Bright young pupils at a Renfrewshire high school have set their sights on addressing the climate crisis – one T-shirt at a time.
They’ve created an apparel company called Tee’d Up and all of their products are made from recycled materials.
The Johnstone High students have a range of tote bags they sell for a budget price to their fellow pupils and the local community.
The S6 entrepreneurs collect unwanted T-shirts, which they then repurpose into bags. They then add environmentally friendly messages on to the bags to promote their social mission.
Pupil Owen McCarrey, who’s involved with the project, told the Express: “Our company Tee’d Up provides sustainable alternatives to plastic based products. Our business is aiming to reduce the damage that is done to the environment through climate change and wastage. We do this by upcycling T-shirts and making them into stylish and durable tote bags and accessories.”
As part of the process of turning the T-shirts into bags, there are offcuts produced, but not even those go to waste, with these turned into scrunchies and novelty bows.
And with the cost-of-living crisis in mind, Tee’d Up have kept their prices as low as possible: large tote bags are sold for £3.50; small tote bags for £2.50; and bows and scrunchies are £1.
Owen explained the motivation behind their business model: “Our team realised that climate change was our generation’s most pressing issue.
“We understood that plastic-based products were polluting our local community and landfills. Fast fashion was also understood by our team to be damaging our planet as production by large clothing companies is causing substantial CO2 emissions to the environment.
“Tee’d Up wanted to offer a sustainable alternative and protect the planet for the current and future generations.”
The team is composed of 16 S6 pupils. They are mentored/overseen by a group of teachers who advise and support them in their business journey.
They have been running the company since the beginning of November and began making a profit in January.
A special trading licence has been provided by the Young Enterprise scheme, which sees S5 and S6 pupils across the country run their own student company throughout the academic year. It is designed to allow students to gain real-word skills and experiences that they can apply in the world of work or further education.
And Tee’d Up have impressed Young Enterprise judges after winning the Renfrewshire Regional Finals.
They’re now through to the Scotland National Finals at Hampden Park on Wednesday, May 31. And they need the support of Renfrewshire residents to help them in their battle to be crowned best in the country.
There are 14 awards available in the finals, one of which is the ‘People’s Choice Award’. To win the award, the company needs more votes from the general public than their competitors.
Should they be successful in winning the company of the year award, they will then represent Scotland in the Young Enterprise UK finals in June.
“Tee’d Up are a team that has put the local communities of Johnstone and Paisley as its forefront,” said Owen.
“Our team has worked endlessly over the last seven months to improve our local community and to reduce the amount of wastage that is accumulated.
“We have built a dedicated following on our social media channels and have created a buzz around our school amongst staff and pupils surrounding the work we do.
“People should vote for us because we have all worked incredibly hard on our business.
“We have sold at numerous events within school, and we have also participated in local craft fayres where we engaged with locals.
“We are also the first team in our school’s history to make it to the Scottish Finals and we want to do more than just make up the numbers. We want to show the country why Tee’d Up deserves to be on the national stage.”
To support Tee’d Up vote using the QR code above before the Monday, May 29 deadline.
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