After having assembled one of the most beloved chicken empires in the North, Yard & Coop co-founder Carl Morris has now turned his hand to retail with a new kids’ clothing and re-commerce company.
The co-creator and director of the popular Northern Quarter restaurant is now looking to build on his first successful business and expand his portfolio all in one swift step by entering the fashion and re-commerce industries.
Crucially, though, his new venture is founded on two key principles: sustainability and affordability, driven not only by the ongoing cost of living crisis but his experience as a father.
Designed by Morris and co-founder Jake Polhill, CRESS is the kids’ clothing reseller which encourages parents to recycle their little ones’ old items and pass them on to other parents rather than them ending up in the bin.
While many parents obviously donate their children’s old clothes to charity shops, Oxfam statistics still show that in addition to more than two tonnes of clothing being bought each minute in the UK (more than any country in Europe), over 183 million items of kids’ clothes end up landfill each year.
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With that in mind, Morris and Polhill came up with CRESS as a way of creating a platform for parents to not only save money but become part of a community through buying and selling clothes without further damaging the planet.
As stated on their website: “we were sick of the bin bags piling up from well-meaning friends and family, and determined to combat the cost of living crisis.” So, rather than waiting around for a better solution to come along, they decided to come up with one of their own.
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Better still, soon, families across the UK will be able to access the sustainable platform too, where they can shop, swap and sell children’s clothes rather than having to turn to fast fashion.
Credit: CRESS (via Instagram)
Morris told The Manc: “I helped start CRESS after shopping for my dad’s funeral last year and spending a fortune on clothes for my two children, Elsie (3) and Autumn (2), who have not since worn those clothes again having now grown out of them.
“I also noticed that all the items were from China and Turkey and was upset both by the financial waste and the environmental impact for just one day.” As a result, he teamed up with Polhill and digital agency Serotonin to bring their environmentally friendly vision to life.
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He went on to say that he and his team “are incredibly passionate about being the first space, accessible to all families up and down the country, where families can save and make money, and where community is at the heart of what we do.”
The idea is that clothes recycled through CRESS are not just second-hand, they are pre-loved. Furthermore, not only does their business model extend the life of kids’ clothes, but it’s also easier on both the environment and your wallet.
Having kids is already a big financial undertaking, so any way of helping lighten the load and help families with their pennies and pounds during tough times, whilst also helping the environment is a godsend in our books.
CRESS is set to launch in the UK from Friday next week (27 January) and in Australia by April; from there, the goal is to global and help champion a more sustainable culture not just when it comes to kids’ clothing but fashion in general.
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You can find out more information and sign up for exclusive early access to the service and discounts for the beta version HERE.
LEGO-loving little Mancs can now compete against the world to become a ‘Mini Master Model Builder’
Emily Sergeant
Little Mancs who love LEGO can now enter a worldwide competition and battle it out to become a ‘Mini Master Model Builder’.
Is your child a LEGO super fan? Do they reckon they could build impressive LEGO creations in their sleep? Well, if they’re feeling brave enough and are ready to put their skills to the test, then you’ll want to take them down to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester, as the hunt is one for a talented youngster to be crowned the UK’s newest ‘Mini Master Model Builder’.
Young LEGO fans will have the chance to let their imaginations run wild in a “bricktastic” competition, by building the most epic creation entirely out of LEGO bricks in an attempt to take home the coveted title.
Participants are invited to “demonstrate their imagination and creativity” by constructing something extraordinary that will leave the judges in awe – with the judges particularly interested in an array of building techniques and a strong creative flare, so entrants should “think outside the box” and let their personality and interests shine through.
Little Mancs who love LEGO can now compete to become a ‘Mini Master Model Builder’ / Credit: Supplied
Finalists will be chosen by the LEGOLAND Master Model Builders and Playmakers.
Each Discovery Centre in Manchester and Birmingham will then crown its own ‘Mini Master Model Builder’, and the winners will work with the local Master Model Builder to create their final models, which will then compete in the global final.
Winners will be given the unique opportunity of having their creation displayed at the iconic LEGO House in Denmark, plus a prize of £100 to spend in the LEGOLAND store, and a Local Annual Pass for them and their family too.
Up to the challenge then? All hopeful Mini Master Model Builders will need to get themselves down to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester at Trafford Palazzo – which is next to the Trafford Centre – any weekend up until the start of February.
Entry into the competition is included in the price of one standard admission ticket to LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester.
All entries must be made by those under the age of 18, and only one entry per person can be made.
To find out more about the competition and how to enter, check out the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester website here.
Featured Image – Supplied
Kids & Family
You can now receive the UK’s ‘first-ever’ same-day sperm MOT for free right here in Manchester
Danny Jones
For any bloke who’s ever wondered about their fertility and considering grabbing a quick test, you can now get what’s being called a quick sperm ‘MOT’ right here in Manchester– and it’s free.
As well as the obvious importance of regular sexual health checks, many people understandably worry about their virility as they get older and there’s no harm in just giving yourself that piece of mind.
That’s why one Manchester-based sperm and egg bank is expanding its already wide range of services to offer quick and easy tests to locals.
We’re all adults here: if your car’s MOT is considered an essential check, then why not take a little look under the hood to see how your little swimmers are getting on?
Credit: Cryos International (supplied)
Cryos International, located over at Rutherford House on Manchester Science Park, is a quick and confidential clinic that specialises in sexual wellness and reproductive health.
The industry-leading sperm and egg bank remains at the forefront when it comes to various different areas of the sector but now they’re taking one field even further by offering men aged 18-45 an unprecedented level of service.
While sperm tests and egg checks are nothing new, Cryos are the UK clinic to offer rapid detailed analysis that will see your results returned to you the same day.
Better yet, this initiative is completely free of charge and provides a non-diagnostic assessment of key sperm quality criteria, including sperm count and how effectively the sperm moves.
It’s part of Cryos’ commitment to demystifying male reproductive health and demonstrating how lifestyle factors can impact male fertility, while at the same time breaking the stigma around sperm donation, and helping more people on their journey to parenthood.
The launch comes at a time of unprecedented demand for fertility services in the UK, with births from sperm donation tripling since the turn of the millennium.
Sadly, donor numbers here in Britain have hit an all-time low and similar struggles are being seen all over Europe even despite the growing population.
To combat this, the UK government has actually increased its standard compensation fee by £10 as of October 2024, rising to £45 a pop.
Of course, your sperm needs to be in good health before you can donate, not to the obvious benefits for couples trying to conceive and, as lab Manager Samantha Duffy-Olive explains, even “simple lifestyle changes can have a huge impact on sperm quality.”
With that in mind, Manc males are being encouraged to make the most of this free semen test and in addition to the analysis service, they will also offer helpful advice that could make a real difference to improve your reproductive health. You can book HERE.
This isn’t the first time we’ve clocked Cryos pioneering the sperm donation and sexual health space…
Danny Jones -
20th January 2023 
