Support and inspiration from POETRY

We are delighted to announce our partnership with British fashion brand POETRY who are supporting our mission to make creativity and play a part of every child’s life. This partnership between The Herd and POETRY is also one of shared values around the preciousness and importance of natural materials.

The financial support from POETRY to The Herd will enable us to deliver around 50 days of play activity or theatre to families in the UK in a year. This partnership will extend our reach, bringing more opportunities for joy, connection, and imagination to families who need it most. This is huge for us at The Herd.

POETRY is driven by a desire to make clothing that is a positive choice for customers, people, partners and the planet. Long before sustainability became a mainstream concern, the brand embraced the philosophy of “buy once, buy best”, encouraging customers to invest in timeless, high-quality pieces rather than disposable trends. It uses only natural fabrics – including linen, silk, cashmere hemp and organic cotton – supporting the use of renewable resources and the growth of millions of plants. 

The company sends no waste to landfill and prioritises recycling. No clothing is ever discarded: returns are inspected and resold if suitable, repaired in-house where possible (2,493 items in 2024), and donated to charities. Surplus fabric is repurposed to ensure nothing goes to waste.

POETRY tote bags which have been made with surplus fabric.

POETRY donated props and fabrics from ex-display items in their London stores to our 2025 project REPLAY for Bradford City of Culture. These materials were repurposed for play in our installation made entirely out of waste and recycled materials. The project keeps going and is currently on in London until 12th April 2026. So far, we've have over 14,000 children and their families through the doors, getting joy out of these materials. After the installation, the materials will then feed into our wider play programme of weekly activities in Hull. When things are worn or broken beyond repair for play, they will be recycled.

POETRY has been working in this way since it was founded over 20 years ago. We're hugely inspired by this. REPLAY has changed everything for The Herd. When making art for children, it's impossible not to think about the future and about the moment when these children become adults. A moment that looks increasingly under threat because of the climate emergency. We don't want to scare, or burden children with a problem they played no part in causing, but we know that so much of children’s play provision - toys, soft play, technology - has no consideration for a world with finite resources. We don't want to be part of that, and we want environmental responsibility to be at the heart of what we’re doing.  We now ensure at least 80% of materials we use across all our projects and shows are recycled or from waste.