Past activity

Choose2Reuse Spring Fair, Scarborough - 2013

Scarborough was bathed in spring sunshine for the latest Choose2Reuse fair.  The newly renovated Spa provided a stunning backdrop for over 50 stalls showcasing local designers and crafts people.  We welcomed almost 1200 residents and visitors during the day who were eager to learn how they could save household items from becoming waste by buying preowned, redesigned and upcycled items. 

There was a diverse range of items for sale from vintage plate cake stands to reusable nappies and yarn made from spinning together old materials.  Many people commented on how inventive the stallholders had been, creating beautiful and desirable objects from things that most of us would throw in the bin.

There were also seven demonstrations of reuse skills during the day, inspiring people to start reusing more at home.  The audience found out how to wrap their gifts in fabric rather than paper, make their own recycled paper, make a bag from crisp packets and make origami gift boxes.

Choose2Reuse Fairs in Hambleton,York and Harrogate - 2011 and 2012

Over 3500 people have visited Choose2Reuse fairs and seen stalls galore, wonderful workshops and fantastic fashion shows.

Stalls showcased the variety of local crafts people producing saleable goods by reusing and recycling materials. Stalls included bespoke furniture from pallets, jewellery from reused copper, vintage clothing, rag rugs and bags made from tyre inner tubes.  Workshops on offer included making mosaics, Japanese Kansas flower corsages, paper beads and much more.

Fashion shows showcased the fantastic quality and variety of clothing and accessories available from charities across the county. Local designers and schools showcased their collections, created by upcycling clothing and hats donated to them.

Live Charity Shop Windows - 2011

Male and female models aged from eight to 70 showed that there's something for everyone in charity shops, as they strutted their stuff in Barnardos, Cancer Research and Mind in Harrogate.  Volunteers for the Choose2Reuse campaign modelled outfits ranging from designer evening gowns to vintage crimplene wonders to show the watching public that chic, high fashion clothing need not cost their pocket or the planet.  All clothing was sourced from charity shops local to the area.   

Karen Thornton, one of the Choose2Reuse models said: "I would recommend anyone wanting something a bit different to go down to their local charity shop. I purchased the Amanda Wakeley dress I modelled for the event for £15 from Barnardos. If I was to buy a dress like this new it would have cost more than £800. I am so pleased with my purchase, because as well as saving me money, it hasn't cost the earth."

Fashion Shows - 2010 and 2011

The York and Harrogate Choose2Reuse fashion shows brought charity shop chic and the latest designs from reused clothing and recycled materials together.

The fashion extravaganza's, held at York Racecourse and the Royal Hall, Harrogate attracted more than 1200 members of the public to view a range of fabulous collections from charity shops or upcycled by designers and crafts people from discarded materials. To view the amazing collections from the Harrogate show play this short video. 

The shows combined fun and fashion with practical solutions to help people save money and the environment. They demonstrated how unwanted clothing and other items, either straight from a charity shop or redesigned and upcycled into something new, can be as desirable and fashionable as from a high street store.

Both events featured a wide range of partners including local colleges and schools, charities, designers and crafts people and a host of incredibly dedicated volunteers.

Each show had displays of reusable furniture and stalls where charities, local crafts people, businesses and designers who produce items from reusable or recycled materials exhibited and sold their products. The stalls proved such a success with members of the public that the partnership has decided to expand on the idea and run a series of Choose2Reuse fairs over the next year.

Green Santa Schools Challenge - 2009 and 2010

Green Santa toured York and North Yorkshire's schools during January 2010 as part of the Choose2Reuse campaign. School's across York and North Yorkshire competed head-to-head to reuse as many items as they could by donating items to charity shops and reuse organisation.

In return for donations of toys, books, music CD's, clothes, furniture and other household items children, parents and teachers collected challenge tokens. The school with the most tokens won the challenge prize.  Pupils at West Heslerton Primary School won and Green Santa himself delivered the prize. Fairburn Community Primary School near Selby and Otley Street Nursery School in Skipton came second and third as runners up.

More than 70 schools took part in the challenge encouraging almost 14,000 pupils, parents and teachers to think about reusing items. The campaign resulted in 2,228 donations to participating charities and kept 13,416kg of reusable goods out of landfill.

Fashion Fix  - 2009

As part of the Inside Out road show Helen Mellor, Waste Prevention Officer for North Yorkshire County Council and Nikki DiGiovanni, Programme Manager for Cambridge Community Reuse and Recycling Network donned their glad rags in the Choose2Reuse fashion fix before posting their photographs on the website for the public to vote between a high street brand and a charity shop outfit.

The results were close and the high street goods only just pipped the charity shop to the post, but it really demonstrated some of the amazing quality clothing you can find in charity shops and put to bed some common misconceptions.

Buy Campaign - 2009

The Inside Out campaign hit high streets across North Yorkshire in October 2008 showcasing room displays sourced solely from charity shops and reuse organisations. The Choose2Reuse team were able to show residents of York and North Yorkshire the high quality and often unique items that can be bought from charity shops and reuse organisations.

A countywide radio advertisement featuring 'Bob' and 'Vera' promoted the campaign to encourage people to buy second hand items and generated good coverage from local media as the campaign helped to save money and help the environment.

Donate Campaign - 2008 and 2009

Green Santa and his helpers first visited York and North Yorkshire back in January 2008 and then again in January 2009 to encourage residents of York and North Yorkshire to think twice before throwing away quality goods, and donate them instead.

The donate campaign was promoted enthusiastically by 'Helen' and 'Val' in a two week long radio ad and was well received by the media. The campaign was highlighted in TV and radio interviews, on numerous web sites and in almost 40 press cuttings in local papers across York and North Yorkshire.