Festival of Thrift – Traders T&Cs 2025

Festival of Thrift – Traders T&Cs 2025 

The Festival of Thrift is the national celebration of sustainable living, so it is important that your offer is in line with our upcycled, recycled and thrifty ethos! 

Please take the time to read our policies below and only apply if are confident you can comply with the T&Cs as outlined. 

There are some documents and vital information you will need to provide as part of this submission, so please have your PLI, risk assessment, power requirements, unit measurements (if you are bringing your own), and images to hand. 

We will send you some further updated information as part of your joining instructions nearer to the festival. 

If you have any queries, please do email morgan@festivalofthrift.co.uk 

Your Offer / Products 

1. Please ensure that you only bring the items listed on your application form. If your offer is significantly different or has increased when you arrive at the festival, you may be asked to remove items from sale. This is to ensure that the wider festival offer is balanced and to make sure similar products are not positioned on stalls next to each other. 

1. As the national celebration of sustainable living, it is crucial that the items you are selling and using comply with Festival of Thrift’s policies on recycling and sustainability. 

Please do not bring: 

• plastic carrier bags, cutlery, or other single-use plastic items (e.g. balloons) 

• any items in plastic packaging, including bottled water/drinks/mass-produced/bought-in products 

• disposable items such as ‘novelty’ throw-away festival attire (glitter/face paint, hair wraps, garlands etc.) 

Please do bring: 

• wooden cutlery, cardboard serving trays, paper and recyclable cups 

• paper and canvas bags 

• local, handmade, upcycled, repurposed, and unique products 

• retro, vintage, and pre-loved items 

Prohibited Items 

• toy or replica guns 

• pornographic materials 

• counterfeit goods 

• anything that can be used as a weapon 

• laser pens 

Any traders found breaking these guidelines risk not being invited back to the festival in future years. Spot checks will be undertaken throughout the festival weekend and you may be asked to remove products from sale. We thank you in advance for your support in our mission for a more sustainable future! 

Trading Standards  

We are working with colleagues in Stockton Borough Council to ensure that all traders comply with relevant legislation, CE certification, and trading standards. If you are unsure if any of your goods do not comply, or you have any questions, please contact us before coming to the event – a question is better than a prosecution! 

Please refer to the below link for further trading standards and compliance details. 

https://www.businesscompanion.info/ 

The ‘Official’ Stuff 

1. Pitches are allocated at the discretion of the festival.  We reserve the right to select your location for aesthetics, spacing and prevention of duplication of product offer. However, please feel free to contact us if you have a strong preference for either the park or the town and we will take this into consideration. 

1. Please do your utmost to arrive on site at your allotted time. Obviously, things happen – so we will give you a contact number for your Zone manager on the day, should you be unavoidably delayed. (The site is divided into a number of Zones to make things easier. You will be informed of your designated zone prior to the festival.) 

1. All vehicles must be removed from the festival site at the latest 30 mins before the official opening time of the festival (11am) and may not return to site until H&S have given permission. This time will be communicated to you via your Zone Manager. Any unprohibited vehicle movement may result in you being asked to leave the site and not be invited back to the festival.  We will provide information about trader parking in your joining instructions. As we are monitoring the festival’s carbon footprint, we ask that you consider the environment in your journey to and from the site and keep the number of journeys to an absolute minimum. Please share transport with your team whenever possible. 

1. Stalls must be staffed at all times during the festival opening hours – 11:00- 17:00. 

1. There is limited space in front and around your pitch, so please ensure your products, additional stock, empty boxes, and advertising (A-frames, flags etc) do not encroach on other traders’ pitches or into the public walkways.  

1. You must include your power requirements in your application. Please determine the amount of power you really need for your stall. If you only need to charge devices, consider bringing a power pack instead of ordering power. This will support us to reduce our usage of diesel generators and in turn the carbon footprint of the festival. 

1. All electrical equipment must be in good condition and be covered by relevant PAT certificates valid at the time of the event. All gas equipment must be covered by an up-to-date Gas Safety Certificate issued by a registered gas engineer. These certificates must be sent to us prior to the festival.  

1. You will not be able to trade at the festival until you provided us with: 

• a copy of your Public Liability Insurance certificate