In a first for the hospice, Royal Trinity Hospice shops have provided uniforms in the form of quality office shirts from high-end brands to a London Bridge based facilities company, NuServe.

Georgina Lockwood, NuServe’s Sustainability Officer said:

“Being a B-Corp certified company, working with a charity shop was the obvious choice when we considered the economic, environmental, and social benefits – we saved on budget and helped reduce the carbon footprint of our uniform, whilst supporting a charity that looks after people in need by making the last month of a person’s life bearable.

"NuServe is always excited to find new ways to collaborate with VCSE and likeminded companies, and in the chase of Royal Trinity Hospice shops, the gamble paid off, thanks to the willingness and dedication of the Trinity staff and the quality of the clothing they have on offer.

"Purchasing office shirts from a charity shop was uncharted territory for both NuServe and Trinity and this was the first time Trinity's Merchandise Officer Lucia Munoz had received a request of this nature. The entire process was seamless (excuse the pun!), Lucia understood exactly what we needed and went out of their way to help."

This ongoing collaboration is part of NuServe’s goal to make their uniforms more sustainable by sourcing clothing made from more planet-friendly materials, namely recycled polyester (plastic bottles) and organic cotton, whilst working within circular economy principles.

“We were lucky that this was a viable solution for NuServe because as a company we hit the sweet spot of being dynamic and flexible enough to have our order accommodated without compromising on professionalism." Georgina Lockwood

The fashion and textile industry continues to be one of these most wasteful with approximately 350,000 tonnes, around £140 million worth of used but still wearable clothing going to landfill every year in the UK, according to Clothes Aid. 

NuServe and Trinity have now gone on to collaborate further by helping divert misplaced or forgotten clothing from their clients’ offices to Trinity's shops as part of their corporate stock donors initiative.

Read more about this initiative on the NuServe website

Interested in working with our shops on a similar project?

If you would like to speak to a member of the Trinity team about a similar project involving sourcing our new or preloved stock in bulk, or donating excess or unwanted new stock to our shops, please contact Lucia Munoz, Merchandise Officer or read more about making stock donations.