A FESTIVAL offering people the chance to pick up pre-loved items is aiming to help tackle the cost-of-living and climate crises.

Lil is hosting its second ReUse Festival on Saturday, when items ranging from clothes and books to furnishing and toys will be on offer.

The social enterprise, which is based on Haddington High Street, is encouraging people to head along as it looks to tackle the stigma around secondhand items.

Louise Hastie, who co-founded Lil in 2018 with Sarah Bronsdon, said: “Buying secondhand not only benefits our pockets, it increases the lifespan of a product, reducing production, resource use and waste.

“At Lil, we want everyone to be able to make secondhand their first choice and are working with local referral partners to make the festival accessible to all, regardless of budget.”

The event takes place at the Maitlandfield House Hotel from 10am to 2pm.

Donations can still be made to the group’s premises on High Street or to the small lorry parked at the Aubigny Sports Centre on Mill Wynd.

Bike donations can no longer be received, as there will not be time to check them over.

East Lothian Courier: A ReUse Festival returns to Haddington's Maitlandfield House Hotel

Lil was founded with a view to supporting and educating people to consume intelligently, with products that are part of an eco-responsible, low-impact living approach.

Louise was looking forward to the event following a “hugely successful” debut last year.

She said: “The quality of the donated items was outstanding.

“Not only did we all keep several lorry loads of items in circulation but the boost it gave to families who might be struggling for whatever reason was amazing.

“One mum in particular struck a chord with us when she said she could afford a proper Christmas dinner because she’d managed to get all her gift shopping done at the event.

“We’re so grateful for our community partners that support this event, too.

“Mikes Bikes’ Mike is checking all the bikes for us, and a volunteer from East Linton Tool Library is supporting the PAT testing for electrical items.

“The Aubigny Sports Centre, Haddington Common Good Fund, East Lothian Council, lots of organisations are helping in different ways, not least our referral partners, who are distributing vouchers to folk who can use a little extra help this year.”

Buyers must use vouchers, which can be bought from the Lil Hub or on the day, to pay for goods.

Unused vouchers can be refunded on the day.

Zero Waste Scotland cites that about four-fifths of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from the products and materials people manufacture, use and throw away.

The average Scot consumes 18.4 tonnes of materials every year; the equivalent of 50 kilogrammes per week.

Louise said: “That’s about [the weight of] a chimpanzee or a North Pacific giant octopus. By making secondhand our first choice, we can cut that drastically.”

For more information on the event, visit the Lil Hub on Haddington High Street.