T COLE CRAFTS FINALIST FOR NEW GREEN GROWTH AWARDS

tcolecrafts
Mar 4
4 min read

Local handmade accessories business, T Cole Crafts has made it to the final of the awards after impressing judges with their approach to driving growth through sustainability.

1st March 2025: T Cole Crafts, based at Wimbledon Art Studios in Wandsworth, has been selected as a finalist for the first-ever ‘Green Growth Awards’, a new national competition recognising small businesses leading the way in embracing sustainability to innovate and drive business growth.

Launched by Small Business Britain, in partnership with BT, the inaugural Green Growth Awards will award two sustainability grants of £5000 to two small businesses that have successfully boosted their bottom line by implementing sustainable initiatives. The grants will help provide additional funding for businesses to invest further in this area.

Tim Cole, who founded T Cole Crafts in 2019, has made it to the final round of the awards after impressing judges with their commitment to green growth. This includes significantly reducing the amount of energy needed to power the studio, generating as much as possible via solar panels, and adopting a cradle to cradle approach to materials. For example, with our leather coffee sleeves we encourage customers to return them to us at the end of their life so that we can repurpose the leather and ultimately return it to the earth.

On being named as a finalist, Tim Cole said: “I’m delighted that T Cole Crafts has been recognised in this way. Sustainability and zero waste lie at the core of our business and having the chance to win this award represents a very exciting opportunity for us to build on the progress we have already made. I’m looking forward to meeting the other nominees who share our commitment to making business greener.”

“The Green Growth Awards recognise the outstanding small businesses that are not only leading the way in sustainability but are also using it to fuel innovation and growth,” says Michelle Ovens CBE, Founder of Small Business Britain.

“These businesses are proving that greener practices not only benefit the planet but also create real business success—whether through cost savings, waste reduction, or deeper customer engagement. Their passion and commitment are making a real impact on their communities and the economy.”

The nation’s 5.5m small businesses are estimated to represent half of the UK’s business emissions [1] and the Green Growth Awards has been launched as part of Small Business Britain’s ongoing partnership with BT to empower UK small businesses to better understand their environmental impact and embrace more sustainable practices and growth opportunities.

“The Green Growth Awards shine a spotlight on the small businesses that are not only driving sustainability but also setting the standard for innovation and growth,” said Chris Sims, Chief Commercial Officer, UK Business, at BT.

“It’s truly inspiring to see how these businesses are leveraging sustainable practices to achieve real business success and create positive change in their communities. We’re really proud to support this initiative.”

BT is also a member of the Willow Review Steering Board; a new independent review aiming to underline the financial case for sustainability for small businesses, which has been spearheaded by Small Business Britain and is backed by the UK Government.

The winners of the Green Growth Awards will be announced at a special event at BT’s Headquarters in London on 11 March 2025.

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Notes to Editors 

About Small Business Britain

Small Business Britain is the UK’s leading champion of small businesses, supporting the UK's 5.5 million small businesses, no matter their location, their sector, or their ambition level.

Through a series of campaigns, networks, training and reports, Small Business Britain champions and informs small businesses in the UK. Committed to making entrepreneurship as inclusive as possible, it brings small business owners together to foster growth and increased confidence.

https://smallbusinessbritain.uk

Twitter: @britainsmallbiz

Facebook: @smallbusinessbritain

Instagram: britainsmallbiz

About BT Group

BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services. We also provide managed telecommunications, security and network and IT infrastructure services to customers across 180 countries.  BT Group consists of three customer-facing units: Consumer serves individuals and families in the UK; BT Business* covers companies and public services in the UK and internationally; Openreach is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary wholesaling fixed access infrastructure services to its customers - over 650 communication providers across the UK.  British Telecommunications plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/about

*BT Business was formed on 1 January 2023 from the combination of the former Enterprise and Global units.  It will commence reporting as a single unit from 1 April 2023, with pro forma reporting information to be produced ahead of BT Group’s Q1 FY24 results.

About T Cole Crafts 

T Cole Crafts focuses on creating beautiful bespoke, unique and personalised gifts that combine traditional craftsmanship, with modern technology and techniques, sustainable practices such as Zero Waste (the business generates more electricity than it uses) and creating ‘Slow Fashion’ products. We make handmade leather coffee sleeves, and our vegan cork fabric range includes wallets, purses, makeup bags, wash bags and tote bags. The business founded in April 2019 started with leather goods and diversified to include cork fabric goods to give an option to vegans. It has so far been supported by the NEA and the Kings Trust. I currently sell my products in Cambridge All Saints Garden market, Apple Market Covent Garden and on TikTok, Etsy and our own website. The mission is to bring back volume handcrafted goods back to the UK, in a sustainable and holistic manner. We are a "Profit for Purpose" company. As we grow, the plan is to use the profits that we generate to employ homeless people, teach them new skills and help rebuild to being their best selves, by creating two teams to support each worker a “health team” and a “mentor team”.

Website : www.tcolecrafts.co.uk

TikTok : @t.cole.crafts

Etsy : TColeCrafts

Instagram : t_colecrafts

Facebook : TColeCrafts

Media Contacts 

For more information please contact Tim Cole at info@tcolecrafts.co.uk or call 07787 426862 