On Saturday 5th April, a group of home-educated children from Ignite (a local Home Education group run in partnership with Emotionally Healthy Minds) launched their eco refill business. This educational project aims to help the planet, teach real-world skills and change how people think about learning outside of the classroom.
During the bi-monthly sessions held at Ignite in the local village hall, the children have taken part in an initiative founded by Pupils Profit, an organisation dedicated to developing enterprise and sustainability skills in young people through hands-on business experiences. With a mission to empower students to become confident entrepreneurs and environmentally-conscious citizens, Pupils Profit provided the framework and guidance needed to launch the refill shop. The project was made possible through generous funding from Essex’s Year Of Numbers, whose support ensured the group had the resources to stock products and set up a professional, fully-functioning refill station.
During the sessions, the children have explored key skills such as: working collaboratively as part of team; marketing and logo design; stock ordering and control; financial literacy and problem solving. They enjoyed choosing which products to sell and calculating product prices to make a profit. The group spent time designing posters and logos to help market their business. It was important to the group that they could offer the public eco friendly products and encourage the use of recycling too.
The children successfully sold a range of products such as body wash, washing up liquid, soap bars and organic mango snacks. Customers had the option to buy the products in reusable pre-filled bottles or to use/bring a container of their own. The goal of this was to reduce single use plastics and foster a sense of environmental responsibility in shoppers. The children’s interaction with customers was second to none and the support from the public was overwhelmingly positive. People were inspired by the children’s enthusiasm and professionalism. It was a delight to see the children’s hard work come to fruition. EHM would like to thank Emily from the SWF market for her generosity in donating our group a pitch and enabling us to bring our vision to life.
What really sets this venture apart is the fact that it is the first Home Ed group in the UK to run the Pupils Profit eco refill shop. Under the guidance of EHM, these young entrepreneurs have taken on everything from stock management and customer service to marketing and budgeting.
One parent commented,
“It was such a rewarding experience seeing Nathan on the day with the confidence to interact with other people. It was lovely to see the children enjoy the experience and all the hard work that they had put into the project over the last couple of months come to fruition”.
Another parent commented,
“For Erin, seeing the whole process of how to build a business and put that into practice has taught her so many new skills. Erin was keen to be a part of the sales team on market day and had great confidence speaking to the public about the group and the incredible business they had created. With the guidance of Lauren and Sarah on the day, Erin was in the most patient, caring, supportive hands I could possibly ask for. Building her up and making her feel like she could achieve anything. A fabulous opportunity and experience that has enriched Erin’s home educational journey”.
For the children, the experience has been eye-opening too. One young team member called Nathan said,
“It was a very good day and I got to see how a business works. I really enjoyed taking the money and keeping track of what we sold”. Another team member called Erin commented, “I loved it. A lot of people came over to our stall. It was fun to refill the bottles. I felt confident times infinity! I was proud of all of my friends and me! Ignite is great”.
Emotionally Healthy Minds are so proud of everyone involved in this project. It has empowered children, supported the environment and proved that with the right support, young minds can achieve big things. Ignite’s ‘Home Ed Eco Warriors’ isn’t just a shop—it’s a symbol of what’s possible when education, entrepreneurship and eco-consciousness come together in one brilliant community-led initiative.