I remember only too vividly when I first became a mum, and stopped working in the fast-paced environment of TV, that it was an extreme change and at times a lonely experience. I love Mush the app which encourages mums to connect with each other. What other UK impactful startup do you love and why? We want to become the British household name for quality second hand children’s and women’s clothes that can be bought conveniently and at fantastic prices. Loopster will develop a methodology so we can more exactly measure the amount of CO2 reduction and water saving we are creating through selling second hand clothes and extending their life.

Traid measure how much we donate to them and the consequent reduction in carbon emissions and water saving. What are the metrics you will use to track/measure your impact? We also have an impact offering parent’s quality clothing at a fraction of High Street prices. By July 2019 we had donated to Traid over half a tonne of unwanted clothes and shoes diverting them from landfill and reducing their carbon emissions (CO2) by 5.3 tonnes and resulting in a water saving of 900 m3. It means the amount of clothes we have extended the life of and reduced their CO2 and water footprint and the amount of clothes we have diverted from landfill. What does 'Impact' mean to you as a profit-driven company? Most of the clothes we reject are donated to our charity partner Traid, who sell them and use the proceeds to fund international development projects to improve conditions and working practices in the textile industry. Extending the life of a child’s T-shirt by just nine months will reduce its CO2 and water footprint by 20-30%. Purpose is at the core of our business model which is to close the loop between the use and reuse of clothes. The convenience of Loopster incentivises customers to be more sustainable. For shoppers we offer clearly photographed, quality brands at bargain prices. What is your business model? (in particular talking about how you marry profit and purpose)įor sellers, they simply fill a prepaid Loopy Clear Out Bag with their discarded clothes and we pay them upfront for everything we accept. We are a managed marketplace so we both buy and sell to our customers.

Our customer base is parents and grandparents as we are currently focused on selling children’s clothes. We are revolutionising the resale model for second hand clothes so that is quicker and more convenient for customers than the current peer to peer options. Our mission is to change that by making shopping second hand and more sustainably easier. Our interview with Jane, the Founder of Loopsterĭescribe your mission in a sentence or twoįashion is one of the planet’s most polluting industries.

Loopster linkedin