Sew InTENTse (by Million Stars)

by Million Stars Waste Recovery in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

We did it
On 11th September 2019 we successfully raised £5,861 with 55 supporters in 42 days

To turn 1000's of tents abandoned at UK music festivals into eco-fashion products. Using festival waste as a force for social good!

by Million Stars Waste Recovery in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

 New stretch target

£5,000 is amazing but it's only scratching the surface and is the bare minimum needed to purchase specialist industrial sewing machines and deliver our Sew InTENTse course. 

An extra £1000 might not seem like a lot but it will make a HUGE difference to us and I'll personally ensure that every penny is spent wisely, securing added value wherever possible! 

I'm currently deconstructing tents in my own home, literally every inch of my home is covered in waste recovered from festivals. I have tents erected in my garden just to accommodate additional tents. I've looked into storage and its far too expensive for a grass roots project. A modest 2nd hand wooden or metal shed to store all of the fabric in over the winter may not sound like much but would make a massive difference to me and I may actually be able to use my couch for sitting on! My biggest fear that damp/mould or eek rats could damage all of the tent material rescued from festivals whilst left outdoors inside tents and the efforts of our volunteers could be wasted. Everything is being self financed at the moment out of what very little I have. The 10 daily washing machine cycles (using my personal washing machine) (I'm currently washing sleeping bags to be disseminated to local homeless), the laundry powder, the storage boxes, vacuum bags, tent waterproofing sprays, the stitch unpickers, fabric softener...everything! So every penny raised really will make a difference and help make Sew InTENTse a reality!

£1000 in 7 days is a GIGANTIC ask but you know what my favourite saying is...

The sky's the limit at Million Stars and with your help we really can reach for those stars!! 


AIM of Sew InTENTse by Million Stars Sustainable Events

Every year I take a 'Tent Recovery Team' to some of the UK's biggest music festivals to recover some of the 23,500 Tonnes of waste that is generated each year. That's the equivalent of throwing 

  • 53 Boeing 747's
  • 16,000 Ford fiesta's or
  • 340,000 washing machines into landfill. 

Most of the larger festivals will see an estimated 60,000 tents abandoned. The majority of which will be damaged beyond repair and therefore destined for landfill. 

My aim is to simply recover as many tents as possible, purchase industrial sewing machines and turn the fabric into eco-fashion products, including;

  • Reusable ponchos
  • wash/toiletry bags
  • totes
  • handbags
  • bum bags
  • loose fruit and veg bags

The products will then be made available for sale via www.ecofashionhub.com or via trade stands at large events and festivals. Where possible, every part of the tent will be reused including; 

  • zips
  • fly sheets
  • ground sheets
  • inner tents
  • guy ropes
  • guide lines

Here is a video filmed at last years festivals to show you the task at hand!

Why I'm asking you to back my business 

Your Questions answered

Hi my name is Julie Anne Parker. I'm the founder of Million Stars Sustainable Events and the current Great British Entrepreneur Winner For Good. 

My vision is to see all events large and small be sustainable. 

2019 is the UK's official 'Year of the Environment' or 'YOE19'

Quite simply its not OK to be OK with the 23,500 Tonnes of waste generated by music festivals and the 600,000+ Tonnes of waste generated by the UK hospitality industry. 

I tackle the prevention of waste generation by supporting event organisers through our sustainable events and circular economy consultancy. I've created the UK's 1st collaborative learning programme working towards ISO20121 the International Management Standard for sustainable events, making sustainable events accessible and affordable to all organisations not just larger festivals and stadia. However, this in itself is in it's infancy. 

Over the past year I've worked with universities and prisons to develop ways of upcycling the tents that are beyond repair and have undertaken substantial research to 'prove the concept' that turning tent fabric into eco-fashion can and does work. 

WHY InTENTse? 

Earlier this year I ran a survey across social media and the name InTENTse was chosen as the name that best reflected the products that I hope to manufacture. 

