Planet Friendly Parties Durham

28/11/2023

When first trying to navigate what sustainable living really meant I found The Buyerarchy of Needs by very useful.

The idea is to work your way from the bottom of the pyramid and only buy once you’ve exhausted all other options.

It’s a good tool to help disrupt the ‘need = buy’ cycle.

I still buy stuff. And probably still more stuff than I really need. But I do now buy less stuff and definitely a lot less NEW stuff.

And what’s great is that our party kits sit on the ‘borrow’ step of this pyramid. So if you don’t happen to already have 30 reusable plates for your kid’s party, borrowing is the next best thing. 💚

Find your local kit via the map on our website.
🥳 partykitnetwork.org/find

22/11/2023

Time to ditch the selection boxes!

01/03/2023

DONT FORGET‼️‼️

It’s our 1st shopping event tomorrow! 🛍️

There’s going to be some fab small businesses there as well as the usual play session and the yummiest sweet treats and hot drinks! 🍰☕️

We’re so excited!

Can’t wait to see you all there 👋🏼

14/02/2023

10/01/2023

We’re unfortunately not able to run the costume library this world book day due to me having another business that is about to launch something very exciting (quick shameless plug for Back into nature 🤣) so I’m thrilled to see that these guys are running something similar! Get your old costumes dug out, drop them in and then pop along to pick one up for next to nothing! 💚🌎🥳

26/12/2022

It’s really sad that I had to scroll through so many comments and the majority saying they think this is a good idea or that they did similar. In fact, I stopped scrolling before I’d even seen one comment about how horrendously bad this attitude is for the planet. Sadly there is still much work to be done to get people to change their attitudes about being more environmentally friendly 😢🌎🥳

A man has been branded as 'lazy' online after serving Christmas dinner in oven trays - but other people have raved that the idea saves tonnes of time washing up

20/12/2022

Well this is fantastic news and LONG overdue! It might also give the poor staff who work in supermarket cafes a break from me harping on at them about why I don’t want them to serve me water in a plastic cup when they have perfectly good washing up facilities and could use actual glasses! 🤣🌎🥳

Single-use plastic items including cutlery, plates and polystyrene cups are set to be banned in England by the UK Government

09/12/2022

Hear hear! Sorry Billy (my dog!) 🌎🥳🎄

Potentially unpopular opinion incoming....
(NB. I'm really NOT bashing anyone for the choices they make for their pet with this post, I'm just hoping to start a sensible 🙏 conversation!)

Your pet doesn't need a Christmas hat/outfit, an Advent Calendar or a Christmas present.

*runs away and hides*

Before you shout "But it's only bit of fun, she loves it" at me, let's dig into some stats:
🐶 🐱 62% of UK households own a pet. There are around 12 million dogs and 12 million cats in the UK
💷 Total spending on pet care in the UK in 2021 was over £4BILLION
🎓 66% of owners buy accessories for their pets, including birthday+Christmas presents
🧣An average of £200 per year is spent on clothes for pets with 20% of owners spending over £20 a month on outfits
🦴 And that's before we even start to look at food treats that we buy our pets

Now I have a dog. I love my dog. I used to be a vet. I absolutely appreciate the human-animal bond and how much our pets mean to us.
But we shouldn't forget that they are animals, and not our children.
Not only can these outfits and extra food treats (dog ice cream? Christmas dinner for your dog? Christmas stocking packed with treats) be bad for our pet's health they all have a HUGE impact on the planet too.

We're all increasingly aware of the impact of fast fashion on the planet, and that extends to our pet's 'fashions' too.
Most of these outfits will be made of plastic, and designed to be worn a handful of times for the novelty value and the pic on IG.
Oil has been used and processed to make the fabric for the outfit. And then some poor bewildered factory worker is sewing seams on Christmas dog hats, being paid pennies per hr, often working long hours in dangerous conditions, so we can have a fun photo op with our pets.
And ultimately, the chances are it will end up in landfill.

I know we love our pets.
I know we want to show our love for our pets.
But our pets don't know it's their birthday. Or Christmas day.

Let's really think about what our pets want: Time with us; an extra long walk, a play in the garden, a nice lap to snooze on.
All of these things are free, and have no impact on the planet!!

Love your pet. Love the planet!

02/12/2022

Can anyone help with this? 🌎🥳

Can you help us and the environment?

Are you due an upgrade? Would you consider donating your old handset to us rather than selling it on?

We are looking for handsets that can be used by our practitioners in the woods. They must have a good battery life and a decent camera.

In order to ensure our finances are used in the best possible way, and also to reduce the need to produce more new things, we would much rather use donated handsets than buy new.

A few of our practitioners are currently struggling with broken screens and keypads and would really appreciate an 'upgrade'.

Some use Apple and others Andriod. Because of the changes in operating systems we are unable to effectively use anything more than 2 years old.

Please let us know if you have anything to donate :)

24/11/2022

What an amazing idea to reduce waste from school christmas cards! Who’s brave enough to suggest it to their child’s school?!
If you do, please let us know how the idea is received!
🌎🥳

How fab is this?!!
Juliet in The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse e-mailed the Headteacher of her kid's school about Christmas cards and the associated waste, and got this amazing response back!

15/11/2022

Visited this little gem this morning and what a lovely welcome we got! So pleased to see another like-minded business set up in Durham, helping to save pennies and live more sustainably at the same time! Some gorgeous clothes in and if you’re stuck for Christmas presents for little ones there are some fab little bits in there. 🌎💚

Hi Everyone 👋🏼

This is The Little Wardrobe NE were based on Alnwick Rd Newton Hall, Durham.

