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.
The UK’s fastest rising unisex baby names have been revealed
Emily Sergeant
Some names never go out of style, and have remained firmly near the top of the popularity charts for hundreds of years.
On the flip side of that, others fall out of favour as just quickly as they enter the conversation.
But while you can probably still expect to be hearing little ones given the names Oliver, Noah, Olivia, and Isla for the foreseeable future, there’s a good chance it won’t be long before the top 10 looks quite different – with a whole host of new names and trends taking over.
One of the new trends that seems to be a hot topic of conservation for prospective parents at the moment is unisex and gender-neutral baby names.
It’s been a familiar concept for several decades now, with names like Alex, Morgan, Taylor, Ashley, Jamie, Lesley, and Jordan being just some of the names given to babies of either gender over the years, and then more-recently, hearing newborns called Riley, Charlie, River, Frankie, and Sage also becoming a regular occurrence.
The UK’s fastest rising unisex baby names have been revealed / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | Unsplash
Within the last year, however, the trend seems to have taken off even more than ever before, as parents become less and less worried about typical gendered names.
According to recent data, the number of unisex names has increased by 56% here in England and Wales, with a sharp rise in usage in 2022 and 2023 in particular, and high-profile celebrity couples like Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively leading the way by naming their first daughter James, and influencers Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury choosing Bambi for their baby girl, many parents are being prompted to take the plunge.
So, what are the fastest-rising unisex baby names being used for both genders then? And what monikers should parents be on the look-out for in the future?
The fastest-rising unisex names in England and Wales
Girls
Marlowe – Up 266 spots from 2020-21
Oakley – Up 249 spots
Blair – New to the Top 1000
Ronnie – New to the Top 1000
Noa – Up 190 spots
Boys
Noa – New to the Top 1000
Marlow – New to the Top 1000
Ren – New to the Top 1000
Ocean – New to the Top 1000
Sunny – Up 195 spots
Marlow / Marlowe is now considered to be a top choice for both genders in the UK, along with Blair, Ronnie, Sonny / Sunny, and Noa – many of which were names that previously weren’t in the top 1000, but has since make their way in.
Sophie Kihm, who is an expert at leading name inspiration platform, Nameberry, has put this rise in unisex name usage down to the flexibility they offer.
She explained to the Metro: “Gender neutral names are rising, both because they give children flexibility should they not identify with their birth gender, but also because gender neutral names are modern choices with contemporary style.”
Featured Image – Pinterest
Kids & Family
A spooky new Halloween trail is coming to Chester Zoo next month – and it’s FREE
Emily Sergeant
There’s a spooky new Halloween trail coming to Chester Zoo next month, and you can learn all about some “magical” endangered species.
With a new month beginning at the end of this week, and that meaning the spooky season is right around the corner, the UK’s biggest charity zoo has announced the ideal educational event for all the family to get stuck into, and the new “spellbinding experience” will be here throughout the whole of October.
Kicking off this Sunday 1 October, and running right up until Halloween itself, Luna’s Legendary Creature Halloween Trail gives visitors the chance to get up close to five of the zoo’s most magical species.
The rhinoceros hornbill, Sulawesi-crested macaque, and huge Sunda gharial crocodile are just some of the species you’ll get to learn all about as you make your way around the interactive trail.
A spooky new Halloween trail is coming to Chester Zoo next month / Credit: Chester Zoo
All the creatures on the trail shed light on the devastation that’s sadly caused by deforestation, and the importance of protecting the rainforest.
You’ll be sent on a 90-minute quest around the Chester Zoo site to collect key words about the unique qualities of each animal, all before helping Luna the witch discover a legendary creature living deep inside the zoo’s Monsoon Forest habitat – which is the UK’s biggest indoor zoological building.
Those who successfully complete Luna’s trail will be rewarded with a selection of spooky treats and goodies to take away.
Oh, and the best bit? The trail is completely FREE within your entry to the zoo.
Organisers are urging visitors to lend Luna a hand in finding the legendary creature that holds the secret to protecting the rainforest.
“Halloween provides us with a great opportunity to highlight some of the world’s rarest animals, especially those that can sometimes be a little misunderstood or which often fly under the radar,” explained Ellie Trigg, who is the Customer Development Manager at Chester Zoo, ahead of the trail opening this weekend.
The trail gives you the chance to get up close to some of the zoo’s most “magical” species / Credit: Chester Zoo
“This new trail will also show visitors how small actions, such as swapping a few items in their weekly shop to sustainable alternatives, can help the species found on the trail to thrive in the wild.”
Luna’s Legendary Creature Halloween Trail is running from Sunday 1 – Tuesday 31 October, and is free to all zoo visitors who purchase normal zoo tickets, with no time slot booking needed.
Danny Jones -
20th January 2023 