Sew InTENTse will provide weekly 'pop up sewcials' across the North West targeting areas affected by the growing crisis of an aging population. This will create a network of older folk, many of whom are socially isolated, digitally excluded, some are struggling financial and many are pretty nifty with a sewing machine (the North West is built on history of weaving and textile industries) 

Sew Intentse members can join us for a freshly cooked meal, an hour or two of sewing tuition to refresh old skills or develop new ones and an opportunity to make some wonderful new products made from waste that would otherwise be destined for landfill. 

Tent fabric is very robust and therefore specialist 'industrial' sewing machines are required to handle the fabric and the ability to hire use of professional 'laser cutters' to maximise every part of the tent fabric and mitigate unnecessary wastage from off cuts. 

Once products have been manufactured we will need to package them in preparation for posting. We couldn't go to all this effort to post items in single use, plastic mailing bags so I intend to purchase eco-compostable packaging this again is likely to require the purchase of a heat sealant machine to reduce external packaging costs. 

 We intend to provide a payment by results model with a view to offer paid employment following successful completion of training, topping up pensions and providing extra income which could be a lifeline particularly in areas of social deprivation. 

Ok, without posting my full CV here is a little bit about my background, hopefully providing reassurance that I poses the ability to invest your pledges wisely!

My professional career pre-Million Stars was within Social Housing a role centred around using the environment as a vehicle for tackling social need. I've led projects that train long term unemployed to become bee-keepers and set up their own bee-enterprise businesses, I created and led the Green Apple and Sustainable Housing Award winning, Eco Team project, helping families reduce their energy and water consumption and save money in the process. 

In the past 12 months I've reached the finals of the prestigious 'Venturefest North West' finals, pitching about 'sustainable events' and my sew inTENTse vision to over 1,000 people at Manchester Central! 

Here's a video of the pitch! 

I've been awarded NatWest's Great British Entrepreneur For Good 2018 (North)

Earlier this year I also reached the finals of the Echo Environment Awards in the waste re-use and prevention category!

 

I'm a School For Social Entrepreneurs Alumni 

For the past year I've been on NatWest's Pre-Accelerator and now the Accelerator programme in Manchester. 


I'm a self professed 'social entrepreneur' but unfortunately the festivals don't pay us to recover waste. For the past 3 years I've completely self financed the festival waste recovery operation and I've deconstructed hundreds of tents by hand. Not easy whilst building a start up business in its infancy.

I've created Eco Fashion Hub.Com where we plan to sell our InTENTse collection. I've spent the past 12 months conducting market research and taking our products to festivals and events where the response has been phenomenal and we literally can't meet demand! We know this concept works but really need some financial support to scale up manufacturing and bring Sew InTENTse into fruition. 

What's the long term vision?

Eco Fashion Hub is currently an online platform however we'd love to create physical hubs right across the UK. These hubs will provide a place for communities to come together and not just make our own inTENTse products but learn how to recycle wardrobes and learn about the principles of a circular economy and textile reuse. Using Slow Fashion to tackle the aging population crisis and ever increasing social isolation problem. 

Products 

If you'd like to see samples of our products, head over to our Instagram Page, Facebook Page or You Tube Channel. If you like what you see, you can have your very own sew intense reusable bag (made from festival tent groundsheet), Sew Intentse reusable poncho (made from festival tents) or Sew Intentse tote (made from advertising banners, lined with festival tent inner tent fabric) just by pledging to Back Her Business!!

And finally, being an Entrepreneur isn't easy. 

  • Just 1% of venture capital is awarded to female owned businesses
  • Only 1 in 3 entrepreneurs are female
  • Less than 6% of businesses are all female led teams
  • 8 in 10 businesses will fail within 2 years

So, my ask is simply can you #BackHerBusiness 


 

Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.

£150 or more

0 of 50 claimed

£150 reward

Million Stars specialise in pop up, urban camp sites and have our own registered, not for profit camping club. To thank you for pledging £150 we will offer you and up to 3 members of your family a place at one of our Big Family Summer Camps in the North West/North Wales. Inc pre pitched tents, sleeping bags, BBQ's and activities such as Bushcraft and campfire cookery classes!

