A secondhand Christmas: How the cost of living crisis means business is booming for one ‘up-cycling’ charity
More than half (52%) of consumers are turning to second-hand shopping this Christmas to reduce expenditure during the cost-of-living crisis – and for one furniture ‘up-cycling’ charity, business is booming.
A study by GoDaddy found as consumers row back on spending, almost two-thirds (62%) say they more likely to “upcycle” items they already own instead of buying them brand new.
Upcycling is the process of transforming unwanted products into items of perceived greater quality and the study found clothing (48%), furniture (46%) and furnishings (33%) are the most popular items being refurbished.
Cost of living calendar – reveal a different story every day
However, rather than always looking to do it themselves, 46% of people prefer to hire a professional to breathe new life into their belongings.
Charity RECOVER – a social enterprise that specialises in teaching vulnerable adults the skills of furniture upcycling – has seen a 30% year-on-year increase in turnover as customers seek its services, visiting its workshop to learn how to refresh their items.
It works with materials either donated or reclaimed from the local area.
When the pandemic first hit, with lost footfall to their workshop showroom, the charity seemed on the brink of folding.
“We initially worried that we wouldn’t be able to weather the storm, but we soon started seeing an uptick in online sales and customers contacting us to get ideas while they were stuck at home and looking to keep busy,” co-owner Holly Brunsden told Sky News.
“People are maybe making do with what they have and changing it themselves,” she added.
“Certainly sales of paints and the number of inquiries that we receive have increased, but also people want to know they are buying quality and they want to support smaller businesses.”
For Ms Brunsden – who learned to sew on her grandmother’s machine, and learned carpentry in her grandfather’s workshop – one of the most memorable upcycled items was a camelback Victorian sofa.
“I was speechless about how beautiful it was,” she said.
“It was in pinks, and purples and tropicals, velvet and it was an absolute triumph. And everything she learned, she learned here, which gave us all a massive buzz.
“And it was a thing of beauty.”
Ian Block added: “The cost-of-living crisis has given people more awareness of not only reducing waste but also how older items are often better quality, one-of-a-kind pieces that have their own story.
“We’ve seen a nervousness about buying new, so much so that September and October have been our best months on record for sales since we started 10 years ago.”
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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