When sustainability empowers: How running shirts are creating new perspectives

Sustainability meets social participation

Several hundred running shirts were produced in 2020 for a charity run on the topic of addiction support. However, the run had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving the shirts unused in the basement of Paritätische Suchthilfe Niedersachsen. These unworn running shirts formed the starting point for the idea behind the project "RE:Shirt – Saving resources. Empowering people," which aimed to give them a new purpose.

The project combines two key issues for the future: ecological responsibility and social participation. Instead of disposing of unused textiles, they were creatively reworked. At the same time, people with experience of addiction and/or mental illness were given a safe space to get involved, try new things, and discover their own abilities. Resource conservation thus becomes not only visible, but also tangible.

The project focuses on people. The participants at the Hannover day center have gradually developed upcycling and design skills, made their own decisions, and seen how ideas turned into concrete products. This creative process has strengthened their confidence in their own abilities and made self-efficacy immediately tangible—an important building block for participation and personal development.

Soziovation: Funding that makes projects like RE:Shirt possible

The project "RE:Shirt – Saving resources. Empowering people." is an example of how the Hannover Region's Fund for Social-Ecological Innovation (Soziovation) puts new ideas into practice. The funding program supports non-profit organizations, founders, and start-ups that combine ecological sustainability with social impact. With the help of the funding, the "RE:Shirt" project was able to finance investment and material costs as well as accompanying consulting services, thus creating a creative space for participation, competence development, and self-efficacy.

The Soziovation funding program is based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 and places particular emphasis on innovative business models in the social economy and projects that open up employment prospects for disadvantaged target groups.