Impact
Measured. Verified. Real.
Impact that goes beyond a good feeling. For corporate partners, impact data is tracked, documented, and delivered in a format ready for ESG and CSR reporting.
Environmental
Textile waste is a crisis
tonnes of used textiles were discarded in household bins and at Household Waste Recycling Centres in 2021 (WRAP 2024 report)
worth of clothing discarded per person, per year — that's 35 items at an average of £16.70 each (WRAP, 2024)
UK adults binned brand-new clothes in the last year — with over a quarter lacking the basic sewing skills to repair or alter them instead (National Lottery Community Fund, 2025)
Textile diversion from landfill
All donated fabric is weighed, logged, and diverted. Corporate partners receive a kg-certified diversion certificate.
Circular skills education
400 participants per year learn to mend, repair, and reuse textiles — reducing household waste and costs.
ESG-ready impact reporting
Tracked data — attendance, items produced, fabric weight, wellbeing scores — compiled into ESG-ready reports for corporate partners.
Carbon figures calculated using UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting (2026), Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) — the dataset referenced by the GHG Protocol for UK waste emissions.
Tonnes of textiles diverted from landfill
Tonnes CO2e avoided vs. landfill (GHG Protocol-aligned estimate)
Items created & donated
Volunteers engaged
Volunteer hours since 2020
Governance
Transparent. Accountable. Community-owned.
Little A.R.K. is a Community Interest Company (CIC) — a legal structure designed specifically for organisations that exist to benefit a community rather than private shareholders. Every penny of profit is locked into our social mission.
We operate with full transparency: our grant expenditure, KPI tracking, and programme outcomes are reported to our project's partner on a milestone basis, with supporting evidence submitted for every payment request.
Our reporting is aligned with recognised frameworks rather than certified against them: carbon figures use UK Government GHG conversion factors (the dataset the GHG Protocol references), and social outcomes are tracked against indicators drawn from relevant GRI social disclosures.
Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Good Health and Well-being
Sew-cial sessions provide structured social contact that reduces isolation among older and vulnerable residents.
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Volunteers gain industrial sewing and production skills that support employability.
Reduced Inequalities
Free, no-barrier-to-entry workshops open to all abilities and backgrounds.
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Community-based reuse and repair reduces local household textile waste.
Responsible Consumption and Production
Core activity: diverting textile waste from landfill through reuse, repair and upcycling.
Social — Sew-cial
Impact that shows up in people's lives
Through our workshops, participants don't just learn to sew, mend, and upcycle — they rebuild confidence, form connections, and develop skills that open doors.
Connectivity
Regular, structured social contact for mature adults and isolated residents
Sustainability
Learn to repair and reuse clothing, reducing household costs
Employability
Develop skills that open new opportunities
Meet our amazing makers
Kit Choi
Hong Konger, introduced to us by a mutual contact — a retired hospital operation theatre assistant finding herself looking for purpose-driven projects and community since moving to the UK 5 years ago. She now oversees sewing projects in the studio with deep conviction in reducing textile waste.
Cathy Cho
Hong Konger, brought to us by a friend to beat isolation and build self-confidence when she first moved to the UK 3 years ago. Cathy is now the industrial sewing machinist in charge of production, overseeing and training new people to operate an industrial sewing machine.
Aunty Hansa
British Asian, who visited our studio 3 years ago by chance and loved the ethos of upcycling. She's just turned 80 and looks forward to the weekly Sew-cial, driving to the venues to help make drain bags for hospital patients, reusable menstrual pads, and hundreds of draught excluders — a very dedicated "aunty" to everyone in the maker space.
Find us — Sew-cial Meet Up
Morden Park Baptist Church
Lower Morden Lane, SM4 4SS
Bus 81 · Morden
Morden Popup Store
2nd floor, 81 London Road, Morden, SM4 5HP
Morden Underground
Free to attend · All abilities welcome