£10 or more

5 of 100 claimed

£10 Reward An InTENTse product named after you!

Every item that we make will be completely bespoke and unique. That means each product will need to have an individual name, that name could be yours! Unfortunately, if your name is Ben Dover, Dixie Normous, Mike Litoris or Mike Rack we can't help you! You can choose your full name, first name or nick name. Your name will be assigned to one of our hand-made products and featured on eco Fashion Hub, baring your name!

£25 or more

4 of 100 claimed

£25 Reward

A hand made survival bracelet made entirely from festival waste. (guy ropes) and inner tent fastenings.

£50 or more

2 of 100 claimed

Eco-bag made from 100% festival waste

To thank you for pledging to support, we will provide you with a reusable Eco-Bag. The bag is made from 100% festival waste, recovered from UK music festivals throughout the Summer of 2019. The bags are either made from groundsheet, inner tent or outer tent fabric. Every aspect of the bag is using tent waste including any fastenings, zips or handles. Bags are robust and designed for regular reuse!

£75 or more

2 of 50 claimed

£75 Reward

To thank you for your pledge, we will send you a hand made, reusable poncho. Our ponchos are made from 100% from abandoned tents, recovered from UK music festivals in 2018. A three step industrial cleaning process follows deconstruction before upcycling into a Poncho with contrasting body/hood. Each hand made poncho takes over 20 hours to create and has helped prevent a tent from entering landfill. Ponchos (like tents) come in a variety of colour

£150 or more

0 of 4 claimed

Reward for Business supporters

For your £150 pledge to Sew InTENTse, we can offer the following! 2 tweets tagging in your Twitter handle shared to circa 7,000 followers, thanking you for backing my business A video interview filmed at your business or at the Natwest Accelerator Hub, Spinningfields, M3. topics include CSR, Social Impact, sustainability and why its important for your business to support female entrepreneurship. Video upload to our You Tube Chanel

£300 or more

0 of 2 claimed

Reward for Business Supporters £300 pledge

We'll come to your place of work and deliver 'An Introduction to Sustainable Events and Venues' for up to 20 employees. 2 hours in duration, topics include SDG's, legislation, compliance, environmental landscape and ISO20121 The International standard for Sustainable Events. North West Area only. Not for you? Why not donate this reward to a local charity, community group or social enterprise who may not have a training budget to procure themselve

£400 or more

0 of 1 claimed

Camping Chair Hire for your next event

We've recovered over 400 camping chairs, abandoned at UK music festivals. Each chair has been deconstructed, laundered, re-branded and repurposed. We will provide 1 day hire of these chairs including delivery in return for backing my business (North West Area Only). Ideal for a conference, community event or larger event. There's a year to claim your prize and you could save a small fortune compared to traditional chair hire!

£500 or more

0 of 4 claimed

Business Supporter Sponsorship Pledge

In return for backing my business I will provide; Your logo displayed on all Sew InTENTse literature for 1 year A Social Impact Report detailing the difference your sponsorship has made to a female start up, to communities and the environment. Regular social media engagement with an audience circa 7,000 Invitation for you to visit Sew InTENTse Sewcials and meet of the beneficaries of the project A product named after your business

£2,000 or more

0 of 2 claimed

Your very own EXCLUSIVE MINI FESTIVAL!

For pledging a whopping £2000 to Sew Intense we will provide you with your very own exclusive Big Family Summer Camp! We'll provide the location (in the North West) all the tents, sleeping bags, BBQ...in fact everything you need for a weekend spent under the stars. Whether you're celebrating a birthday, anniversary or just the arrival of Summer you and up to 10 friends or children can join us for your own exclusive camp in Spring/Summer 2020!

£3,000 or more

0 of 1 claimed

Reward for Business Supporters £3000

For a pledge of £3000 we will conduct an in-house baseline assessment for ISO20121 The International Management Standard for Sustainable Events. Plus, we'll provide a 6 month training programme for 2 of your employees, enabling you to work towards ISO20121. Procured independently, this package would cost in excess of £7,000. Only 1 is available, it could be yours...all you have to do is back my business!

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