Life Matters More
Your dose of thought-provoking insights into the world of sustainability with Philippa Hann.
Life Matters More
#12 Kate Allan & Emma Chaplin: Why TV's Waste Problem Is Really a Community Opportunity
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, Philippa Hann talks to Kate and Emma about what it takes to spot something that feels wrong inside your own industry and actually do something about it, why a clearance solution turned out to be a community story, and what other sectors can learn from how PropUp Project has reframed waste as a resource.
Kate Allan and Emma Chaplin are TV producers turned co-founders of PropUp Project, a non-profit social enterprise that rehomes, resells and recycles leftover sets, props and costumes from the TV and film industry. After years of watching the same waste cycle on every job, they used the pause of COVID to test an idea, and PropUp Project has been running ever since.
In just over four years, PropUp has redistributed more than 31,000 items to over 200 schools, charities, community groups and reuse projects nationwide, works with major broadcasters including ITV, and was recently recognised with Gold for Start-up Enterprise of the Year at the Global Good Awards.
In this conversation, you'll hear about:
- Why the freelance structure of TV and film, where one person is left to handle clearance with little time or budget, has made waste the default for decades, and how the streaming explosion has made the volume dramatically worse
- What it takes to make the right thing also the easy thing for producers: a one-stop service that handles the recce, inventory, redistribution, logistics and impact report so teams do not have to think about it
- Why local-first redistribution works: the proof-of-concept storage unit in Somers Town that was full of items needed by community groups within a one-mile radius, and why this shaped the whole model
- The stories that come out of clearance jobs, from prison-set mattresses going to early years nursery soft play, to branded hi-vis jackets becoming upcycled laptop bags, to a giant Last Supper painting taking pride of place in a local church at Easter
- Why behavioural change in any industry needs three things together: people who care setting an example, top-down policies that make the wrong thing more expensive, and awards that celebrate the good stories
- How running PropUp has changed the way Kate and Emma shop, parent and see the people around them, and why the team's deepest message is that this work is not about stuff, it is about community
- The two-step advice they give anyone who keeps having the same conversation about something wrong in their industry: trust that if you have seen it, others have too, and find one person to start with before doubt sets in
- Why the impact reports matter as much as the clearance itself, and what it means when items become a lifeline rather than a donation for families in furniture poverty
Key takeaway
PropUp Project shows how the right business model can turn a structural waste problem into a community one. The challenge was that the freelance pace, shrinking budgets and habit of putting a line in the budget for a skip made the right thing harder than the easy thing. Kate and Emma's argument, shaped by years inside the industry rather than outside it, is that change happens when you take the friction away, redistribute locally, and show people where their stuff ended up. The schools, theatres, refugee charities and community groups receiving these items are not waiting for the industry to be perfect.
The following podcast is intended to be of a general nature, will not be suitable for everyone, and should not be treated as a specific recommendation. We recommend taking professional advice before entering into any obligation or transaction.
Paradigm Norton Financial Planning Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA Register number is 455083.
Registered in England. Reg No 4220937, VAT Reg. No 918550904.
I'm Philip Bann, CEO of Paradigm Norton, and this is Life Matters More, where we explore ESG, sustainability, and the future of business. Welcome to Life Matters More, where we explore how people are using their money, work and influence to build a life and a world that truly matters. Now, imagine this: you're on a TV or film set surrounded by beautifully designed furniture, props, costumes, everything crafted for a moment on screen. And then, just a few weeks later, it all goes to waste. My guests today saw that happening and decided that it didn't make sense. Emma Chaplin and Kate Allen are the founders of PropUp Project, a brilliant social enterprise that takes those unwanted items and gives them a second life, supporting charities, communities, and a more circular way of thinking. They've already redistributed tens of thousands of items and were recently recognized with a gold award at the Global Good Awards. What I love about their story is this it's not just about sustainability, it's about noticing something that feels wrong and having the courage to do something about it. Kate and Emma, it is such a pleasure to have you here.
SPEAKER_04Thank you so much. What an intro. Thank you for the introduction. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, I'm sure excited about talking to you about this. So I want to start at the beginning, and I want you to take me back to the moment that it all started. You were, I know, you were runners, you were producers, you were wearing your trainers. Um what did you do on set that you could not unsee?
SPEAKER_03Um, yes, it was when we were runners, and um, it's timely because the London Marathon was yesterday when we've when we record this, but runners in TV and film is very different from um running, running on your on your feet, but you are running on your feet, that's why you're you're called runners. So I'm sure we were in trainers probably at the time. Um, and it was back when we met, which and the runner is sort of the entry-level job into TV and film, and you're doing everything. And we were sorting out props cupboards, we would get daily shopping lists to go out to at the time, Oxford Street, which was full of shops um that were buzzing with whatever you could get. And this was pre-Amazon, probably, wasn't it? That's scary. It feels like we were very old. Yeah, it does feel like we're old, and we'd get big shopping lists of all the props and costumes we'd need to get for this week's TV show we were filming. Um, and so it was there that we were, we were the consumers, we were the ones gathering, um, and we were the ones helping with art department and setting up these worlds that you see on screen, and then we were also in charge of helping box all that up at the end of filming, bring it back to the office, or send it to storage. And so it was in that runner role that we both saw the stuff. Um, and then you know, we'd we'd experience things like a change of scripts at midnight the day before record, and maybe there'd be a new game idea for a TV show, and suddenly you were ordering more props, ordering more costumes, ordering costumes in every size because you didn't know who was going to wear those different things, and you saw the kind of build-up again of stuff, and that just comes with the nature of creating TV, TV shows.
