santa events, running from the week beginning January 15th. These will be taking place in the following venues:

• Bedford: 15th January in the Harpur Centre
• Cambridge: 17th January in the Grafton Centre - Ground floor
• Watford: 19th January in the Harlequin Shopping Centre
• Ipswich: 23rd January in the Buttermarket Shopping Centre
• Norwich: 25th January in the Forum
• Chelmsford: 26th January in the High Chelmer Shopping Centre

Each event will start at 10am, finish at approximately 2pm and will include a press call at 11.30am – you are welcome to come along at any time, but ideally 11am-12.30pm. Please do come along to help make the events a success.

Participating charities can download the following documents by clicking on the underlined titles:

Newsletter Dec '06
Reuse Champions Information Pack
Stop Look Buy Poster
Donate It! Poster
Reuse Champion Logsheets: Jan-Feb 07
Materials Order form

Further Information

We are working on our plans for the third year of the campaign and will be consulting with and getting feedback from members taking part, but if you have a bright idea or a suggestion to make do please get in touch with Lekha on 020 7255 4470 or lekha@charityshops.org.uk.

If you are a charity or furniture group that is situated outside the Anglia Region but interested in promoting the campaign through your shop[s], you are able to order the artwork on disc or order promotional packs at cost. The disc is £35, while the materials pack, containing 1,000 leaflets and 3 posters, is £28.50 plus VAT.

If you require any further information, please contact the Association of Charity Shops on 020 7255 4470 or e-mail: projects@charityshops.org.uk.

The Year 2 participating charities and furniture reuse groups are listed below:

Campaign Archive
1. Here is a summary of activities in Year 1.
2. Summary of activities in Year 2 (2006).
3. Summary of activities in Year 3 (2007).
4. Summary of activities in Year 4 (2008).