The Fashion & Textile Children’s Trust (FTCT) has continued to see high levels of applications for financial help from families.
In 2021, the charity received nearly 2,500 applications for grants, after a record 3,516 enquiries in 2020 as Covid-19 hit the clothing sector from garment decoration through to high-street retailers.
The FTCT was able to help 713 families in its last financial year, providing an average grant of about £500.
The charity, originally founded in 1853, helps the children of people working in the fashion and textile sector in the UK who are struggling financially.
Its director, Anna Pangbourne, told The Guardian last week that applications for grants rose on the back of Covid-19, with many people seeing their hours cut, as well as the withdrawal of the £20-a-week Universal Credit top-up which was introduced after the first lockdown.
To apply for an FTCT grant, one parent must work or have recently worked in the UK fashion and textile industry for at least one year within the last nine years.
