Posted by Lorenzo van Sichem
on July 28, 2023
At 19, Tijmen was one of the youngest employees at i-did. During his vocational training, he chose the hospitality sector, but that wasn't quite right for him. He switched to design and spent a year interning at i-did. It was right up his alley, as he also wanted to get started with clothing and design himself.
Tijmen working at i-did in Utrecht
At i-did, the young Utrechter learned every aspect of making a product: from laser-cutting felt to assembling bags, covers, and luggage tags himself at the sewing machine. He especially enjoyed making something himself.
It worked out so well for both sides that after his internship, he moved on to a program at i-did. “I really enjoyed it. At school you learn a little bit of everything and my classmates didn't do that much. I'm really lucky that I ended up at i-did. I really wanted to work and earn money and this work also suited me perfectly. It's hard work, but the colleagues are nice and you can really learn something. They helped me a lot to figure out who I am and what I want.”
Kuehne Nagel
After his program at i-did, Tijmen was able to get to work at logistics service provider Kuehne Nagel through i-did's mediation with another social entrepreneur. They were so satisfied with him that he was eventually hired through their own employment agency.
He has now been working for almost a year as a warehouse worker at Kuehne Nagel in Utrecht in the inbound department, where all products arrive. “It's fun work where I get to do many different things, such as unloading the truck and driving the pallets to the right aisle in the warehouse. It is pretty cool that I see all the new products from, for example, Starbucks before they are in the store. We use electric pallet trucks (EPT) to move the containers out and I got my forklift certificate last month. Now I'm allowed to drive that too. I also want to get the reach truck certificate, a kind of forklift with a long arm that allows you to reach the higher racks in a warehouse.”
Own clothing line
Tijmen now works thirty-two hours a week for the transport company and he has a plan for himself. He eventually wants to design his own clothing and sell it through an online shop. He has already found a company that can make his designs and he wants to handle the online sales himself. “I'm thinking of a whole line of shirts, pants, and socks in a theme, with a graphic design like Louis Vuitton. I think that's a beautiful pattern and I want to create a variation on it. But more old school, like the style of the movie Grease, a bit rockabilly, I also think is nice.”
Besides having his own clothing line, Tijmen wants to have a good income and his own little house in the future, together with his girlfriend who still lives in America. He would love to live in a small village in the American countryside, where everyone knows each other. His girlfriend would rather come to the Netherlands. But the first goal now is for both of them to save up a lot, so that they can finally see each other live in a year. After that they will look further together.
Tijmen working at logistics service provider Keuhne Nagel
i-did makes social impact from textiles
Every year, more than 200,000 tons of textiles are thrown away in the Netherlands, including large amounts of workwear. At the same time, there are more than 400,000 people on social assistance, including status holders and people for whom access to work is not a given. They have few opportunities to discover and use their talents.
At i-did, we connect these two challenges: old textiles get a second life and are processed into products that really matter. Products that are made by people who get the chance at i-did to gain experience and contribute to society in a meaningful way.
More and more companies are choosing products from i-did, which means our social impact and reach grow every year. On this page we share insights, figures, and examples of how clothing reuse and social impact come together.