SPEAKER_04So, yeah, that's where it all began. Yeah, and I think fundamentally for Kate and I, we, as you mentioned, we were like we'd box it all up at the end and we'd put it in storage, or sometimes worse, things would get um discarded. And both Kate and I would have walked into work past multiple organizations or even people who we just thought there's stuff sitting there that could really be benefiting the wider world. And why is why are we not doing anything about this? Um, so yeah, it was first hand experience and then a real like personal passion that we shouldn't be doing this and seeing people that need it um that drove us to set up the buck in the first place.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so I I think people notice things all the time, but they don't set up a company that deals with it and uh and do what you've done. So what was what what happened? How did it go from that feels wrong to I'm gonna do something about this? Because this is your full-time job, right?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it we naively thought um, oh, maybe it could be a little side project and we run it alongside our full-time producer jobs. Um, but yeah, very quickly we realized if we're actually gonna make a difference, we have to dedicate full-time to this. Um, but yeah, we noticed this was a problem from being runners, and then as is the way we got swept up in becoming researchers, assistant producers, producers, and it was sort of during COVID, so 2020, 2021, when both Kate and I were a bit disillusioned with the industry. There was so much sort of neighbourism um during COVID as well, of like supporting one another. And I think we'd we'd been a bit like we kept seeing this happen time and time again. It wasn't just that first job where we met, where we were runners, where all this was happening, like it was every job we worked on, it was everyone we were talking to in the industry. And I think we just thought, right, well, should we do something about it? Let's do something about it. And um obviously we don't need to talk about the climate emergency and the cost of living crisis, it was just everywhere with sort of screaming to us, why don't you try and do something um with the waste problem in your industry? Um so yeah, it was. I don't even know if I've answered that question.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you can absolutely have. Um and we and we tested it, and and it was that it was working with different people as freelancers in different teams. And every time you'd see a box of props or it'd be the end, everyone in the office we'd all go, oh my gosh, isn't it awful? Oh, it's awful. And we'd all say, Isn't it awful? And um, then I would start to say, and Emma probably did this too, well, me and do you know Emma? Me and Emma are gonna set up this thing where we actually give it back, and people go, I mean, that's exactly what needs to happen. And then we'd all go on our next job and go, Oh, we haven't. And actually, we probably haven't given COVID enough credit. I think a lot uh came out of COVID positive. It's not just us that set up new um new companies and new organizations and did were drawn to what their passion was, and I think that is what happened. We had a moment in time, the world did, to stop and pause. And also we didn't have any work because TV wasn't being made. That we got creative and started brainstorming what this could look like, what it could be called. Um, and then when we were allowed in the storage units in COVID, we tested it. Yeah, and then it started to work.
SPEAKER_04So then we were like, right, looks like this is us, we've got to do it now. Up go those producer hats and um into storage units we go. Um, but it was very um obvious very quickly that there was a huge supply and a huge demand for something like prop up. So it just sort of then escalated. And you know, what was a little project turned into oh, we better do this full time, but let's just do six months because you know, maybe it's not gonna work, and then six months is now four and a bit years, nearly coming up to five years, um, and we're still doing it.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, brilliant. Well, I'm very glad that you are. Okay, so so you've spoken a bit about time being a barrier there, but uh why hadn't this happened before? Was it just time? Was it habits? Was it uh was it budget? What why hadn't anyone done this before?
SPEAKER_04So I think it's a bit of all three. Um not only have um the systems been in place for years and years and years, and sort of habitually we would have put um, or the industry would have put like a line in the budget for a skip or storage for clearance. Um, but also we are part of a freelance industry, so everyone is brought on to do the show, and then as is the way when filming reps, most people scatter and go on to a different show, whereas it's one person left to deal with everything um to do with the clearance, and that one person is probably left with very little budget, um, very little time, and very little resources. Um, so the quicker, easier thing to do um isn't necessarily the right thing to do. Um, however, I would like to say that that is the industry that Kate and I sort of came into is very different to the industry that we are now working in, which is a really positive thing. Um, and also a scary thing because that again reminds me how long we've known each other and how long we've been in telly. But um, I think more and more there's pressures to be more sustainable, more and more people really do care about what happens to the stuff. And so things are changing, behavioural shifts are happening. Um, but you know, historically it would have been a sort of culmination of all three of those things.
