A group of nine Ladies’ College sixth formers have breathed new life into old denim by setting up a small business creating new products including bags, decorations, and jewellery.
Denim4Days, set up as part of the Young Enterprise challenge, was born out of the fact denim can take up to 200-years to degrade in landfill and a joint desire to create durable and reusable products from old clothes.
The project was the brainchild of Bruna Terry Vila, Grace Purvis, Anni Miller, Isabella Collenette, Analeigh Menhenitt, Alix Le Noury, Naomi Chanter, Lucy Symons, and Lucie Jackson.
Ms Chanter, Sales Manager for the group’s business, said they wanted to focus on sustainability and found denim is often one of the most unwanted materials available.
“Once researching more into denim we realised how it’s such a versatile material and how many different items could be made out of it, instead of it going to landfills,” she said.
The group has used social media to raise brand awareness and connect with islanders which impacted their sales.
“We’ve been able to promote our products, as well as our previous sales opportunities such as late night shopping. The actual late night shopping itself was an amazing experience, giving us the chance to physically interact with potential customers and improve our communication skills, along with giving us the opportunity to see which of our products was most appealing to our target market,” Ms Chanter said.
She said the experience of running a business has had “its ups and downs” but praised the support of the “amazing mentors from Young Enterprise Guernsey” which allowed the “rare” opportunity to start a business with close friends.
“It’s such a valuable opportunity to have, especially at this age. I personally have always had the idea of starting a business somewhere in the back of my mind, and Young Enterprise has made that idea feel much more real.
“Through Young Enterprise we have learnt a lot about what actually goes into running a business, not just the creative side but also the planning, teamwork, and problem solving that happens behind the scenes. All the things that you don’t normally get to see. And all things that we didn’t think we would get to experience for at least another few years.”
Ms Chanter said the future is unclear for the business since doing it “alongside studies is never an easy venture”, but said they may pick it up again at another time.