Images Magazine Digital Edition May 2018

MARKET INTELLIGENCE www.images-magazine.com 72 images MAY 2018 The current suppliers for Bloodwise are Scimitar, QSW and Kustom Clothing. Matt is part of the procurement team that ensures the kit chosen is of a good quality. “Some kit suppliers that we’ve used in the past, it’s been the kind of kit that would be worn for just one running event and then it might get thrown away. What we want is a credible piece of sports kit that they will wear again when they’re training or running at the weekend or on their commute to work, so that we get maximum exposure out of that piece of kit, and that it inspires other people to want to take part and do an event for Bloodwise as well.” A criticism he has of the garment supplying process is the number of styles offered. “When we come round to renewing contracts, we’re literally inundated with suppliers wanting to come in and pitch, and it can be an incredibly confusing process because there are just so many different types of clothes. Take a cotton T-shirt, for example. There are so many different thickness, so many different unit costs... It’s often quite confusing in terms of what we want, which is just a decent quality, cotton T-shirt.” Value-based decisions Philippa Schlaefli, corporate and community fundraiser at Building Heroes, is another person who highlights the problem of choosing from the seemingly endless number of cotton T-shirts on offer. “We need things that wash well and last, so luxury is wasted on us,” she adds. The Building Heroes charity trains and helps veterans who are transitioning out of the services to gain jobs in the construction industry by running bespoke residential training programmes. “Whilst many individuals successfully make the transition to civilian employment, a significant number struggle to find meaningful employment or accept jobs which fail to match their expertise, aspirations or true potential,” she explains. Those who take part in the course qualify with a Level 1 City & Guilds Diploma in Construction and qualify for their CSCS card; within three months of leaving, 90% of last year’s graduates progressed into jobs or further training. Every participant on the five-week course is given a uniform to wear: two T-shirts, combat trousers, hoodie and boots. “This helps the men feel like a team, as they have never met before arriving for the residential course,” says Philippa. It also helps identify them around the large campus, and by looking smart they are also given authority around the campus. The uniform is supplied by Leigh- based High Viz Workwear, which offers a fair price and works well with the charity, reports Philippa. While for Building Heroes it’s the hardwearing aspect of the clothes that matters, for The Word Forest Organisation, having the right accreditations is the most important aspect of the garments they offer. Tracey West, CEO and fundraiser at the environmental charity that plants trees and builds classrooms in impoverished communities in Kenya, explains: “Raw materials matter and so do working conditions. We sell 100% certified organic cotton items from the EarthPositive range. It’s the base standard from which we work and while we might not have thousands of sales because we recognise it is a bit more expensive, the human cost of producing safe, healthy cotton matters more to us than anything else. For us, it’s global health first, and money in from merchandise second.” The one-year-old charity launched a Branded garments raise funds and profiles Emmaus UK has branded running tops for those taking part in fundraising events