SPEAKER_03Also, it's worth saying that the industry is massively, as you've said, changed, but changed in a different way. That when TV and film was first made, there was, you know, a few films a year that everyone rushed to the cinema to see, and there were like four channels on TV doing only certain shows. And so there were lots of props, there are still, but lots of props houses, lots of the construction teams and stuff were all the same people moving around. And the industry has grown like so like massively. There's all the channels you can watch on TV, all the streamers, all the online content that you get, there's films being made all the time. That that with that comes more stuff, more props, more costume, not enough places to store these things to be reused again, and also a culture in the wider world of fast-paced buying, you know, consumerism being um very disposable, very cheap and far and hard and fast. And naturally, the way the sort of economy of the world has gone is the budgets have also shrunk in TV and films. It's like it's a culmination of all those many things of loads more stuff being bought quickly and cheaply, um, with less resources to pass it on to another place.
SPEAKER_02Um, I mean it sounds it sounds like this was it wasn't hard to persuade people that this was needed. Did you have to do anything to make it easy for because then the easy thing, right, is to put a line in the budget to for a skip or to stick it in a storage place or whatever. Did you what did you have to do to make it easy for people to say? Actually, that prop up is the easy option for us. Let's do that.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Well, I think um having come from the industry and knowing that um there was very little time resources budget, um, coming up with a solution that was like taking the hassle off everyone's hands was really important to us. People want a one-stop shop, a one-stop, is that one-stop shop? One anyway, whatever people want one solution that you know they can know that, okay, great, I don't have to deal with that. So we will literally go in and do everything from recce that storage unit you've not been to for two years, inventory everything, and check it back with you because you might have some items in there that you didn't know you had that you could reuse or you want to sort of keep as a momentum. Um, and then once that's all been signed off, that we can prop it up, um, we then sort of connect to the local community and redistribute that, do all the logistics, talk to the storage units, everything, and then we deliver at the end an impact report. And I think coupled with taking the hassle off everyone's hands um and demonstrating the impact are two things that um really help us sort of make it easier and prove that pop-up is um a good option. Um, because once people can see that their sort of so-called waste could be a life-changing resource and the beautiful stories that come out from that, it's a no-brainer um that that's what people should be doing.
SPEAKER_02I can't imagine the joy you must have had the child you opened up one of those look-ups and went, oh, all this stuff. How did that feel? Do you do you still get the same feeling?
SPEAKER_03Every single one we go to. It's like an 11th cage. It is, but uh to be honest, now that it's our business, the first shock, the first is a oh my god, sit down. It's a lot, it's a lot, and often we're like, it's a lot more than we thought it was. So let's just get a strong coffee and take it all in. Put the music on, roll up your sleeves. Get the music on, we roll up our sleeves, we start to unpack, and that's when we go, and your brain just goes, it starts ticking. Oh my gosh, a box of shells. Maybe we can find the local school or the local nursery to play with these in the club, and then you just and then you're off. And then before you know it, it's all moving out the door. But we definitely have a every still every job, don't we?
SPEAKER_04But I would say as well, the first time we went to a storage unit was um one of our sort of case studies with a company that we've worked with lots before who are amazing, and um their unit was in King's Cross in Summerstown to be precise. And in terms of a proof of concept, it was incredible because we flung open those doors and it was full of gold, essentially, um, that could support. I can't remember the statistic off the top of my head, but I think Summerstown is one of the most deprived areas in London, and within you know, less than a mile radius from that storage unit holding all those items were hundreds of people, organisations, community groups, reuse projects that were really in need of that stuff. So for us, it was like, well, this just makes sense.
SPEAKER_03Open the doors, yeah, hand it out. Um, and it proved our model that we became, which was if you you can react on the doorstep of where you are. You know, we're not gonna get a van and take this to the other side of London. There are literally organizations that are right here. Um I was gonna say, oh, the other thing I was gonna say about when we go into a unit, the reason it's also so is because every job is completely different. So, like I had to go and recce, for example, a um a prison set, um, and the the lighting and the lighting rig had all been taken out. So I ended up having to walk around it with um with torches, absolutely terrified, but seeing all the props and costume that were in in the cells and in in all the on the prison set, but you can do that one day and then a storage unit high to the ceiling with furniture from a reality show the next day, and then you know, it's so varied, isn't it? And the things you can open a box and be like, Oh god, oh no, it's all right, it's just a they're fake they're fake spiders, it's fine. Yeah, we've had a dead dog, a fake dead dog. Um you can really have a moment of yeah. I mean, is there a market fake dead theatres and film it went to a local film set? It went to a film school um with young people, so it gave them like something to perform around and come up with you know fun ideas around a sort of prop dead dog.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you'd be surprised. Um, I'd like to say 99% of the time we find a home, no matter how random for something, just have to pivot or yeah, think of something different. Um, but yeah, that that that fake dead dog lives on, ironically, another day. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Hold on to you don't hold on to this stuff, you get rid of it sort of immediately, do you? Do you do you have any idea until you've opened that door where it's gonna go, or are you just thinking hard and fast as you're as you're looking at it?
