As a conscious consumer trying to live as waste free as possible, and a member of Rhiwbina Against Plastic (RAP), I feel grateful to be working for an organisation that promotes sustainability. Recent discussions in the company have turned to how we can promote our values and encourage the adoption of sustainable practices with our clients, suppliers and the wider community. With the encouragement of Miller Research, I jumped at the chance to be more involved in RAP and support development of the group’s ambitions, and their messaging. RAP aims to raise awareness of the issues around single-use plastic and reduce its use in Rhiwbina and Cardiff as a whole.
Being based in Tramshed Tech for half the working week, I knew exactly who to turn to for help and Blue Stag were more than happy (after the promise of plastic packaging-free cookies for life!) to develop the RAP logo and campaign. RAP are working alongside Rhiwbeina Primary School to promote behaviour change within families to reduce wastage and support conservation. Therefore, we decided to involve the school in concept development.
In consultation with Miller Research and Naomi, the founder of RAP, Blue Stag developed six creative routes. These routes were taken to a workshop with 22 primary school students ranging from 6 to 11 years old. We wished to understand the student’s views on plastic, their vision for RAP and to gather feedback on the logos.
During the workshop the children came up with some brilliant ideas for RAP and the school to consider, including;
- More bins – including recycling bins – in the local area (come on Cardiff Council!);
- Encouraging shops to be more like Lush i.e. paper bags, unpackaged and more natural products (e.g. solid shampoo and conditioner bars) and embedded recycling schemes;
- A robot litter monitor for use in the school, the village and the local parks (personally, my favourite idea!);
- Encouraging snack swaps – fruit rather than packaged crisps, chocolate and sweets (one child even pointed out that this would align with the Health Eating Agenda); and,
- Encouraging swaps to fabric shopping bags, bamboo cutlery, metal straws and reusing lunch boxes, coffee cups and bottles.
After the children gave their extensive, yet constructive feedback on the logo designs, they each voted by placing a sticker on their favourite. Following the workshop, the team will collate the feedback and suggested recommendations for the final logo design. The final logo will be unveiled at the letter writing event on the 28th of June in Snails deli.
Blue Stag captured the workshop through film and photography, encouraging the children to present short pieces to camera and filming discussions of their views on plastic. The content will be used in the forthcoming social media campaign, so watch this space! Partners such as ‘We Make Good Happen’ and ‘I loves the Diff’ will also be promoting the work that RAP and the school are undertaking amongst their networks.
Personally, I cannot wait to see the group take off and hope that we can further support the valuable work of Rhiwbina Against Plastic, as an individual and as an organisation.
