We are shining a spotlight on the passionate individuals who are leading the way with their commitment to reducing waste – our Local Sustainability Champions. We caught up with Catherine D’Albertanson, CEO of the Little Green Sock Project to find out how the R4GM Community Fund has helped to make a difference to their project…
Tell us about your project
Little Green Sock Project is a volunteer powered movement committed to alleviating child poverty in Trafford and surrounding areas. From our premises in the heart of Stretford, we’re on a mission to reduce the financial burden of children’s clothing and equipment for families in hardship, by reusing clothing & children’s items donated by the local community. Families are referred by organisations supporting families in crisis. We supply a bundle of clothing & other essentials they may need for a baby/child. We foster a circular economy for social benefit through the simple act of reuse & recycling.

How did you first get involved in this sustainability project and what motivated you to get involved?
I founded the project in 2022 after I had my 2nd baby, who was a generous 9lb 7oz! Being a rather large baby, she didn’t fit in any of her newborn clothing and I ended up passing them on to a lady in the local refuge for her child who was due to be born.
It got me thinking about reuse and recycling children’s clothing and equipment as often items are outgrown before they are worn out, and how we could support the most vulnerable families in our communities by redirecting outgrown items to the families who need it, ensuring that all children have the basic items they need to thrive.
After doing a bit of research and finding out that 1 in 3 children in Greater Manchester live in poverty, I was shocked to learn the scale of child poverty and the number of families in deep poverty, unable to afford the basics of food, warmth and clothing for their children, and the impact this has on childhood development.
Being on maternity leave from my role in the NHS as a nurse, I volunteered my time to get the project off the ground, to secure premises, recruit volunteers to help and develop referral pathways; forging partnerships with health and social care professionals who would be key in identifying the families who need the support.
It’s been a very steep learning curve but our impact speaks for itself.

What has the impact been on the local community as a result of the project?
Since our inception just 2 years ago, we have responded to over 1400 requests for support. Our fantastic community in Trafford have rallied together and donated over 15 tonnes of donations from clothing, to prams, highchairs and toys, which we have then redistributed to the families that need it. The preloved value of the items distributed totals £180,000.
We are incredibly proud to have diverted such a large volume of items from landfill, as protecting our environment for future generations is something that is important to us.
The personal impacts the donations have made are far reaching. Being able to provide a pram for example, its not just somewhere safe to put a baby. It’s a mechanism for a new mum to reduce social isolation, something which is a known contributing factor to post-natal depression. Being able to provide a baby learning to walk with a push along walker and well fitting shoes, helps achieve developmental milestones and promotes good foot health and development. Providing a safe place for a baby to sleep reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and improves the quality of sleep for both baby and parents.
The availability of the resources we provide also provide a huge service to our NHS and social care sector where 60% of our referrals originate from, demonstrating the clear need for our work.
We couldn’t have achieved any of this without the generous community of volunteers who help us from the local community and the corporate world!
Volunteers have contributed over 7000 hours of time to help us support local families, the equivalent of 4 members of staff working full time. The teams have helped us sort through incoming donations and prepare them for distribution.
We have partnered with local schools and community groups to foster the community spirit in reuse and recycling for a social cause, with associated clothing collections on our behalf.
Our network of supporters share our Monthly WishLists far and wide so any gaps in our stock can be filled quickly.

Why do you think it’s important more people get involved in sustainability and being a Sustainability Champion?
I think that all of us have a part to play in protecting our planet for future generations, and even our own generation. Society as a whole makes being sustainable more difficult, you just have to pop to the local supermarket to see the amount of plastic on the shelves, and fast fashion that is available.
However if we all try to make some changes, then we can have a much bigger impact collectively than the ‘few’ making big changes, and build ourselves up to being more sustainable. I still have lots to learn and improve on, but I am trying!
Perhaps making a more conscious effort on household recycling, making sure you are aware of your local recycling centres needs when it comes to the contents of the recycling bins, or make a swap and purchase some clothing second hand. You can grab an absolute bargain for clothes on sites like Vinted & Green Heart Collective.
Maybe make a commitment to check out your local zero waste shop where you can bring your own jars and fill them up with cereals, spices, nuts, pulses and so much more, much of which is cheaper than the supermarket. They also have great quality ecofriendly household cleaning products so you can bring in your empty spray bottle and save yourself a few quid!
How can people get involved in your project?
There are lots of ways to get involved in our project!
Do you have children’s items you no longer need and would like to donate? Or have time to volunteer? Perhaps you’d like to organise a corporate team event with us to get hands on experience of our baby bank.
The Cost of Living crisis has not only affected the families we support, our charity is facing increasing costs to meet the demand on our service. Help us ensure we can continue our vital work in our community by sponsoring our charity or organise a fundraising event.
For more info www.littlegreensock.org
What do you think is the single greatest priority for Greater Manchester to tackle the climate crisis?
I think the greatest priority should be to make it easier for people recycle. It would be great if Greater Manchester could expand its plastic recycling to include other common plastics found in food packaging. Plastics are in the front of everyone’s minds with regard to pollution, with the data available about microplastics and the damage it inflicts on wildlife and our oceans. Greater Manchester should harness the public’s anger towards this and make other common plastics found in supermarkets available to recycle at home.
And if time and resources weren’t an issue, how would you address that priority
Ensure that all common plastics found in supermarkets and packaging can be recycled in household recycling streams at home. I think this would hugely increase recycling rates.
The Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund is a joint initiative between R4GM and Suez, with funds coming from sales made via Renew. Renew is the biggest reuse initiative of its kind, taking items that have been donated by residents at recycling centres and repairing or upcycling them ready to be resold.
There are three Renew shops across Greater Manchester, as well as an online shop and eBay page. Every year, £220,000 is made available for community groups, charities, schools and other organisations to bring to life projects that reduce waste and encourage reuse and recycling, while at the same time bringing people together via social value activities. To date, the R4GM Community Fund has awarded £660,000 to around 66 projects, covering a range of activities such as composting clubs, repair cafes, plastic upcycling, bike repair and more.