The White Rose brand is one of the most easily recognisable Nottingham brands. The fashion brand has managed to create a loyal customer base who flock to their 12 stores to get the best bargains in upcycled, second-hand clothing and accessories.
The label is the creation of Grace Walker and her co-founder Angela Ford who came up with the concept for White Rose while studying at Nottingham Trent University. The two friends were involved with the Aegis Trust who were working with students at the time to raise awareness of genocide.
Grace and Angela both travelled to Rwanda in 2008 which she describes as a very 'moving experience' where they met survivors who were students like themselves. They came back to Nottingham determined to do what they could to support Aegis Trust.
"We saw the impact of Aegis in Rwanda which was incredibly meaningful and changing lives. We wanted to set up some form of charity shops to help make money. CEO, James Smith welcomed the idea and wanted us to speak more about it after we had completed our exams," she said.
Angela and Grace opened the first White Rose on Goose Gate where the landlord gave them a 'cheeky deal' because they had lived in the flats above. They opened and launched their first store straight into the Christmas rush in December 2009.
"We had a period of time to settle into it and find our feet and make mistakes but fortunately for us, it worked. We didn't have a lot of overheads and managed to get some mentorship. It was great and a lot of fun."
One of the biggest challenges for the charity was sourcing not just stock - but items that customers wanted to buy. White Rose was not a household name so it proved to be difficult at the start.
Grace said: "We would have to go digging to get a reliable supplier. While you may have donations, some are more sellable than others and to make the business work, you need to have products that your customers want so getting those donations was a challenge."
There were some memorable donations over the years including a pair of gold Adidas sneakers which appeared in the window of White Rose. Grace and marketing manager Dominic Carter said that customers still call into the shop looking for them.
"One donation that really stands out to me is a piece we had in White Rose Six. Someone donated a full length, white Sandro dress that was very original in it's design. I have no idea who donated it but it was a standout piece. We had limited edition gold Adidas trainers about four or five years ago too," Grace said.
"We knew from the beginning we wanted a chain of shops. We expanded as the customers were expressing they wanted more choice and we needed more space. People visit each store because everything is a one-off and we don't have ten of each style."
Dominic said: "The first White Rose is in the first ever store that Boots, a massive Nottingham brand, started in so its cyclical."
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Grace highlighted that it wasn't until they opened White Rose six that she felt they were a true alternative to fast fashion on the high street. She counts the opening of the online store as another proud moment for the company.
She said: "Fashion can be a vehicle for change if its used in the right way. We launched online a week into lockdown which was a worrying time for everyone as we didn't know what we were facing. We wanted to be able to keep the vision going forward regardless and keep doing good."
"Everyone thought now is the time to go online so that customers still have access. People used to come in while socially distancing to donate at the door as they had time to clear out their wardrobes. They were so generous but we had to see the clothes at a distance," she said.
The early days of Covid made handling donations particularly worrying. The clothing had to be quarantined for a week at a time to reduce the risk. Customers can still donate clothing to White Rose and the details can be found on the website on where to go and how to drop bags in.
There are now stores in the city centre, Beeston, Newark and Sheffield - are there any plans for further expansion?
Grace said: "Its always been the objective of White Rose to provide unrestricted sustainable funding to fund peace education programs. Sometimes we go into areas of conflict where no one wants to go because of the peace work we do. Even the people who are fighting welcome us because no one really wants the children to grow up in that environment."
"This means expanding our retail footprint to support that and I think we would like to grow to 25 or 50 stores eventually. We want to provide a fun fashionable environment for customers but also, engage people with our messaging especially students as young people are our future."
