A minute with 2nd Life Project
Repurpose with a purpose.

Interview with Marcus Tyrrell, 2nd Life Project Founder.

The 2nd Life Project is a social initiative that reduces, reuses and rehomes outdoor equipment to enable better outdoor experiences.

On Cyber Monday, we partner with the 2nd Life Project to gift up to 1000 icebreaker items, to give programmes and people in need a chance to move to natural.
Learn more about the 2nd Life Project here.

Tell us about why you started 2nd Life Project.

It was hard to ignore the disposable society we live in and there were few programmes that repurposed old equipment in good condition. Initially we thought most outdoor equipment would be helpful for our homeless population, as it is mostly designed to keep us warm, dry and comfortable in some way. But while supporting the homeless was positive, we found that the issue of equipment going to landfill extended far beyond just the homeless. Items such as expired helmets, climbing ropes, lifejackets, hiking packs were all being thrown into landfill so our focuses then turned to minimising waste. We now not only support the homeless population but provide equipment and clothing for at-risk youth programmes, underprivileged school students, community groups and many more people who do not have access to the funding required to get them outdoors.

What makes the 2nd Life Project community so special?

The 2nd Life Project community are solving so many diverse issues. Contributors are actively seeking ways to minimise their personal or commercial footprint on nature by minimising landfill while helping more people create positive experiences in the outdoors. As a society we generally support those places we enjoy, so by creating opportunities for more people to have positive experiences in the outdoors, we are supporting the amount of people outside and those protecting it.

What are you planning to do with the donated icebreaker items?

Depending on the item, we are planning to:
• Add clothing into our growing community gear library that we lend out to students or programmes who cannot afford quality gear themselves.
• Donate to groups that work with at-risk youth who use adventure based therapy as a tool to create change in young people's lives.
• Use some clothing as a fundraiser to support costs such as shipping, cleaning, maintaining and repairing donations and gear library items.

What impact do you think will they have on the 2nd Life Project community?

The icebreaker donations will have a significant impact! When the donation receiver is getting a piece of equipment that is new, opposed to at the end of its life, it means that they have many days and years to enjoy that item. Alternatively, if the item is in our gear library it could help so many different people have a positive experience.

Why do you think it’s important for people to move to natural if they can?

The ethos behind the 2nd Life Project is sustainability centred, for those wanting to look at the bigger picture of how they can minimise their environmental footprint going natural is a really easy way to do this. The quality, comfort, durability of materials such as wool or leather is superior to the petrochemical alternative and less harmful to the environment during all of the stages of manufacturing. Sometimes the cost of going natural can be more expensive as an upfront cost but if you look at the cost over the life of the product, it can balance up.

What is your hope for the future of 2nd Life Project?

Continue to grow and serve more people! The project is ever expanding and moving in all directions but our goals always remain the same. Minimise the waste, maximise the lifespan of a product and get more people outdoors! We've found that with more awareness come more contributions, both physical donations and peoples expertise and ideas. Eventually it would be great having a team of people repairing and making gear in house from donations and stockpiled fabric that we've been able to keep from going in the bin. We want the 2nd Life Project to be the biggest sustainable initiative in the outdoor industry and a name that everyone knows.