A Year of Action
Last year, one of our priorities was to solidify our social action programme.Ground Level is an opportunity for us to connect with likeminded partners and to take action within the communities we are a part of - local, national and global. Community and connection are some of our core values here at Hard Lines, and through recent projects we have developed and built on these important aspects of what we stand for as a brand. For us it’s about being a part of the conversation and working together to find solutions.
Social action, for us, is about being proactive and community guided. So here’s what we got up to in 2024…
More than just running
Our first project was influenced by our very own Run Club. Through running an in-house survey, we learned that 100% of our male identifying runners felt safe running in the dark, compared to just 30% of our female identifying runners. These polarising figures led us to take action and partner with FenixLight UK with the collective goal of making all runners feel safe and seen.
Engaging in this way with our community and opening up a conversation around safety really taught us a lot. Not only did we learn from our community of runners, it also demonstrated the importance and value of creating safe spaces elsewhere, this led us to publish our findings as a guide for others to use and follow.
We now hand out head-torches and illuminating bands before every run, as well as perform head counts and send out pre-published routes.
“Head-torches have been an amazing addition to the club for a couple of reasons. They allow members to identify the leaders better, especially now that when we set off, it's dark. Additionally, it gives more confidence to the leaders, knowing that if they are at the front/back/middle it’s easier for bikers and other pedestrians to see the group, which gives us more confidence in our ability to keep the group safe! I think another benefit is that people who run on their own outside the group have realised the benefit, and now use them on their own too!” Female-identifying runner, Hard Lines Run Club (leader)
By assessing and adjusting our practices we made a positive change within our Run Club - we are always open to feedback and suggestions on how to continue making our weekly runs a safe space for all.
For the Forests
For our second project, we joined forces with climate action charity Size of Wales on the release of a sustainably sourced Peruvian coffee. Together with Size of Wales we were able to fundraise directly for the Wampís, an autonomous indigenous nation who work tirelessly to protect their territory from deforestation and extractive industrial mining in the Peruvian Amazon - their forests are vital to the global fight against climate change.
With help from our staff, customers and wholesale partners we managed to raise £3,365 for the Wampís.
To ensure the coffee release aligned with themes of the project we collaborated with G . F Smith on our packaging and chose stock made from recycled coffee cups, making the packaging 100% recyclable - an exciting first for us!
Cardiff Foodbank
Our final project of the year saw us organise a food drive for Cardiff Foodbank. We have worked with the food bank before, and will likely do more drives in 2025 to support the work they do, as unfortunately, the need for crisis support continues to grow across the city. We are so grateful for the support our community showed during this drive.
192.7kg of food was donated across the week by staff and customers which is equivalent to providing 171 meals for people who need it across the city.
The completion of these three projects has taught us that it takes time to make change and have a meaningful impact. Developing Ground Level has given us a unique space to learn and a positive direction for how to give back the good that comes to us.
We have partnered with and contributed to some incredible organisations this year, all with the shared goal of making positive change. We hope to keep building on these relationships, connect with like-minded communities and continue to develop our projects.
We will be announcing our projects for 2025 - more info coming soon!