SPEAKER_03We might have been sent an inventory or some photos. Well, we will we will have known an idea of what we're getting our sort of getting our hands into. And um our main, we've got two different um services. So we call it our exclusive service, we'll go where this the items are stored. So, like that prison drama, for example, was in Glasgow. So we went there and we distributed to the local community. We also have two hubs in London, which you can sort of see in the background if you're watching, um, where we can gather things from any London shoots and any chutes that need immediate immediately to get it out. But our space, unfortunately, is not huge, so we can't keep too much. And so, therefore, we need quite a quite a quick or a regular turnaround of the items going out the door to the community so that we can make space for the next job. But we generally know what we're expecting, and we will start, we will go in and start inventorying, and then our research will happen remotely for the people we're going to give it to, and then we go back and do the distribution. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So your little black book on kind of both sides of the fence is is pretty extensive, I should think. I mean, you presumably you are quite um you're quite deeply ingrained in community centres, in theatre schools, in theaters themselves. I mean, was that something you had to go out and build?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's I think something we really pride ourselves on because we're a small grassroots startup um for now. Um we we really take the time to get to know the local community and speak, you know, pick up the phone, find out what their needs are, talk to the local councils, connect to the schools in the area, like really get to know either where the stuff is or our two where our two hubs are. We're really ingrained in those um local communities now.
SPEAKER_03And um yeah, I just think that's what brings us joy as well, I think. Sometimes um sometimes people if then if they don't know what we do well enough, they might sort of say, Oh great, you know, you book a charity van to come and collect and take it to the charity shop. And it's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah. We're talking to Sally at you know the local school, and we're finding out who the other organizations are locally, and we're finding we we always say there's there's often when we go to new areas, there is always a person that someone will say, Have you spoken like in Manchester? We had Mr. Salford, um, in not in Manchester, in Salford. Sorry, I must correct that because he also corrected me because it's in Salford, and he's known as Mr. Salford, and it's like if you can get to those people, yeah, they know they know every single organization, everything that's happening, and it means you're the name, the namesake for a reason, you are really propping up exactly what they need.
SPEAKER_04You know, you're gonna find out if they've got a local fair happening the next weekend and they need trestle tables and bunting, and or you're gonna know if um the theatre's doing a new production of something, or or even smaller, um not smaller scale, but like you're gonna know that at that school there's a family that have actually just moved into emergency housing and they don't have flooring, they don't even have rucksacks for the kids to bring to work. Like we really get to know. Um, I don't know whether it's a positive thing or not, but we've got a bit of a nickname in this building where we're in the community building is um Delboy and Rodney, because it's like you need a sofa, right? Leave it with us. We'll find we'll find you a sofa. Or someone we met the other day, he was like, You're a bit like the wombles, aren't you? As well, like taking away dealing with waste. I was like, Where where what about like Barbie and or Selma and Louise? Yeah, it's like the wombles and Delboy and Rodney, but I don't know.
SPEAKER_02I love that. I love that. So we're gonna need we're gonna need some more stories. You talked about doing impact reports, and I just honestly, I I just think it's so important for people to have feedback on this is a good thing, do it again. Um, so I want your favorite stories from your impact reports of of stuff that you've got, where it's gone, no dead dogs, please.
SPEAKER_04Um it's that is um it's so hard for us to pick one story because um, as Kate mentioned earlier, like the beauty is that everything we get is so varied that we can you know support a variety of different um organizations as a result. Um, but I think to demonstrate that might be more to look at one clearance job, which was a big um the said prison drama set, and that was up in Glasgow. And um, some of the sort of stories that made the impact report off the back of that were, you know, the prison beds had these mattresses. I mean, who wants prison beds and mattresses unless maybe a theatre or um another filming project? But instead the mattresses got given to a local school for their early years nursery soft play. Um, hivers jackets that were branded and couldn't be repurposed directly got given to an amazing charity that sort of upcycles and they're now laptop bags. Um, so they haven't been textile recycled, they've actually been given a second life as something else. Um loads of sort of set um flattage and signage. That had like the prison name and rules on that we couldn't just give away again because um of IP. We gave to a scouts um group and they were doing a wally wonker, a willing wonka themed um summer camp. And so they painted those set flats and woods because it didn't matter what was underneath it, and they've transformed it into this amazing fair. Um, I mean, just so many, oh, and just even like toiletries that were used as set dressing. Well, they're actual toiletries, and they got given to homeless shelters and um emergency housing as a lifeline. And um there's a one of the funny or brilliant ones was um a local church came to take various items, including some gardening because they're doing a community allotment. Um, but they also took bags and bags and bags of lurol that was the set dressing because that was then something they didn't have to pay for, so they could funnel their resources into sort of the core stuff that they were focusing on, rather than buying lurol, which I think most of us just take for granted. Um, yeah, there's it's lots of weird and wonderful.
SPEAKER_03We love the stories when something that was one thing becomes something completely opposite, like a prison bed from a TV show being used for crash mats for for the kids so that they don't hurt themselves. Um, those stories we yeah, we really enjoy.
