Local Groups’ Best Practice Guide – November 2013
Issued by the Volunteering Development Department
Giving Nature a Home branded clothing
We have some great news. We have set up a website that allows you to purchase branded
clothing for your group at brilliant prices. You can also contact the company by telephone,
so if you don’t have internet access don’t worry. If you would like a printed copy of the
brochure please email [email protected] or call Jo Mellor on 01767 693390. There
is also a copy on Dropbox, in the Resources folder.
How much does it cost?
We have secured some very competitive prices. Here’s how they compare to our previous
supplier:
Polo shirts: £8.00, a saving of 47%
Sweatshirts: £11.98, a saving of 25%
Fleeces: £14.45, a saving of 38%
For bilingual versions there is an extra cost of 50p for the sweatshirts and fleeces.
All prices are correct at the time of printing – they do not include VAT and carriage.
Is there a minimum quantity?
No, though it is more cost effective to order a number of items together as it reduces the
number of cartons required and therefore the delivery costs. Remember, orders can be a
mix of different garments. An order of six garments is suggested to keep shipping costs to a
minimum.
How do we pay?
You can pay for these items from your RSPB Charity Bank Account. The supplier will take
credit/debit cards, or you can send a cheque.
What does it look like?
You can see what it looks like on the attachment. More information on sizes and styles can
be found on Evolve branding’s website please see the link below. Evolve is our supplier for
our staff uniforms.
Please don’t ask the clothing supplier to change the style or design. To keep things on
brand and costs down, we are only making one option available for each item of clothing.
We hope you understand. You are of course able to ‘personalise’ the items with the addition
of your group’s name.
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Do we have to have our own branded clothing?
It is your choice; here are some options available to you:
a) You can order and pay for your personalised group clothing as above from your
RSPB Charity Bank Account.
b) You can borrow polo shirts from your regional/country office. These will not be
personalised, and will need to be washed and iron prior to being returned after the
event.
Are there any other styles, designs or colours?
There is only one style, design and colour. We know it's important to appear as if we are all
part of the same organisation working to Save Nature, the only difference between staff and
volunteers’ clothing is the addition of your local group’s name.
Do we have to use Evolve?
Yes. Evolve is our sole supplier for branded clothing. We have a contract with them to
provide all our clothing and allow them to use our logo, which is a licensed and registered
trade mark. By using this supplier we benefit from increased cost effectiveness and
consistency of supply across staff and volunteers.
If you use a different supplier you are likely to pay more per item and will not be able to use
the RSPB logo - as there is no licensed contract in place. You will also not be able to pay
for the items from your RSPB Charity Bank Account as it would not be considered to be a
purchase for a charitable activity. You can also contact Evolve directly for quotes for
producing your own group clothing as they can also offer a bespoke service.
Potentially we could have three different categories of uniform eg:
1. RSPB branded local group
2. RSPB branded staff
3. Our local group’s own uniform
Do we have to have them all?
You don’t have to. If you have RSPB branded clothing for your group we are more than
happy for you to wear this whilst volunteering on a reserve, at a site or during an event.
We don’t have RSPB branded clothing as we have our own group logo,
can we order these from a different supplier?
Yes you can, however you cannot pay for this from your RSPB Charity Bank Account as
this clothing is solely for your group and is not, therefore, considered a purchase for a
charitable activity.
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We are aware that some groups have group branded clothing for sale to their membership
as a fundraising activity. This clothing can only be paid for from your group’s own bank
account and any profit paid into the RSPB Charity Bank Account.
If your group’s own logo incorporates an old version of the RSPB logo, please stop using
this as soon as possible during public facing activities.
Can we continue using clothing with the old logo?
Yes. However, we really do want any public-facing volunteers, eg ‘meeters & greeters’,
people giving community talks and those attending public events, to be wearing the new
logo and branding.
Any clothing that still has some wear in it can continue to be worn on work parties or when
carrying out manual work on reserves or working behind the scenes.
What do we do with our old branded clothing?
