Introducing SFW Hub: Oxford
Introducing our Hub in Oxford, led by Cherwell Collective CIC
Cherwell Collective supports local groups near Oxford with infrastructure to empower and educate the community to reduce their carbon footprint, reduce food waste, and increase wellbeing. They empower those in their community who, due to social, financial, or medical inequities and exclusions, believe that reducing our impact on the climate is beyond their reach.
Their aims are: to reduce waste and facilitate a circular economy to make the most of resources available; to increase collective knowledge (e.g. through skills sharing and education); and, to build a sustainable future for their community together.
Cherwell Collective has been recognised at local, national, and international levels, winning the 2021 EESC Civil Solidarity Prize for the UK, the Sanctuary Volunteer Organisation of the Year 2021, the Award of Great and Valuable Services to the Community 2021, the Climate Action Heroes Award 2022, and most recently the 2023 Cherwell Business Award for Sustainable Business.
All action is led by their guiding principles, which are:
Friends helping friends: Everyone who accesses our services has the opportunity to contribute back to the group, and most of our core volunteers are users of the services as well. We are non-means tested and inclusive by design.
Keep it green and keep it clean: Climate change is a very real issue, and we all have a part to play if we want to slow down the impact it is having on our planet. We reduce waste, reuse, recycle, repurpose, and rehome anything and everything we can. We keep it green not only in our kitchens and gardens, but right down to the way we run our organisations.
No food left behind: Food waste is another important issue we are committed to tackling. We like to think of new ways to use food that might have otherwise gone to waste. We share our passion for food waste reduction with the community.
Education is empowering: We follow the “teach a man to fish” principle and emphasise the value of education around things like cooking, meal planning, healthy alternatives, and seasonal eating.
Cherwell Collective developed the Carbon Cost to measure the impact of waste reduction in terms that everyone can easily understand. The Carbon Cost of fashion, for example, refers to how many miles you would need to drive in a car to produce the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as a given clothing item.
Did you know that a basic outfit (shirt, trousers, and shoes) costs the planet about the same emissions as driving your car for 70 miles? And that’s not even adding accessories, jumpers, and other layers into the mix. Understanding that an outfit has a Carbon Cost of 70 car miles helps us understand just how important it is to reduce, repair, reuse, and rethink our wardrobe.
Cherwell Collective is thrilled to roll out their Carbon Cost of Fashion Campaign through their events during Sustainable Fashion Week 2024.