Sustainable

Outgrown To Thrown

What inspired you to start your business?

Whilst shopping for my father’s funeral, I went to high street shops to get my children, then 1 and 3, some formal wear. I bought two outfits, dressing them from head to toe which cost over £150. These outfits were worn for one day, they got muddy halfway through the day as the children were playing outside (shoes scuffed etc.) and within 3 months, they no longer fit. These clothes were also made in Turkey and China. I felt a financial and environmental weight that this is how we are shopping for children’s clothes, and it isn’t right. We did some research and were shocked at how much children’s clothing, barely worn, ends up in a landfill. With the current economic climate, we wanted to create a platform for parents and carers to buy, shop and swap children’s clothing. We created Cress with the aim of extending the life of children’s clothing, enabling families to save and make money and shop sustainably and to create a community.

The principles of Cress.

The non-negotiables that guide our strategy for growth, our communication, and our commitment to our community.

 Pioneering change

Our aim is to make pre-loved aspirational for all age groups. That means addressing and changing mindsets without patronising or preaching. We commit to understanding the things that hold people back from buying pre-loved, to removing barriers, and to encouraging and celebrating the rise of the circular economy. It’s the re-commerce revolution, and we stand right at the front.

 Building community

We know we can’t do this alone, and that an empowered community will open up pre-loved buying and selling to more and more people. Our goal is to provide the platform for this to happen and to facilitate a culture of encouragement and individual success, as well as support, understanding and fun.

 Empowering people

You can make money and do good. Cress puts an end to the bin bags in the attic, the pile-ups of hand-me downs, the never worn and the never wanted. There’s more life and adventure in the clothes our children wear. Through a seller’s profile, parents can easily create new household revenue streams through sorting and selling the pieces that could have ended up in landfill.

 Making it happen

Standing for something means more than talking about change. We are proactive in finding solutions for the problems (and disasters) created by fast fashion, particularly the impact of children’s clothes. We track and measure the impact of the work we do to support and educate changing attitudes towards shopping online.

Every sale through Cress is a step towards changing the world.

What does the future look like for Cress?

What sets us apart is the community is at the heart of everything we do. We aim to be a resource for parents and carers and a ‘go to’ place for everything child related. We also are working with local schools and communities on some initiatives close to our heart, including reading and sports, to give back and ensure children have better opportunities across the country.

Our first community initiative, which is already live, is our ‘Cress book club’. We thought of this after speaking to friends who are teachers who shared how many children are not confident readers and do not have access to books. 4 children from every class are going into secondary school, not being able to read confidently. This needs to change. We are sending out a free book, age appropriate (based on the age of children’s clothing ordered) with every sale made through our golden service. And we are encouraging our sellers to do the same. We all have books that are sitting gathering dust, well-loved but no longer read by our children. Children don’t mind if a book is a bit battered; they just want to dive into the world of a new character, fly through space on a rocket, sail the seas