Waste becomes resources: Ocee and Four Design donates offcuts to three charities and furniture to two more!
At A Good Thing we make matches between businesses with items to donate and charities who can re use them. This is one of our recent matches.
Our mission at A Good Thing is to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill and send more to a good cause. Therefore, it is a joy when we see one company’s waste become a charity’s resources and assets.
Ocee and Four Design is a furniture company which designs ergonomic and sustainable furniture that is both elegant and functional.
When Ocee and Four Design uploaded over 100kg of leather and vinyl offcuts to the A Good Thing app, it received an immediate response. Three charities got in touch and soon the items were snapped up, with the charities and Ocee and Four Design liaising as to the pickup. It was that simple.
Ellie from Ocee and Four Design echoed this and said of the platform, “it’s very straightforward and easy to use.”
The three charities to whom Ocee and Four Design donated were Age UK Northamptonshire, Sharnford Youth and Community Centre and the Burnhope Community Centre.
Age UK Northamptonshire is “a source of advice, information, companionship and support” to those in later life in Northamptonshire, helping them to live well in a safe and dignified way. Sharnford Youth and Community Centre is used for a variety of activities and events including children’s parties, football matches and dance classes. Burnhope Community Centre also offers a range of activities and events, including various clubs and groups for both adults and children.
“0% has gone to landfill”
Ellie from Ocee and Four Design explained the firm’s reason for giving away these items:
“We decided to give away these items as part of our sustainability commitment. So far, we’ve managed to donate 100% of our fabric waste, meaning 0% has gone to landfill. Using A Good Thing has been a simple, effective way to achieve that.”
Ocee and Four Design demonstrates its commitment to sustainable practices through its ‘Sustainable Objectives’, in which the firm aims to design products in line with sustainable design principles, organise and carry out life-cycle assessments, and supply end-of-life solutions to its customers.
Reaping the rewards
When Ellie received responses from the charities, there was no doubt the offcuts would be going somewhere where they would be useful. Yvette, from Age UK Northamptonshire, said:
“We will either use the offcuts for crafting or use them to upcycle the furniture we sell.”
Laura Thirby from the Sharnford Youth and Community Centre said:
“We have a youth market in which we help the youth from our village to make items to sell. This has been running for over 12 months and we are slowly introducing more and more children… This donation will enable us to spend the money we usually use for some raw materials, on the upkeep of the building instead. We have a laser printer and a Cricut machine that we allow our visitors to use, so these offcuts are perfect.”
Heather Galloway from the Burnhope Community Centre told us:
“We are a community centre in rural County Durham. We focus on health and community. We have a number of groups that could use the leather and vinyl for crafting: our kids’ club, our craft group and our wellness group (a group catering for those adults with learning difficulties and /or mental health diagnoses).”
“Not just for fabric”
Ocee and Four Design also kindly donated some furniture in the form of a chair and a sofa to Open House CIC and the Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust.
Regarding the experience of using the A Good Thing platform, Ellie told us:
“Overall, it’s been a very positive experience and we’d be happy to continue using the platform in the future! It’s really been a game-changer: not just for fabric, but furniture items also.”
If this has inspired you to learn more about how you can join us in sending less to landfill and more to good causes, then you can find out how we help businesses and charities by clicking the button below.