OUR AMBASSADORS
Peter Duncan
Peter is an actor, a film & documentary maker, former Chief Scout and an 80’s Blue Peter presenter. A self-confessed adventurer he is never happier than when in the thick of it such as travelling with The Natural Adventure company, thenaturaladventure.com which he co-founded or writing and directing his own Pantomime films such as Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk through pantoonline.co.uk
After his Blue Peter days, he began to appear in musical theatre roles and was nominated for an Olivier award as Best Actor in a musical, playing Denry Machin in The Card.
In 2001 he executed a six-part documentary series called Travel Bug for the BBC in which he, his partner Annie and their four children backpacked their way around the world. In the two follow up series their adventure travels took them to China and India. His own series Duncan Dares saw him on the high wire, a James Bond stuntman and sail a VW beetle across the Irish sea amongst many other stunts.
He was awarded a Gold Blue Peter badge for his volunteer work as Chief Scout and is delighted to be an ambassador for Clothing Collective amongst the many other charities he supports.
Nigel Lindsay
Nigel, a familiar face from stage and screen, and has most starred in ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ in London’s West End. Having started out as a financial analyst in the City of London, Nigel quickly realised the world of banking and finance wasn’t for him so he applied for and gained a place at drama school. Nigel had also successfully applied for bar school but a career in theatre, film and television proved to be an irresistible and astute choice. Nigel has played a wide variety of roles on stage, on television, in film and on radio, picking up a number of awards and many accolades along the way.
As a born and bred Londoner, Nigel is acutely aware of the number of people affected by homelessness, who need practical help to get back on their feet, which is why he is lending his support to Clothing Collective and the work we do to help to clothe those in need.
Dame Prue Leith
Prue Leith is one of the Country’s foremost authorities on all things culinary. She is a renowned restaurateur, caterer, food writer, novelist, broadcaster and television presenter. She has also been a successful entrepreneur and businesswoman, and past Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year. She has been the cookery correspondent for The Daily Mail, Sunday Express, and The Guardian and writes frequently for national newspapers and magazines, not always on food.
Prue has had an active career in charity and not-for-profit businesses, helping to found (with the Soil Association), Food for Life which helps schools improve sustainability, food teaching and catering and The Hoxton Apprentice, a restaurant which for ten years trained long-term unemployed people to be waiters and chefs.
We are delighted that Prue is supporting Clothing Collective, in her own words:
“I admire and support the Clothing Collective for two good reasons: it enables the truly hard up to get good quality warm clothes. And it does this in a way that avoids the humiliation of hand-outs and allows people to shop for their own clothes, paying with vouchers from the collective.”
Photo courtesy of Geoff Pugh
Emma Wesley
Emma is a former primary school teacher, self confessed “Crazy Cat Lady” and long term lover of charity shops and shopping second hand. Growing up in East Sussex, she was often found at weekends visiting boot sales with her parents, and her love for preloved has continued ever since. Her first paid job was working weekends in a local charity shop.
Since leaving the teaching profession, Emma has returned to the charity retail sector and works as a Store Associate for a charity in Lincolnshire, where she now lives with her husband and two cats. In her spare time, Emma volunteers for another local charity and for the past couple of years has also taken part in fundraising challenges for the MND Association - a charity close to her heart.
In 2021 Emma created her Instagram account @thecharityshopchick as a space to share her charity shops finds and spread the love for charities and charity shops in the UK and further afield.
Emma is thrilled to be part of the Clothing Collective. Working in the charity retail sector, she frequently sees the amount of clothing donated to charity shops around the country. To be able to help those in need to access new clothing is an initiative she is excited to support.
Ruth Jobson
Ruth is a mother of three from a small town in England.
She has been shopping secondhand since she became a young single mother and her passion for preloved has grown from there.
Clothing poverty is something she feels strongly about. Sustainability should be about inclusivity and not just be a trend.
You can find Ruth via her Instagram account @charityshopping_ruthy - a little page dedicated to her love of secondhand.
Penny Salman
Penny was born and raised in London and has loved thrifting from a young age, with a particular love for charity shops, sewing and all things second hand.
She started upcycling clothes from charity shops and sharing this online, opening herself up to a wonderful thrifty community and deepening her adoration for charity shops and the environment!
She also volunteers with her local homeless charity and is passionate about the work Clothing Collective does, believing strongly that clothes are a huge part of our identity and everyone deserves access to them.
You can find Penny on Instagram at @threadsforapenny, where she promotes sustainability, preloved fashion, sewing and crochet.