Clothing recycling business to close

SewGREAN, the clothing and textiles recycling arm of Golspie Recycling and Environmental Action Network (GREAN), is to close.

The news comes just weeks after three jobs were axed at the organisation, including two at SewGREAN.

Manager Fiona MacDonald told the NT on Wednesday: "The management and staff of SewGREAN would sincerely like to thank residents of Sutherland and customers for their support and donations over the years.

"Despite the best efforts of staff and all concerned with the company, the SewGREAN shop has proved to be unsustainable and sadly the decision has been taken to close.

"SewGREAN has received some start up funding and funding for the training element of this venture in the past but the reality is that in these difficult economic times any business has to be sustainable and, despite a very loyal following, the income generated by sales has simply not been enough to cover increasing staffing costs and overheads.

"However we would like to emphasise that we will still be collecting textiles for recycling in our bins in Bonar Bridge and Dornoch."

She said that there were no further redundancies.

It was only in February last year that GREAN received a £174,363 grant from the Enterprise Growth Fund which was intended to "grow" two of the organisation’s enterprises — GoGREAN, its commercial recycling service, and SewGREAN.

Prior to that the company had received £163,000 transitional support from the Highland Council after losing the local authority recycling contract. In June last year, a further £451,896 was received from the Big Lottery fund — a total of nearly £800,000 of public money.

There is now a question mark over the refurbishment by GREAN of a unit on the Golspie Industrial Estate which had been intended as a new retail outlet for SewGREAN.

Conversion work is continuing.

The NT has asked Mrs MacDonald what the premises will now be used for, but, as we went to press, we have received no reply.