Posted: 13th September 2016
Carmarthen waterproof bag business named in Small Business Saturday UK’s ‘Small Biz 100’ for 2016
A Carmarthen-based business, which has developed a range of small waterproof washable bags, has been named among the 100 small businesses in the UK to be celebrated by Small Business Saturday, the campaign that culminates in the UK’s dedicated day for small businesses on December 3rd.
Sarahmac Designs owner Sarah Hyde has been buying and selling cloth nappies and accessories online for six years and had become frustrated with some of the rules and regulations set by manufacturers about where she can sell them, how much to charge and when she can run a sale so, last year, she launched her own brand of reusable cloth wipes and then earlier this year launched a range of reusable bags, suitable for cloth nappies as well as other uses. Both the bags and the wipes are made in Swansea by a small social enterprise. As the bags are waterproof and designed to be washed they can be used as snack bags, wash bags, make up bags, toiletry bags, and for nappies. The company will now be among the select number of businesses to be featured by the Small Business Saturday campaign one per day for the 100 days leading up to Small Business Saturday itself.
“Over the past six years I have used a variety of wetbags designed to store used nappies, but I found many other uses for the bags,” explains Sarah.
“My daughters are now out of nappies but I was also using the bags when dog walking. I find that disposable poo bags can be unreliable and they do nothing to stop the smell so started zipping up a disposable bag inside a nappy wetbag. By using the hand strap it meant I had free hands to hold on to my young children without fear of the plastic bag splitting. I am keen to support British manufacturing and make a difference to the environment.”
Small Business Saturday is already the UK’s most successful small business campaign. This is the fourth year of the campaign, which last year saw £623m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday, an increase of £119m or 24 per cent on the previous year. The campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter on the day with more than 100,000 campaign-related tweets being sent. Over 75% of local councils supported the campaign, giving considerable national reach into local communities.
The campaign is a great nationwide promotional and marketing tool for small businesses. It is totally free to participate and any small businesses can get involved – from one-man-bands, through to a high growth office, and from tradesmen to social media gurus. In addition to the big day, the campaign also delivers help and advice alongside opportunities to connect with other small businesses. In short, Small Business Saturday exists to support, inspire and promote small businesses.
“The British public has a great affection for small businesses and we continue to see that grow year on year. Small Business Saturday is an exceptional example of collaboration and co-operation with small businesses teaming up in communities around the UK,” explains Campaign Director Michelle Ovens.
“Although the campaign focuses on one day, the goal is to have a lasting impact on small businesses by changing mind-sets, so that people make it their mission to support small businesses all year round. Most people in this country own a small business, work for a small business or know somebody who does, so supporting a small business on Small Business Saturday is absolutely personal.”
Small Business Saturday, which is a grassroots, not-for-profit campaign, was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010 and it remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourage consumers to shop small. The campaign also benefits from the backing of leading business organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses and Enterprise Nation. The campaign is also supported by PRS For Music, TalkTalk Business, Vistaprint, Post Office and Clear Channel.
More information on Small Business Saturday can also be found on the Small Business Saturday Facebook page (www.facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturdayuk) and Twitter feed (@SmallBizSatUk).
You can see the range of sarahmac design bags here
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