Frequently asked questions

You can easily sign up in one of our shops! Just tell one of our volunteers you would like to become a R:evolve Recycle member and they will show you how to fill in the membership form. You will then receive your membership card with 5 free points that you can spend straight away.

Our project is grant funded and in order to keep the swap shop service free we have to report on particular environmental and financial savings we achieve. The LEAP Enterprise SCIO is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We will never share your personal data with third parties. For a full copy of our Privacy and Data Security Policy simply send us an email at enquiries@revolve-recycle.co.uk. This will explain in more detail how we use your data, how we store it and how we keep it safe.

R:evolve's aim is to keep textiles in circulation in our communities. We measure our weights in and our weights out. Our project is most successful when customers bring things in and take them away. Therefore, we only accept donations in our shops from members and we would ask you to become one before you donate - it's free. You will then have points for the items you give us to "spend" in store. If there is nothing in the shop you want to swap when you are bringing clothes in, your points never go out of date so you can come back in a week, a month or a year and swap at R:evolve.

We accept ladies, gents and children’s clothing, shoes and accessories, and haberdashery. We also accept unused swimwear, with the tags on. We do not accept any dirty items, used swimwear, underwear or bric-a-brac.

When you become a member with R:evolve Recycle, you get 5 free points. After that, you will get points for the clothes you bring in. We use a very simple 1 point system in our shops. You will get points for each item that you bring to us up to a maximum of 10 points per transaction.

You are allowed a maximum of 10 points on your card at any one time so we ask that members only bring a few items of clothing at a time to keep their points topped up. We can accept larger donations but please bring these to our base at 56 Hamilton Road, Cambuslang G72 7LD. Sometimes we may use our social media platforms to request specific items for partnership agencies that we work with. In this case, we would accept large donations.

If you lose your membership card, we can issue you a new one. However, any points you may have had on your old membership card will be lost and your new membership card will have 0 points on it.

People volunteer with R:evolve for many different reasons. Some of our volunteers tell us they joined to meet new people; others wanted to gain skills or experience. Many of our volunteers want to support their local community, or they have an interest in R:evolve’s ethos of swapping, sharing, reusing, and mending and want to learn more. Whatever your reason we would love for you to join us!

Whether you can donate two hours a week or two hours a year there is a role for you! Some roles include regular volunteering, while others can be one-off for a specific period of time. We have a range of opportunities and there’s something for everyone! If chosen to be a Revolve Volunteer, we do ask applicants to agree to volunteer for a minimum of 3 months. Specific time commitments can be found in the individual role descriptions on our website.

For most of our volunteer roles you don’t need any specific skills or experience, just an enthusiasm to get involved. If specific skills, experience, or qualifications are needed we will provide details in the individual role descriptions.

Yes! All roles require an element of training, including an induction to get you settled in. The amount of training you will need depends on the role. For example, our Swap Shop Assistants volunteer directly with customers and community members, often in the absence of on-site staff assistance, which requires a bit more training than other roles to feel comfortable with.

Generally, the minimum age for volunteering at R:evolve Recycle is 18, however we may be able to make an exception depending on the role and activities involved. There is no maximum age limit for volunteering at R:evolve Recycle.

That depends! Some volunteers help us backstage at fashion shows, others lead weekly make and mend workshops for the community, and others accept and process donations at our high street boutiques. You can learn more about the various duties of each opportunity in the individual role descriptions.

We believe you should never be out of pocket if you volunteer with us. R:evolve Recycle will pay for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including travel, and pre-agreed upon materials purchase. If you volunteer for three hours or more, there is a small lunch allowance. However, we cannot reimburse childcare expenses.

A criminal conviction doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t volunteer with us. Depending on the role, we may require a Disclosure Scotland criminal background check before new applicants begin volunteering. Criminal records check requirements, if applicable, are listed in the individual role descriptions. If you have a criminal record and would like to volunteer in a role where a criminal records check is required, we will need to speak to you about this and a decision will be made on a case-by-case basis.

We would like to hear from anyone interested in volunteering with R:evolve Recycle, including if you are living with a disability, considering on an individual basis the support and reasonable adjustments we can offer to enhance the volunteer experience.

Once you have been volunteering with us for three months, we’d be happy to provide you with a character reference. And we’ll be happy to provide a reference for you up to three years after you leave.

Unfortunately, we do not currently run a volunteer work experience programme. However, we may be able to provide one-off volunteer opportunities if you are looking to gain experience over a short period of time, or work on a specific project in-line with R:evolve Recycle’s mission.

Once an application has been received, our Volunteer Development Officer will be in touch with you within seven working days to arrange an informal interview. Please see the image below for an overview of our recruitment process.

We hold informal interviews with all applicants to gauge whether or not they will be a good fit at R:evolve Recycle. If an applicant is deemed unsuccessful at the interview, or any time during the recruitment and training process, a full explanation will be given as to why we have decided not to proceed with your application. On rare occasions, successful applicants may have their volunteer opportunity withdrawn, e.g., if they regularly do not turn up for scheduled shifts or frequently cancel on short notice.  All successful applicants start as a ‘Volunteer in Training,’ which allows them to try the position before committing to formal induction training. If you feel the volunteer role is not a good fit, you can discontinue your volunteer service at any time with appropriate notice given to staff. Upon withdrawing as a R:evolve volunteer, your application and details will be archived in accordance with our GDPR policy.  

If we haven’t covered your question here please get in touch with us by emailing enquiries@revolve-recycle.co.uk, or phone our office at 0141 428 3126.