Here you will find new and nearly new children’s clothing from 0-5yrs at affordable prices

Our stock changes on a daily/weekly basis but you will usually find some beautiful pieces from Cath Kidston, boden, joules, frugi and Hugo Boss.

Our current toy selection is all wooden, sustainable and ethically made.
Our main supplier is Tenderleaf.

Tucked away in the corner of the shop you will find a little snug area for the children to read & play in while you shop!

We’ve got some gorgeous items in which would make beautiful Xmas gifts.

Come & say hello ☺️

13/11/2022

It might seem early, but we're beginning to make plans for the festive period here at REfUSE, and we would love to ask our community for help if possible - please read to the end!

Christmas isn't an easy time for everyone, and as in previous years we are opening our doors on the 25th December for a very special Christmas dinner, with all the trimmings, made from rescued surplus food. We expect to have about 120 guests, and we’ll have a festive afternoon of games, songs and presents, bringing together some of our cafe family and inviting in anyone who might find themselves lonely, hungry or struggling on Christmas Day. The whole affair will be a family one, with little divide between volunteers and guests, it'll be “all hands on deck” and we’ve all got something to give at Christmas time!

Places will need to be booked in advance.
We're initially working with our partner organisations to take referrals, but will be taking bookings for any further guests through social media and in the cafe in December so keep your eyes peeled!

In the meantime we wondered if we could ask for help with the following...

🚗 Lifts on the day:
We're looking for volunteers to drive guests to and from our Christmas meal. You would need to be available between 11.00-12.00 and then 2.30-3.30 for a return journey. If you could help with this please email [email protected], and specify that you're offering to drive on Christmas Day.

🎁Donate Christmas presents:
We want to go all-out to make sure everyone who joins us on Christmas Day leaves having had a full Christmas experience. We’d love donations of gifts and stocking-fillers like hats, scarves, socks, soap sets, notebooks and pens, please bring in to the cafe UNWRAPPED before Monday 12th December. Adult presents only, please - no toys. We would also appreciate donations of Christmas wrapping paper, can be partially used!

🍫 Donate to our tombola:
We'll be raising funds for our ongoing costs including running our Christmas Day meal with a tombola at our Christmas Fair this year. We've got plenty of chocolate so none of that needed, but toiletries, toys and any other unused gift items would be much appreciated. If you have any lovely things, unopened and unused, that you could contribute to help us raise money for Christmas, please bring them in to the cafe before Monday 12th December.

📢 Spread the word:
If you know of anyone who might be lonely or struggling at this time of year, please bear us in mind. Places are limited but will be open to the public for booking from early December: keep an eye on our page.

Thanks for reading!

13/11/2022

Come on Tesco surely you can do better than this - a whole range of disposable items where you are literally telling people it’s ok to use single use if you can’t be bothered to do the washing up! What happened to a commitment to reduce impact on the planet?! 😡😡😡

30/10/2022

It’s not just birthday parties you can use our kits for! Happy Halloween! No soggy paper plates for us today! 🎃 👻 🧙‍♀️
We still have availability for November and December and have started taking bookings for 2023! 🌎🥳

21/10/2022

This sounds like a great idea!

We have some exciting news to share with you! 😲👀

⚡️ INTRODUCING SWISH ⚡️ a brand new initiative from Green Heart Collective.

Clear out your wardrobe. Earn rewards. Let us do the hard work.

Welcome to SWISH, the preloved revolution where you can turn the clothes you never wear into rewards for you or for your favourite charity.

According to WRAP, there are an estimated 1.6 billion items of unworn clothing in UK wardrobes. Just think of the treasures hiding away in your wardrobe. Let us help! SWISH offers a simple and convenient way to find a new home for the high quality, good condition items you’ve fallen out of love with. What makes SWISH unique is that we will pay you or your chosen charity for the garments you send us once they have sold and costs have been deducted.

We do all the hard work for you. There’s no need to take any photos or create listings. Just double-check our criteria of what clothing we accept, then request a bag. Once you have registered your bag, fill it up and then drop it off at your local inPost locker. No need to pay any postage up front, we deduct this off the final price your clothes achieve. We’re committed to selling each item we receive for the highest realistic price so we can share the best rewards with you and/or your favourite charity.

The other great thing about using SWISH is that we sell directly to the public. Our mission is to reduce the amount of fashion waste that goes to landfill, by encouraging individuals to buy preloved rather than new. We’re determined to rehome your amazing clothes so that they become part of someone else’s favourite outfit. If something doesn’t sell, then we work with local charities to give the clothes to those who need them most.

Join us in the preloved revolution. Together, we can change the face of fashion. ✊

🔗 Order your SWISH bag today at swish.plus

🔗 You can also add a bag to your order when checking out at greenheartcollective.uk

17/10/2022

FREE Halloween costumes available to collect from Sherburn Hill Community Hub! 🌎🥳

13/10/2022

Final bag of costumes delivered today to Sherburn Hill Community Hub and will soon be available for people to collect from there free of charge! All we ask is that you only take what you need, please don’t sell, and pass on to someone else to use after you! Oh, and consider hiring one of our kits for your next party! 😉

11/10/2022

I’ve been thinking about party bags! I don’t like them personally but I know a lot of people do! I also know there’s a growing number of people wanting to provide them but without all the plastic tat! So I’m toying with offering a planet friendly version to order along with the party kits and here’s where I need your help - if you were going to buy premade plastic free party bags, what sort of price per head would you be prepared to pay? Just a ballpark figure would be great to know so I can see if I can make something work that’s good quality and affordable as well as planet friendly! Please comment below…. Thank you 🌎🥳