SUSTAIN 2026: Fringe Events

Got a pre-loved T-shirt you no longer wear? Give it a new life.

T-SHIRT TO TOTE is a free, hands-on textile upcycling workshop where participants will transform an unwanted or plain T-shirt into a reusable tote bag, before designing their own stencil and creating a unique textile print. The workshop introduces participants to creative reuse in an accessible and practical way. Rather than throwing away an unwanted garment, participants will learn how it can be redesigned into something useful and personal.

During the session, participants will:

• Transform a T-shirt into a reusable tote bag.
• Design and create their own stencil.
• Use their stencil to produce an original textile print.
• Explore the principles of textile upcycling, reuse and extending the life of clothing.

The workshop is suitable for beginners and is designed to be interactive, creative and welcoming. Participants do not need previous sewing or textile experience.

The sustainability impact of the event is centred on reducing textile waste and encouraging a culture of reuse. By demonstrating how existing garments can be transformed rather than discarded, the workshop gives participants practical skills and ideas they can apply to other unwanted textiles in the future.

Participants are asked to bring one pre-loved/plain T-shirt to transform, making the material itself part of the sustainability message.

Cost: Free to attend

Places are limited and advance registration is required.

Seeing in Colour is back for our Second Saturday session, a hands‑on, friendly space where you can learn more about your home, your energy use, and the practical steps that make life more comfortable and affordable.

Drop in, explore thermal imaging, chat with our energy advisers, and get personalised guidance you can act on straight away.

If you’d like more detail on what Seeing in Colour offers, explore energy advice or retrofit guidance.

Join us for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) to celebrate everything Retrofit Balsall Heath has achieved this year, and look ahead to the next stage of our shared journey. Come and enjoy drinks and tasty refreshments from ChangeKitchen, find out more about retrofit in our neighbourhood and meet others working for positive change in Balsall Heath.

If you’re already a member of our Community Benefit Society, you will be invited to help shape the future direction of Retrofit Balsall Heath. If you’re not a member yet, there will be the opportunity to join!

Whether you’re already part of the Retrofit Balsall Heath journey, or new to retrofit and curious to find out more, everyone is welcome.

What is Retrofit Balsall Heath?

Retrofit Balsall Heath is a bold, resident-led movement reshaping our neighbourhood from the ground up. Powered by grassroots action and working closely with local partners, we are pioneering a just, community-led transition to a low-carbon future—one home, one street, and one conversation at a time.

Our vision is simple yet transformative: empower the people who live here to lead the green transition.

What is retrofit?

Retrofit is a technical term which means making good, “fit” buildings from existing buildings. We are applying this approach to homes, neighbourhoods, hearts and minds. The traditional definition of retrofit means installing things like solar panels, double-glazing and insulation.

These things are important to make our houses fit for purpose; to cut our bills, warm our homes, and reduce our emissions. But retrofit doesn’t stop at the front door. By looking at whole streets and whole neighbourhoods on a collective scale, we find that by working together, we can also improve other aspects of urban life – from the food we eat, to the way we get around.

Together with our community, at Retrofit Balsall Heath we are working to demonstrate that by reimagining our houses, streets and neighbourhoods, we can make our urban communities fit for purpose – both for the people who live there, and for our planet.

Venue and Access The AGM is at the ChangeKitchen Cafe, at the front of the Old Print Works.

If you are a wheelchair user, please let us know so we can ensure the ramp is in place.

There is an accessible toilet at the venue. If have any other access requirements, or there is anything we can do to make the session more comfortable for you, please let us know when you register.

Facilitated by Frances Lee-Rogers & Ashlea Mallet

Join a small group session designed for people who want to watch the National Emergency Briefing and then explore their thoughts, reactions, and feelings in a respectful, supportive environment.

Set in Deanslade’s semi‑rural, retreat-like location with free parking, this three‑hour gathering creates space for honest conversation about a topic that can feel difficult to talk about.

The aim is simple: to bring people together in a non‑judgemental setting where reflection, connection, and respectful dialogue can happen naturally.

The session begins with relaxed networking over a cuppa, giving attendees the chance to meet one another and settle in. We will then watch the film together, followed by a facilitated discussion to help you process what you’ve seen, share perspectives, and hear from others.

The conversation will be guided gently by Fran and Ashlea to ensure everyone feels safe, heard, and able to contribute at their own pace.

We close with final reflections and an opportunity to consider personal commitments. This group film showing and discussion has been designed to create an intimate and focused chance to discuss topics in a way that brings us all together as one collective discussion.

Please consider what works best for you when booking.

What you’ll get from attending

• A supportive space to explore a challenging national topic
• Time to connect with others who are curious, thoughtful, and open
• A facilitated discussion to help you explore your thoughts and feelings
• A chance to share your views with dignity, respect, and confidence
• Leave with at least 1 clear action you’ve committed to, as a result

10 tickets only – Book your free ticket now!

