Redundancy can be a very stressful process for anyone, but particularly for those with children to care for. Below is some information about our grants and how they help fashion and textile workers. 

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Applying for our grants

Our grants help UK fashion and textile families buy essential items for their children. It's why our charity was founded back in 1853.

To apply for an FTCT grant, you must be the parent or carer for a child aged up to 18 years and work OR have recently worked in the UK fashion and textile industry, for at least one year within the last nine years.

Find out more about our trade criteria. 

What we fund

Our grants fund items which are essential for children's health and wellbeing. These might be items you were planning to buy, but now can't due to lost income 

These might include:

• Essential clothing, e.g. seasonal clothing and school uniform and PE kit
• Baby essentials, e.g. clothing or equipment
• Children's bedroom furniture, e.g. beds, bedding, clothes storage furniture (chest of drawers)
• Essential White Goods, e.g. replacing a broken appliance such as fridge/freezer, washing machine, cooker/oven.
• Specialist items for children with additional needs, e.g. sensory toys, adaptive clothing or SEN adapted computers

All items will be considered at the discretion of the grants team.

What we can't fund

We're sorry but we can't fund household bills, food costs or replace lost income.

If you're struggling to cover the cost of household bills or food, find out what support is available to help with debt and bill costs . There are also lots of other charities who help people through financial difficulty. 

By funding the other essential items your children need, we hope to free up money during this difficult time and give you one less thing to worry about.

If you need help with household bills, once you have made your enquiry we will signpost you to other charities who may be able to help with these.  

Make an enquiry

If you would like to apply for funding for any of the items listed above, the first step is to complete our online enquiry form. Click on the button below, to proceed to the next page. 

Make an enquiry  

When we found out the company was closing, it was like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my life. My son needed equipment for his college course and with no savings, I had no idea how I would afford it. Claire, Mum of Sam. Read Claire's story

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More redundancy advice

Check your income entitlements

• Check your redundancy rights to make sure your employer actually can make you redundant and to check whether all your rights are being respected.
• Find out if you qualify for redundancy pay and get an estimate of how much Statutory Redundancy Pay you could be entitled to by using this quick and easy calculator.
• Use the Turn2 Us website to check your benefit entitlement to get some income coming in while you're out of work. Means-tested benefits are related to how much income and savings you have and Contributory benefits are related to your national insurance contributions over the past couple of years. You can get contributory and means-tested benefits at the same time.

Reduce your costs

• Get on top of your budget - there are lots of ways to save money on your bills.
• Deal with any problem debts - debts you have been managing while you had income from work can become a problem after redundancy. Get free, confidential, non-judgemental advice to help you deal with them.

Get support

• Check if you can apply to our charity for a grant- our eligibility criteria is below.
• Use the Turn2 Us website to do a grants search - there are lots of charities like ours that give grants to people experiencing loss of income. 
• Mind: Coping with redundancy - redundancy can be stressful and upsetting. Get tips on taking care of your mental health.