SPEAKER_04Our whole sort of thing and what we're sort of striving for is that just because the stories ended on screen doesn't mean that it has to end within the community. Um and I think our impact reports really demonstrate that. And they're also what if there's any doubters about maybe the pricing or um what prop up is doing, as soon as you see one of those impact reports, it's like, oh yeah, we get it, we get it, we want to do more of that. Um and that's what we're trying to encourage, is um yeah.
SPEAKER_02I mean, it really feels like this should be the default, doesn't it? Um what how does it become the default for well not I suppose not just the film and TV industry, but for you know, more industries. How how does that happen? Is it is it more people like you who just say, I am not gonna put up with this and actually I got a bit of time so I want to do something about it, or is it something else?
SPEAKER_03We've definitely noticed that uh there's different client groups in a way, and one of them is is exactly the ones you've described, which are they care. And I also think people start to follow when you know when people care, and it's the same, it can work negatively. So if people aren't doing the right thing, it can become easy to all just not do the right thing. If you start to see people doing the right thing, you go, oh, I should probably do what they're doing, and and it and it can snowball in a positive way. I think it's all in the planning, so it is about caring. The other, the other, the other people that we would put into our client category as well is a real need. Like actually, we are all the lovely social stuff is wonderful, and that is what drives what we do. But we're essentially a clearance solution. So the other thing is the other sort of clientele is people going, I am left on my own in a production office. I have a massive storage unit, it's running out in a month, I don't know what how to clear this. So we also tick that box of just being a clearance solution, but we can also give you that positive impact feedback for your social and sustainable reporting. We don't like to push policies and things, and you know, no one likes to be forced to do things, but I I think that there is also an element of it has to come from the top, it has to be part of your commitments, and maybe it is your policies and um your regulations. It needs to start being kind of not a nice to have, but you need to be doing this, and maybe that comes with should should there be fees for doing the wrong thing? Should you be charged? And and that is that's happening now in the waste world as well, I think, as we're trying to solve um the climate crisis and deal with our waste in a different way. You're getting charged for having to throw things away, so that helps people a bit adjust.
SPEAKER_04Um one thing I've just thought of as well is that like our industry is very awards-driven. You know, we've got the Oscars, we've got RTS, um National Television Awards, um, the BAFTAs. And there should be more sort of champions of sustainability and doing the right thing in the industry, because again, that that's what drives people if you're sort of seen to be doing the right thing and rewarded for it as well and celebrated for it. I think that would, as well as the policies and the and the sort of fines and things and the governance, I think, celebrating it and shining more of a light on the good stories and we're trying to produce content all the time to show what we're doing and show the the good things that you can do with your waste. Um, and I think if there were more good news stories and more sort of celebratory um things, that would also help. Um it's just such a win-win, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02So if anyone listening knows anyone at the BAFTAs and wants to make a pledge for a for a sustainability award, I might just think that'd be amazing. I think it's a brilliant idea. But talking of awards, you won the gold in the Global Good Awards. I'm sorry, I love the Global Good Awards. They are uh, I mean, they really, really dig into the work that people do. They're not awards that are given out just for taking your table. So I guess it was a difficult application. Tell me why you uh applied and um, you know, what you got out of it.
SPEAKER_04Well, I think um when you get sort of in any startup, you're sort of swept into the day-to-day, the rolling up your sleeves, getting your hands dirty, having to wear multiple hats of doing everything, you never really get to stop and look back at what you've achieved or the journey that you've been on. And applying for awards is sometimes that process, and even just the application, you get to sort of really dig into why you started this in the first place, what your mission is, what you've achieved so far. And I think that whole process is really positive for us as people, and also to share with our um wider team. And the Global Good Awards, I mean, the names in the title, like I think um what we loved about it was it wasn't just you know, people ticking a sustainability box. It's like, how are you really impacting humanity in what you're doing to save people and planet? And as you say, the sort of whole application process was so rigorous, you also knew that they really cared about it, wasn't greenwashing, it wasn't ego boosting, it was really um, they would, yeah, they did their research and it meant so much. So when we got invited, let alone one, you know, we were totally thrilled, and um, it was so inspiring to be every story we like Kate and I just be like, Oh my gosh, that's amazing. We need to look them up, we need to speak to them, they're amazing. I can't believe they've thought of that. That's it's such a wonderful night, and um, I think a highlight as well for me is it we brought Kate's mum along. Um, because you know, it's it's we're just a small team, and sometimes we can't necessarily afford to bring everyone. And um, Kate's mum has been a supporter of Prop Up rightly so since the beginning, and so she came with this, and it was just like having our own hype woman. And and then when we won, it was it was she just really bought the energy for she.
SPEAKER_03It was amazing. She's she I think she um confused the awards ceremony with a rodeo. Um whooping and cheering. If you were there, Philippi might have heard her, or I don't know, but um she was whooping and cheering for everyone, not just us. So it was it was our inside coming out, probably, because it it does mean a lot when you apply for those sort of things. You don't know if they are being read in detail and our message is coming across, and you spend so much time and effort writing them, um, that it just means the world to be recognized for the work we're doing. And it, you know what else it does? It it keeps you going because it says you're in the right place, you're on the right track, and you're doing the right thing. So when in the face of adversity or when we're struggling, or when we're we're when we think, oh, we you know, this is quite a slog, it tells you no, keep going. And I think any sort of acknowledgement and awards um for for anything does that, and it's it's really important um to keep your morale and boost us.
