Many see November as the start of the festive season. This is a time when inboxes fill up with Black Friday countdowns and flash sales.
When Elvis & Kresse was founded in 2005, we had no intention to do ‘business as usual’. From the very beginning, our mission has been very broad. Yes, we wanted to rescue the fire hose, but more than that, we wanted to create a company that made a positive impact in every possible sense. Kresse’s famous internal motto, “Do more, be better,” still guides every decision we make. In order to maximise donations, we don’t operate a discounting strategy. Rather than offering discounts, we donate 50% of our profits to charity. And if you want to read all about why we give, you can find a detailed rationale here.
Profits are what remain at the end of the year when all our costs have been accounted for: from certified Living Wages for our team, to running our regenerative HQ and farm, to rescuing and transforming all of the wonderful materials you will find in our pieces. At the end of each year, when the accounting is complete, we split the surplus: half is reinvested into the business and growing our impact, and the other half is donated, primarily to our two key charity partners.
In order to help our wonderful customers shop with confidence, our prices remain consistent all year round. We won’t reduce our prices one week only to raise them the next. We believe in transparency, fairness, and in doing what’s right for both people and planet. If you want to read more about why we don’t participate in Black Friday, and why you won’t receive an email like this from us you can find our blog from 2018 here.
The Fire Fighters CharityOur longest standing partnership is with The Fire Fighters Charity. At our very first meeting with the London Fire Brigade we promised to share 50% of any profits we made rescuing the hoses with the firefighting community. It just makes sense that after a long life fighting fires, the second life of these heroic fire hoses should have another opportunity to give.
This is why, from the very beginning, 50% of the profits from our Fire hose Collection have been donated to The Fire Fighters Charity. As of 2025, we have donated a total of £332,257.78 to The Fire Fighters Charity.
The Fire Fighters Charity provides physical rehabilitation, mental health support, a 24/7 crisis line, and much more to firefighters, their families, and the wider fire service community across the UK. Every piece you purchase helps give back to the heroes who have given so much.
When we started our leather project we knew it might be a little trickier to find an ideal charity partner because there is no straightforward link to a cause. We searched and searched, trying to find a charity that matched our own ethos of doing the most good with the least resource.
Barefoot College International is an incredible organisation. First founded in the 1970s in India, they focus on providing transformational education to women, largely mothers and grandmothers, who have had no previous access to education. Specifically, our donations fund scholarships for women to train as solar engineers. When the training is complete, the women return to their communities equipped to bring clean, renewable energy to places that may have never had electricity before, or have relied on burning wood or kerosene for cooking. There is a ripple effect of empowerment, sustainability, and hope, which we are incredibly proud to support.
Over the decades Barefoot has tracked the impact of their work, and it is truly amazing. On average, the work of each scholar has a positive and life changing impact on 250 people, and the charity addresses almost all of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As of this year we have donated £102,000.00 to Barefoot College International.
Our total donations, across all the causes we have supported since 2005, amount to £449,508.93.
As you begin your festive shopping, we hope this serves as a gentle reminder that shopping can be both ethical, sustainable, and generous. Every Elvis & Kresse piece rescues materials from landfill, supports our team and our planet, and contributes directly to life changing causes.
Shop in confidence knowing we don’t do discounts, we make donations.
At Elvis & Kresse, we believe real change happens through collaboration. The Company We Keep celebrates the inspiring sustainable brands that share our mission to reduce waste and create positive impact. Discover the stories of Reskinned, Clipper Teas, Wasted Kitchen, Cook, and B Corp, organisations reimagining how business can be a genuine force for good.