•
Option 1 Why not make rag rugs? - We have a few creative people that are based
here at The Lodge who are making rag rugs from old uniforms. These are really
lovely! For information of how to do this, take a look at the Best Practice Guide How to make rag rugs or knit from recycled clothing. This is available on Dropbox
within the folder called Ideas, How to Guides & Information
•
Option 2 - As space at Logistics for storage is rather limited, if you can’t find any
other use and you have clothing in good condition you can send it to Logistics at St
Martins. This will be sent on to BirdLife Partners abroad who will greatly appreciate
receiving it. Please ensure that your parcels are clearly marked ‘old uniform for
BirdLife Partners’. Here’s the address:
Logistics (old uniform for BirdLife Partners)
Unit 17, St Martins Business Centre
St Martins Way
Bedford
Bedfordshire
MK42 0LF
•
Option 3 - Any clothing that is too worn for any of the above should be recycled.
Please DO NOT donate it to a charity shop – we have in the past had instances of
scams where people have been impersonating our staff or volunteers. Please
remove the logos from any un-useable clothing and recycle it at your local clothing
bank.
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How do I order the new clothing?
Please visit http://www.evolvebranding-portal.co.uk/volunteers/
Using the website for the first time - Registration
When you first open the website you will see this screen. When you use this for the first
time you will need to register, please click the register link below the log in box.
You will then see the following screen, please add your preferred user name and your email
address. Your password will then be emailed to you.
Once you receive your email with your password, add your user name and the password to
the login screen. You will then be guided to a page (as below) to personalise your profile as
appropriate.
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You will then need to log out of the site by clicking where is says ‘howdy and your
username.
Close your browser and click back on the link http://www.evolvebrandingportal.co.uk/volunteers/ and you will be able to place your order.
If you would like a paper copy of the brochure, please send an email to
[email protected] or call Jo Mellor on 01767 693390.
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Local Groups’ Best Practice Guide – November 2013
Issued by the Volunteering Development Department
How to make rag rugs, knit or crochet
from recycled clothing
It is with thanks to Kate Tycer, who manages the Residential Volunteering Scheme for her
patience and research to produce these ideas. Here is her first rug; it took between 10 to 12
polo shirts to make a plait of 33 metres. This was then made into a rug which is
approximately 30x20” oval, although you can make any shape or size you like.
To make a rug with recycled polo shirts
I cut the polo shirts up using this method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3xJ_W6vYN4
– cutting into strips of approx one inch wide. I made each strip into a ball.
I tied the initial three strips into a knot and, after the first few turns, jammed the end into a
drawer – I have a drawer in my table, so I could comfortably sit in a chair - but fixing it to a
door handle or similar would also work. Ensure that you make the plait quite tight.
I found that by using two balls held wound with an elastic band (releasing more as needed),
and one shorter, un-balled length, enable me to plait easily. Pulling the un-balled length out
of the muddle every few turns, unwound the balls. When I stopped plaiting, I stopped the
plait from coming undone with a strong bulldog clip.
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I used the yarn made from three black polo shirts to start with – then plaited in different
colours as I went along, in my rug the plait consists of one black at all times.
When I wanted to join one length of yarn to another I cut a slit into the end of the two pieces
I wanted to join and then linked them like you would if you wanted to join two rubber bands
together – this video shows three ways to join t-shirt yarn – it’s the 2nd method I used
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hc8c_RDrrM
I coiled my rug on the table as I plaited so I could see where I wanted to change colour, and
how big it was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuITyZ5mUBM this shows one way of turning the braid
into a rug. It also shows the method for tapering off the size of the braid to finish.
However, I didn’t want to back mine with a towel, so I used this method
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaVmoMUHfvs – this explains how to lace it together. I
used black button hole thread and a non-pointed needle (an elastic threader would work
just as well). It gives a much superior way of joining the braids as it gives a tight finish and
hides joins and seams (from the sides of the polo shirts) and then no backing needed.
I have read that by using a caulking gun and putting a spiral of caulk on the back, spreading
it and letting it dry over night will give it a non-slip finish. I have put a piece of silicone mesh
(you can buy it for making any rug anti-slip) under mine.
To knit with recycled polo shirts
As with the rug I cut the polo shirts up using this
method
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3xJ_W6vYN
4 – cutting into strips of approx one inch wide. I
made each strip into a ball.
Then using large size knitting needles. Kate found
that 10mm produced a very tight knit when using
the one inch strips as described above. Knit in the
usual fashion, following which ever pattern you
think is suitable for your project.
To crochet with recycled tee-shirts
The other alternative is to use tee-shirts cutting using the
same method as above to give a long length of material.
The tee-shirt material naturally curls so that you can then
crochet with it.
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