SPEAKER_02So that's exactly where I wanted to get you on the podcast because I just I see people winning these amazing awards and doing amazing things, and I think to myself, I just want to know more. I want to know more about who you are and what you've done and and why you've won.
SPEAKER_00So I really appreciate you coming on. Hi, I'm Karen Sutton, founder of the Global Good Awards, and we're thrilled to be partnering with Paradigm Norton to bring you this podcast. We exist to celebrate the people and organizations out there creating real lasting change in the world, and we'd love you to be part of it. If you think you've delivered something special, then find Global Good Awards online and consider putting in an entry or two. Now enjoy the rest of the podcast.
SPEAKER_02I want to move on to uh how this has changed you personally. Because I don't think you can get involved if this wasn't your bag beforehand. And I don't think you can get involved in this world and all the amazing things that you're involved in without it changing you and who you are and what you do and what you care about. So tell me a little bit about that.
SPEAKER_03A hundred percent. I think um there's so many different sorts of ways to answer that, but I'd say because we came at it from a social perspective to begin with, we obviously very quickly went fell into the sustainability world of things not going to waste. So not only are we passing these things on to people to use, but in turn it's not going to landfill, it's being reused, we're encouraging the circular economy. So then you are thrown into thinking very differently in your day-to-day life. And I think we think, I'm saying we talking sort of for both of us, but we look at objects completely differently now. I think I definitely any object is a resource, and we say at work, and I think it goes home with us that when before you throw something away, you look at it and go, does this need to be thrown away? Can this be fixed? Can this be passed on? Can we wash this out and reuse it? Um, and and a lot of the time that filters and stops you from throwing away a lot of things. Um and it makes you, when shopping for clothes or home stuff, you do it very differently because you're very aware of like, am I going to keep that for a very long time? How has that been produced? Is that a sustainable brand? Um, where is it coming from? And it's to be honest, it's more fun looking at antique shops, vintage shops, um, vintage, eBay, and you get more bargains if you found something online you like, and then you switch and check eBay or somewhere else, you might just find it for half the price. Um, so I yeah, it definitely influences our everyday from a sort of consumer point of view, but also I think in the way we live our lives with community and the way we see people, because we have learnt so much because of the variety of stuff. We work with a variety of charities, we're learning about so many different groups of um vulnerable people that we see. Yeah, you can't send a blind eye when you go ahead. And I think it's that thing of you don't know what someone's going through when you're walking down the street, and when you see people in a difficult position, you think very differently about it because we've met the people who are helping them and we've met the people on the front line. Um that's made a big difference.
SPEAKER_04And I've um I've got a five-year-old daughter at home, and just sort of being so conscious of the world she's coming into and the person that I would love her to be, like making sure not only that you know, if if if we get a new toy, let's give one to someone that might need it, or let's actually go to the charity shop, or you know, we've been so lucky as well, especially with school uniform because she grows so quickly. But we've had hand-me-downs from the community, which you know, you really tap into your local community for things like that. Then also, like you were saying about the social side, is like just instilling a sense of really deeply caring about other people is really important to well, I'm gonna say us because it is. Um, so yeah, it's it's nice to sort of filter that through a five-year-old as well.
SPEAKER_03And I think we don't realise how ingrained we are in that. Uh, you know, when you again when you're talking to people who do other jobs and you can give insight into what's going on in in this sort of sector of work, people are like, oh, they don't even know about that. And in turn, you can pass that information on, and people will look differently as well at um, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04I've had that's just um made me think as well. A lot of friends um brilliantly have sort of said um, you know, often they would either get rid of their clothes or give it to a charity shop, and on giving it to a charity shop is an excellent solution. But some of them are now saying, I want to know that these clothes are actually going to people that need them, um, rather than necessarily being sold. So can you connect me to my local um clothes bank? Or is there a homeless charity you've heard of in our area that we could give this clothing to? And I was like, that's yes, this is a really positive way of thinking. Like, how can we help directly help these people, as well as supporting all the charity shops that are doing amazing work? But I think just yeah, making people think of it differently that's good.
SPEAKER_02One, I mean, what's really come out strongly from our conversation is is not stuff, it's people and community, isn't it? I I I'm almost I'm almost surprised actually at how strong it's it's um the messaging from you is around this is about community, if not about things.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, because the world's become very disconnected, hasn't it? And you know, we don't want to be too doom and gloom, but it it has, and I think that's having quite an effect in all different areas of life. We're so disjointed and it's it's becoming very um, it can become very selfish and self-centered, and think about what you need and yourself, and we need to be much more connected. And so it is at the core of what prop up do. It's it's bringing people together, but also what we want to do is bring the industry into that world, you know, it's it's a it's a very rich industry and it's very sparkly and fabulous. But behind it are a lot of people like us who were working really hard and some are struggling um with work if it's freelance and they don't have any in part. And when we worked in it, and I know it's the same now, often people say, you know, I don't feel like I give back enough, or I'm not getting that lovely satisfaction back. And that's what prop-up is about is colliding those words, worlds together and going, it can be sparkly and glamorous and wonderful, but we can also help everyone around us wherever we are.
