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RAISING AWARENESS. SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE. BREAKING BARRIERS.
Hi! 👋 We're This is Dementia and we’re a social enterprise based in London, raising awareness of dementia - particularly young onset, through the sale of our unique, hand-drawn t-shirts. For every t-shirt you buy, we donate 100% of the net proceeds to our official charity partner Dementia UK, to help fund their Admiral Nurses who provide incredible specialist support to families across the UK affected by dementia.
OUR MISSION
Education
The main aim of our t-shirts is to educate people about the presence of dementia, with key focuses on both highlighting young onset dementia, and opening up the topic within public conversation across all generations. Whilst over half the UK public has been affected by dementia - the understanding of the disease can still be lost.
With over a quarter (27%) of people aged 15-24 incorrectly thinking that dementia is an inevitable part of getting older, we hope by starting these conversations we can debunk some of the myths and start sharing real stories.
Sustainable & transparent
Partnering with fashion brands and mills to repurpose excess raw materials allows us to cut down on waste within the fashion industry and give another life to the fabric.
We believe in full transparency across the entire business - as a customer, you should know exactly where your product was made and where your money is going.
This is why every aspect of our production line is online for you to see. From our fabrics to our supply chain, we want our journey to be as open and personal as possible.
Raising funds
The work of Dementia UK’s Admiral Nurses is invaluable for the families they support across the UK - with our founder Lizzie’s family being one of them. We are so proud to donate 100% of our net proceeds to their incredible work to help fund more Admiral Nurses across the UK.
OUR STORY
This is Dementia was founded by Lizzie Perry in December 2019, following her dad's diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, at the age of 58. Symptoms of dementia can vary from person to person. For Lizzie's dad, two of the symptoms are staring and speech impairment which has resulted in instances where people have reacted negatively and aggressively towards him, for example - something as simple as when he is out walking the dog. Lizzie noticed a huge need for further awareness surrounding this disease and particularly how it can affect adults of all ages.
As a quick and visual solution to people’s behaviour, Lizzie had a t-shirt printed which read ‘Sorry for staring, it’s just my dementia’ which proved to be an instant help.
It allowed her family to relax when they were out in public and also put concerns of strangers at ease. Some people even began offering help and starting conversations when they read the t-shirt and understood the situation.
After the success of this initial t-shirt, Lizzie was inspired to take her idea further to address the lack of education around dementia and simultaneously raise money for the incredible work of Dementia UK’s Admiral Nurses.
OUR TEAM
LIZZIE PERRY
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Lizzie is a coffee-fuelled ray of sunshine who brings positivity and passion to all she does, whether that’s dancing around the office or inspiring partners to support her social enterprise. You’ll find her outdoors at every possibility or cooking up a questionable storm in the kitchen.
JAY SCOTT
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Jay is a zany creator with an out of this world imagination, that he funnels into songs, illustrations and other designs. You won’t find Jay without a pair of crazy socks and a pencil in his top pocket. His playful, colourful approach to design will put a smile on anyone's face.
ROB SUMNALL
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Rob is our resident tech fanatic, always looking to streamline, improve and digitise everything from our voice command kitchen lights at home to our sales process here at TID. His start-up experience brings a wealth of expertise and he’s happiest with a beer in hand chewing on some great biltong.
EMMA LAWSON
COMMUNICATIONS
Emma is a book nerd using her love of words to bring to life our TID copy and communications. She loves all things carbs and cheese and is a highly competitive fan of board games.
THE GOOD STUFF
Donation contributions
We’re so grateful to have been entirely funded by the generosity of you lovely people who have helped us to bring TID to life. With your incredible support we are working hard to establish awareness, raise money through our t-shirts and make a real difference.
This is Dementia will be donating 100% of our net proceeds to Dementia UK. So check back to see our running total each month.
The t-shirt breakdown
At This is Dementia we want you to know how much money from your purchase will be donated to Dementia UK's dementia specialist Admiral Nurses.
As this is one of our core aims, all of us at TID, including the majority of our supply chain, work free of charge ensuring that your money is only going to the t-shirt cost and the charity - it’s as simple as that.
Check out our image displaying on average where the money for each t-shirt goes.
Our partners
BURBERRY
We are thrilled to collaborate with Burberry, the luxury fashion brand, to repurpose raw materials into new t-shirts. Burberry has had environmental and social programmes in place for more than 15 years, with a key focus on tackling the waste challenge facing the fashion industry.
Where waste is inevitable, Burberry works with innovative organisations such as This is Dementia to repurpose it. More broadly, Burberry has expanded existing reuse, repair, donation, and recycling routes, while also focusing on limiting the causes of waste in the way it designs, buys and sells. We’re so pleased to partner with Burberry and are so grateful for their on-going support, advice, and enthusiasm for our cause.
Jalaj Hora, Senior Vice President for Quality, Raw Material, and Product Engineering at Burberry commented - “We are really excited to be supporting such a great cause, This is Dementia is not only educational, but also incredibly inspiring and creative. We hope this continues to raise awareness and bring people together through their own unique experiences.”
DEMENTIA UK
This is Dementia is proud to partner with Dementia UK, which is the only UK organisation caring for families through dementia specialist Admiral Nurses - and is also one of the UK’s biggest charities specialising in all types of dementia.
There are over 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK today. With over 42,000 people under the age of 65 currently living with dementia in the UK, the charity is working to help fund and support these individuals through the work of their Admiral Nurses. These nurses provide specialist support and care to families and their loved ones who have been affected by the illness.
When things get challenging or difficult for families, Admiral Nurses work with them, understanding their unique situation and providing strategies to help them cope. The Nurses work across a range of care settings, including out in the community, care homes, hospitals and hospices. The charity also has it's Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline – the only nurse-led helpline in the UK to support people affected by dementia.
Dementia UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1039404) and Scotland (SCO47429).
Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse and CEO for Dementia UK: “Here at Dementia UK, we’re extremely grateful to have someone like Lizzie show such passion and desire to support our charity. We believe her idea of creating unique, specially designed t-shirts will help to generate conversation and educate people throughout all generations on dementia as well as raise vital funds for our Admiral Nurses.”
OUR SUPPLY CHAIN
MAGMA
This is Dementia proudly partners with Magma Têxtil lda based in Barcelos, Portugal. Magma are a key partner for TID as they are one of the main vendors supplying excess fabric for our t-shirts to be made from.
“We were really keen to get on board when This is Dementia came to us with their plan to repurpose excess fabric to raise money for charity. Working within the fashion industry we're conscious of waste and are so glad to be part of this project that is not only environmentally conscious but also raises money for a great cause”.
SML
SML is a global company that provides design, retail, manufacturing, and supply chain solutions and who very kindly donate all of our labels and postcards.
“When Lizzie first approached us we were very excited to get involved. It’s an incredible cause, and we’re happy to do all we can to support This is Dementia in their fantastic work.”
SICI
This is Dementia proudly partners with SICI, a factory based in Braga, Portugal who have been instrumental in helping get TID off the ground and support the production of our t-shirts.
“We’re thrilled to support This is Dementia by producing the brand’s t-shirts. Lizzie’s infectious passion for raising awareness of dementia and supporting those affected by it had a great impact on us, and we’re proud to support the company in their work to make a real difference".
TRANSMEC
Transmec Group is an international logistics company. Fashion distribution is a key specialism and it is transporting TID’s t-shirts to the UK from SICI’s factory in Portugal.
“We’re extremely proud to support This is Dementia and will help in any way we can. It’s an inspirational initiative which can really make a big difference.”