Elvis & Kresse donates 50% of profits to charities related to the unique materials we rescue, on a range by range basis. 50% of the profits from our Fire-hose Collection are donated to the Fire Fighters Charity. 50% of the profits from our rescued leather, such as our Fire & Hide Collection, go to Barefoot College.
Physical therapy session at one of the Fire Fighters Charity Centres
Women in Training at Barefoot College
Donations have also been made to WWF, Help for Heroes, Comic Relief, British Forces Foundation in support of the work that they do. Through an initiative in which we made shopping bags for Sainsbury's from old coffee sacks, we have also made donations to projects which support coffee growers via CafeDirect, the Costa Foundation, David Williamson Rwanda Foundation, Bettys and Taylors and Union Hand Roasted.
Why do we make these donations? At Elvis & Kresse we believe in the notion of good business: our business was established to solve environmental problems, waste problems in particular. We started with fire-hose and now reclaim more than 10 different materials. Beyond this, we also wanted to engage our material partners, our key stakeholders. Why not share, why not see if more good could be done with the surplus of an already good business. Why not?
In this sense we are lucky. Most traditional businesses are only able to measure their success in one way... the bottom line. At Elvis & Kresse we start measuring our success by looking at our impact. First we look at how much waste we are able to divert from landfill. Then, at the end of each year, we calculate how much money we are able to give back to our charity partners. Do we examine our revenue and profit too? Yes, but this is a discipline, a spreadsheet; this is a sideshow. The main event at Elvis & Kresse is impact.
Since 2005 Elvis & Kresse have been on a rescue mission. Our first goal was to save London's decommissioned Fire Hose; this was just the beginning.
We create stunning life-style accessories by re-engineering seemingly useless wastes and combining them with traditional craftsmanship.