SPEAKER_04Um, and to your point about the items themselves, they're not just stuff either. It's not just Astroturf being put into a garden um in a local school, it's Astroturf being put into a local garden at a school to provide safe play, a comfortable area, and somewhere inspiring for them to go in their breaks. It's not just a bike uh being given to a refugee charity, it's um a lifeline that means they don't have to funnel any money that they earn into transport. Um, it gives them the freedom and confidence to explore the new area that they're living in. Um, we met someone quite early on um called Les, who was a former fireman, um, and then he went into safeguarding in the fire industry. The fire industry. Fire servers. And um he sort of talked so passionately about seeing people that he lived basically next door to, um you know, kids sleeping on floors, nothing in the kitchen, just in really, really severe furniture poverty and cost of living crisis situations. Um so he set up a charity. And um in one of the testimonials he gave back, I think we were very tired, but we're also so passionate about this. And so we were in floods of peace because he was like, um, you know, it's not just pots and pans, it's pots and pans to help parents cook nutritious meals, which means the children can go and learn with a full stomach the next day. It's it's um towels instead of tea towels to dry themselves with after a bath. It's bedding so that they all get a good night's sleep. So when they go to work or go to school, they're sort of feeling good and confident about the day. Um, it just all these, you know, it's not just toys at Christmas, it's it's something to give children a smile on that special day when you know often they get nothing. It's like so much more than just passing one thing on from one place to another. It's it's what can be triggered in terms of positive human impact or um a movement, if that's not too big a word, is so powerful. And um, we're just desperate to sort of get that message out there um as much as possible.
SPEAKER_02Well, yeah, well, hopefully, hopefully, because we are hearing you loud and clear. I think it's incredibly inspirational. Okay, so if people want to contact you if they're a charity, if they are a community group, how do they do that? At Paradigm Norton, we believe money matters, but life matters more. That's why we put people, purpose, and long-term impact at the heart of financial planning. As an employee-owned B Cork business, sustainability is central to how we think about wealth, helping you invest in ways that support responsible business practices. So by working with us, you can feel confident that your money is working for your future and the world you want to live in.
SPEAKER_03There is a form on our website, so there's a contact page, and they can click on a form and they fill out the details of their organization. We go through a verification process on our side, and then we will reach out, we will include them on our directory when we're in their area. They'll get an email to say what we've got and the sort of where it is, and they can reserve what they would like. And we work on a sort of first come, first serve basis um and a wait list, and then we organize when they can come and collect it. So they can do that, yeah. Brilliant. Probably the best way.
SPEAKER_02Great. All right, so you talked about a movement, and I don't think it is too big a word. I think, I think, you know, let's make revolution. A revolution. What about a revolution? So if you uh so you're doing this, but that I mean there must be opportunities elsewhere in other in other industries. So for people listening in their own industry and they see something that isn't right, and as you said before, you know, for I don't know how many times you had that conversation over coffee saying, God, this is terrible, this shouldn't be happening. What would your advice as people who've been there and and and done it, what would your advice to them be?
SPEAKER_04Well, if if I would say if they've seen it, the likelihood is other people have seen it too. So you're clearly onto something if it's coming from first hand experience. And um, the best thing you could do is be the person to do something about it, be brave, be bold. Um find someone to do it with. Yes, that is grab the other person that's the the last one. Before they have time to doubt it, just grab each other and do it.
SPEAKER_03If they say, Oh yeah, I saw that too, then just grab them, make sure they don't leave.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it it has um, I think we're both incredibly grateful for each other because it's it's not easy setting up a startup. And whilst we're so effusive and positive about prop-up, there have been challenges and obviously highs and lows. Um, and I think doing it together and then building a bigger community, we have amazing people that work for us, that volunteer with us, the clients that support us, the charities we work with, you know, meeting people like you, people, you know, just it's just having people to help support and grow is so important as well. I think.
SPEAKER_03And I'd say that to those people that you're talking about, if they've seen it in their industry, just trust that, as Emma said, if you've seen it, someone else has seen it, and start start walking. As I was saying to Emma earlier, it's almost like you're on a pilgrimage and you start walking, and people will just join on. And they might come for a little bit and then go away and then come back, but you'll you'll soon turn round and there'll be a big group of you and you will have made a big difference. So just take one step at a time. Love that.
SPEAKER_02Alright, we're gonna finish with some quick fire questions for you. So we'll take it in turns. Question one. What is the most questionable thing you've ever kept? Just in case. Kate, we'll start with you, shall we?
SPEAKER_03Um that's the uh well, question we've yeah, we I wasn't very questionable. You keep that for yours. No, I think we should have read it, but maybe you can edit. This is questionable because why have we why have we we can't Emma's got one? This is questionable. That is questionable.
