Praise for Salvation Army sustainable innovations

Songs of Praise visits our modern processing centre to witness faith and care for creation in action

Our Processing Centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire, is a bustling place which welcomes warehouse operatives, collectors, hauliers and support colleagues daily; the very people who are custodians tasked with helping to transport, manage and process the second-hand garments donated to the charity each day.

The modern facility also hosts the UK’s only Fibersort technology, a vital piece of machinery that will help transform sustainable production in the future. And it was this innovation, along with the announcement of the world’s first polyester recycling plant due to open soon, that caught the interest of the Songs of Praise producers.

The Salvation Army has a long track-record in reuse and recycling. From the early days of its 19^th century salvage operations and the opening of its first charity shop in Leeds in 1908, the charity has always repurposed items to help others. Today our investments are leading the way in textile reuse and recycling, and the motivation remains close to our parent charity’s motto ‘faith in action’ and links with the Army’s mission to care for creation.

Songs of Praise presenter Claire McCollum visited the Kettering Processing Centre in January, to witness the step-by-step process of the latest technology, and to discuss sustainability as part of the charity’s Christian ethos.

Claire met with Major Heather Poxon, The Salvation Army’s territorial environment officer to talk about faith and the environment. Majonne Frost, head of environment and sustainability, and John Webb, site manager, who both work for Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd which operates the processing centre on behalf of the charity, gave Claire a tour of the facility and new technology.

You can watch the Songs of Praise programme on Sunday 18^th February on BBC at 13:15, and it will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

BBC One - Songs of Praise, Caring for Creation

Picture: A photograph of seven people standing in a sunlit reception area , looking at the camera. From left to right are Songs of Praise Producer Sam Lumley, Salvation Army Trading Company Managing Director Trevor Caffull, Site Manager John Webb, Songs of Praise Presenter Claire McCollum, Salvation Army Trading Company Head of Environment and Sustainability Majonne Frost, The Salvation Army Territorial Environment Officer Major Heather Poxon and Songs of Praise Producer Director Emmett Glynn is on the far right carrying a large camera.