Fueling the Circular Economy, Sending Less to Landfill and More to a Good Cause. A Good Thing: Baby Blankets Case Study.

The idea was simple: businesses are generating too much waste, while many charities are in need of more resources. What if we could connect the two? That’s why we created A Good Thing. Since the operation started in 2021, we have made matches between charities and businesses across the UK, preventing items from going to landfill and fueling the circular economy.

Upcycling stock is not always as easy as it seems

The idea of donating rather than dumping seems simple, but without the right connections, and with the time and effort involved, sometimes landfill can feel like the only option. When Allison from Jack & Jillaroo heard about A Good Thing, she was delighted. She had recently made the decision to put on hold her business creating wonderful handmade baby clothes and accessories such as organic cotton muslins, beeswax and olive oil teethers, and bibs lined with bamboo towelling. Allison had been looking to find new homes for some of her surplus products for some months already, but without much success.

Determination prevents dumping

Allison had not anticipated it would be so challenging to find a new home for her stock when she decided to take a break from Jack & Jillaroo. She tried on multiple occasions to donate the blankets to local charities, but found that her messages went unanswered. It was hard to make those connections. She also tried reaching out to retailers, hoping they might take her stock, but had no joy there either. At one stage someone even offered to take the stock off Allison’s hands for a fee, but she was determined to give the blankets away to someone who was going to make really good use of them, and who would prevent them from ending their life in landfill.

The Baby Bank supports families in extreme need

Meanwhile, The Baby Bank charity in Windsor had registered with A Good Thing: just a couple of days later, they spotted Allison’s blankets being offered via the site. The charity couldn’t believe their luck! The charity was founded in 2015 by two Windsor mums, and accepts donations of good-quality secondhand clothes, equipment and furniture. The charity passes these on to local families in extreme need – it has helped more than 5,000 such families since it was set up.

The Baby Bank can help families in so many ways: it provides clothing for pregnant and breastfeeding mums, children’s clothes, cots, pushchairs, carseats, baby bottles and furniture – among much else. The charity works with families facing a wide range of difficulties: they could be the victims of fire or flooding, or they could be fleeing domestic violence. They could be teenage mums, or they could be refugees or asylum seekers – newly arrived in the UK with very few possessions.

For many of these families, receiving a beautiful handmade baby blanket will not only keep their baby warm, but it will bring the family joy and will give them that wonderful feeling of someone having thought about them – at a time when many of them are struggling and finding life very hard.

The charity was obviously thrilled with the outcome, and Allison was delighted too – many of the items she donated were things she had been wanting to find a new home for over many months.

    “Using A Good Thing to donate my baby blankets couldn’t have been easier. I decided I was happy to drive the blankets over to The Baby Bank, to save them a journey. The whole experience really was hassle-free.”

    “I think there could be a lot of demand for this service. I know of many other businesses in my situation – wanting to pass on surplus stock for free but finding it very hard to do that.”

Fuel the circular economy and do A Good Thing

Our case study demonstrates it’s easy to do A Good Thing by sending less to landfill and more to a good cause. There are 2.5 billion tonnes of waste created annually across Europe alone. By enabling the sharing, reusing and recycling of existing goods and products for as long as possible, A Good Thing is extending the lifecycle of so many items, minimising their impact on the planet and ensuring they’re donated to a good cause.

If you're a business owner and this story has inspired you to donate your unwanted items - get in touch!

It can be anything, from a used laptop or some office furniture to surplus products. Let’s send less to landfill and more to a good cause.