SPEAKER_02Look, you have two. Okay, for anyone who's not watching, we have two mostly native mountains on a brick for no good reason. No reason.
SPEAKER_03Can you say where that came from? I we oh yeah, I don't remember, and I don't think we can, but we just couldn't part with it. But it is a bit like just in case what though, in case actually, do you know what's awful? We can't show you, but it was sat next to our Global Good Awards.
SPEAKER_04All our prized possessions sit together.
SPEAKER_03We were really quizzing ourselves because we do keep things we think we always say, well, you just you never know, you never know. Someone might want that, someone might want that. Oh, I tell you what, there's a box over there that we actually did re-home the other week, but it was there for I think three years, all of toilet seats. Toilets, where did they go? They were brand new in boxes, so we never wanted to get rid of them because we were like, they're gonna be useful at some point. I don't know when they went to the toilet. They went to a local um community group that's setting up a new community space, and they're all about um not throwing anything away. So they take absolutely anything so people from the community can come and get stuff. So that is from any home where any if they're doing any work at their house or anything, they can come and get things. So they were very happy to take brand new toilet seats. Yeah, that's probably a much more practical one than that one. We've had a leopard print toilet seat as well before, but we so we did sell that one. Yeah, that one could be special.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, sounds it. All right, question number two Are you a hoarder or a ruthless declutterer? Emma.
SPEAKER_04Um that is a good question. I am a what's it called when a sentimental hoarder, okay, but but in life a declutterer. So I keep on to I hoard like notes from family members or you know, cards from Christmases or whatever, but in terms of stuff, I'm sort of a one-in, one out. Like if we are gonna get something in, we should probably pass that on to somewhere else because we just don't have the space either. So um that that's my long-winded, quick far short answer.
SPEAKER_03And I can confirm she is yeah, very organized, and she can sometimes come into the hub and just go, right, today we're sorting and clearing and moving everything about, and it's good because it gets you gets you moving and spring cleaning. Well at you, Kate, are you a hoarder? Um, I would I've just moved house and I think I've proved that I probably am a hoarder because I've taken a lot of stuff with me that I'm now like I don't we don't need this. So yes, I'm a bit of a hoarder. But I think it's because of not wanting to get rid of it or always thinking I've always got an idea for it. So I always think, oh, well, if it only was a bit smaller and had a fluffy top or something, and I always think I'll do that as a project, and I never get around to the project, so yeah, I'm a hoarder.
SPEAKER_02The the curse of the creative, I think. I have no creative ability, so I'm I'm a ruthless declutterer. Um and uh final quick fire question best prop you've ever rescued.
SPEAKER_03Again, very difficult, but um, I will go with oh, did you say Emma? You do it, Emma. No, you do it. Um but I will go with a giant teabag. So we had a giant teabag, very random, and it was from a TV breakfast show. Um, and we were honestly, we'd put it in the first instance in the recycling bit, and we were looking at the material and thinking we're trying to work out what it was made of so we could recycle it in the best way. And then we worked out it was a giant teabag, and we managed to also work out that the local theatre's next pantomime was um Jack and the Beanstalk, and they took the giant um tea bags as the giant teabags to drop for uh Jack and the Beanstalk. So they went on to live a life in the pantomime.
SPEAKER_04Oh sorry. Oh no. Um my best one, I'm just trying to think. Oh, it's so random, but we did, as is everything that we seem to do, but um, there was a giant um, I think we did a job where they had to recreate an art gallery because they couldn't film in an art gallery. So they'd recreated all these ginormous paintings of sort of old scenes, one of which was The Last Supper, and it was honestly massive. And um, we it just so happened this is what was so beautiful about Procups sometimes, is everything like there's lots of serendipitous moments, and it just so happened that it was um coming up to Easter week, so we took it down to the local church, and apparently it had like pride of place, not only for the service, but then for the Sunday school, so that the kids could learn about the Last Supper, and um yeah, just love yeah, it was just happened to be because if it was any other week, well I'm sure they would have liked that painting anyway, but um, it was just so perfectly timed. Um, that was a good one. Amazing.
SPEAKER_02Well, thank you both. I have loved our discussion today. I am uh I as I said, I I really wanted to interview, I really wanted to hear more about why you won the gold award, what it is that you're doing, and how the heck you marry those two things together. And you've done a brilliant job of of explaining just the joy actually in what you do and the importance of putting people together who have needs. So I'm just so grateful to both of you. Congratulations again for winning your gold award, and um absolutely encourage any of our listeners to get in contact with you, fill out your form and become part of your amazing, amazing community. I hope you've enjoyed the podcast today. If you have, please do subscribe and send it on to anyone else that you think might be interested. And as always, keep asking great questions.
SPEAKER_01This podcast is intended to be of a general nature, will not be suitable for everyone, and should not be treated as a specific recommendation. We recommend taking professional advice before entering into any obligation or transaction. Paradigm Norton Financial Planning Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