A better future is possible today, and it starts at your local pub! Do you wish trains were cheaper, there were more trees on your street, and more solar panels over local car parks? Are you frustrated that with increasingly wild weather people are still paving over nature, and you’re left feeling like the only one who cares in your friends WhatsApp group? You’re not alone! You’ve just been in the wrong room.

People Planet Pint is your local sustainability meetup – no pitches, no presentations, no panels. Just like-minded people talking about the planet over a pint (or two). You don’t need to be a sustainability professional. You don’t need to know what “Scope 3” means (most people don’t!).

If you’re curious about what’s going on locally and feel that a better future is possible – come along to meet others like you and chat about what’s going on locally, how to get involved and what solutions are out there. Come for conversations with real people – it’s a space to swap ideas, find opportunities, get things off your chest or just sit back and listen. You’ll leave with practical ways to get involved and leave a lot more optimistic about the future!

Rooted in our local economy and communities, we are committed to ensuring our work has a minimal impact on the environment and actively promotes sustainable ways of working.

The Culture Shift Symposium is now in its fourth year, and this year will be hosted by the Theatre Green Book team. Join us for a short day of talks and discussions for and by arts industry professionals on the subject of environmental sustainability.

This year, we will be engaging with three topics which regularly come up in conversations on sustainability: communications, touring and procurement. We will then finish the day with a ReStage Script Session to hear from the ReStage team about their recent report into reuse for the screen and stage sector within the UK, followed by a discussion on what is already going on around reuse in the West Midlands, and how you can be part of this UK-wide network.

Please bring your ideas, questions and examples! Our very first session of the day will be focused on theatre and the Theatre Green Book, but the rest of the topics of the day will have relevance across all art forms, so please do join us and share your thoughts, wherever you sit in the arts or cultural sector. Expect thought-provoking speakers, practical tips and lively debate as we try to imagine a sustainable future together.

Hosted by Catrin John and Laura Sedgwick.
Guest speakers include the team from Indigo and ReStage.

Turning compliance into competitive advantage

An interactive webinar on how to level up your impact report, turning it from a compliance obligation into a marketing and business development opportunity.

In the session, participants will learn:

• The benefits of reporting your impact yearly
• Understanding the compliance landscape and your obligations
• How to align with recognised reporting standards
• Transparency, targets, and avoiding greenwashing
• How to package and publish your report for greater visibility
• Integrating it into marketing and business development efforts

Rethinking Consumption: A Conversation Inspired by Art & Fashion.

Exploring how art, fashion and innovation can challenge overconsumption. What can art and fashion teach us about the way we consume and how might creativity, innovation and business help us build a more sustainable future?

To mark the final day of Wolverhampton Business Week and the launch weekend of Sustainable Fashion Week, join Reinvntd CIC and Wolverhampton Art Gallery for a special Friday Lates panel discussion inspired by the Gallery’s internationally significant Pop Art collection.

Emerging alongside the rapid growth of mass production, advertising and consumer culture, Pop Art transformed everyday products, familiar brands and popular imagery into works of art. More than 60 years later, these themes remain strikingly relevant as businesses, communities and consumers confront the environmental and social consequences of overconsumption.

Using fashion as a lens, this lively and accessible conversation will explore how creativity, craftsmanship, material innovation, repair and reuse can change our relationship with the things we buy, wear and discard.

Our panel will consider:

• How art and fashion can make us think differently about consumption
• The influence of advertising, trends and consumer culture
• New and alternative materials for a more sustainable future
• Repair, reuse and upcycling as creative and commercial opportunities
• Changing consumer expectations and business practices
• The role of artists, designers, businesses and communities in creating change

Shop sustainable fashion, vintage, upcycled and handmade goods from independent makers and businesses across the West Midlands. Celebrate the opening weekend of Sustainable Fashion Week with a day dedicated to conscious shopping, creativity and community.

Organised by Reinvntd CIC as part of Sustainable Fashion Week Hub Wolverhampton, this vibrant market will bring together independent makers, sustainable-fashion brands, vintage sellers, upcyclers, artists and eco-conscious businesses from Wolverhampton and across the wider West Midlands.

Browse a curated selection of sustainable, vintage, upcycled and handmade products, meet passionate local creatives and discover new ways to make clothing, textiles and everyday items last longer.

You can expect to find:

• Sustainable and independent fashion
• Vintage and pre-loved clothing
• Upcycled garments and accessories
• Handmade jewellery, gifts and homeware
• Art, textiles and creative products
• Eco-conscious products and businesses
• Sustainable-fashion information and activities

An afternoon of community conversations about sustainable style