HELLO, HARRIET AGAIN. WE NOW HAVE HEAD OF HAZAAR’S AT 37 UNIVERSITIES!! HAZAAR COULDN’T BE WHAT IT IS WITHOUT OUR AMAZING TEAM, SO FOR THIS BLOG I ASKED 4 MEMBERS OF THE TEAM TO WRITE A SHORT PIECE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AT HAZAAR! HOPE YOU ENJOY.
George- Head of Hazaar Edinburgh
Hi I’m George, the head of Hazaar at the University of Edinburgh. Harriet first told me about Hazaar when it was just an idea in her head. I knew it had great potential, but would take a lot of hard work and dedication. Luckily that’s exactly what harriet has, so Hazaar has really hit the ground running since it’s launch only a month ago, with over 10,000 students on board already!
Being new at Edinburgh this year (for my postgrad) and knowing no one, it was initially tricky getting people to join the Hazaar Facebook group. There are now just shy of 100. Edinburgh members, some of which are already using Hazaar to buy sell and exchange second hand goods. I’ve already managed to sell something myself!
With 4 universities in Edinburgh, and 50,000 students, the potential of Hazaar here is huge. I’m excited to see our Edinburgh page grow in the weeks to come.
More and more people are buying second hand goods, buying from charity shops and from vintage stores – Hazaar couldn’t of come at a better time, by providing a platform for students to do this online, whilst reducing packaging and postage miles.
I’m very excited to see Hazaar continue to grow, especially once the app is launched after Christmas. It’s a great idea, backed by a dedicated team.
Charis- Head of PR
Hi I’m Charis, I’m head of PR at Hazaar! My initial plan after graduating uni this year was to take a year out to go travelling. I love experiencing what different countries and their cultures have to offer whether it be the people, the food or the diverse environments and wildlife.
Obviously Coronavirus has massively affected these plans but I think it is still incredibly important to be part of something where the overall aim is to protect and preserve the world we live in so that we can continue to experience these things for years to come.
Despite participating in some of the litter picks and canal cleans organised by Plastic-Free UoB in my final year I wish I’d been a bit more involved, therefore I was eager to assist with Hazaar in anyway I could.
As a start-up company marketing and promotion are incredibly important and although I have not had much prior experience working in public relations I have found it very interesting. Communicating with environmental and sustainability influencers; publications; podcasters and so on, has been extremely insightful and as well as hopefully bolstering Hazaar’s profile, the opportunity has made me more aware of the enormous efforts being made to tackle the current climate crisis.
Despite these efforts we are still a long way off our goal therefore reinforcing the importance of projects like Hazaar and the message they convey. I look forward to continuing my work with Hazaar and to see what the future holds for sustainable trading.
Bill – Head of Hazaar Warwick
Being Head of Hazaar has been a great experience so far, it’s exciting for me as a Chemistry student to get involve with something very different to what I’m used to, and I really feel Hazaar has a lot of potential.
I’ve only been a member of the team of around 40 heads for 3 weeks, but I can tell there are some dedicated individuals in the team who believe in Hazaars vision, which is communicated by the founder, Harriet Noy, an evidently passionate and driven individual.
Hazaar’s premise is simple, and could even seem like a rehash of other business ideas, but the target market for Hazaar is what makes its potential so huge, in my mind anyway. The majority of uni students are always keen on a bargain, and with consumer behaviour showing a steady increase in buying second-hand there’s a need for a business that caters specifically to students, giving them access to quality, second-hand items.
Everything from kitchenware to clothes to textbooks. These things all exist in the student network, it’s the case of setting up a student-centred platform to make buying and selling second-hand not only safe but affordable too, and reducing waste by eliminating packaging and postage in the process.
I’m very excited to continue spreading the word of Hazaar at Warwick and eager to see where Hazaar might be taken in the future!
Jess- Head of Hazaar Liverpool
I first found out about Hazaar from the founder Harriet, who I’ve known for years. Immediately I was really keen to help in any way I could as I think Hazaar’s whole concept is so important, not to mention how useful I thought it would be for all students buying and selling second hand items at uni.
I’ve always used marketplaces such as ebay and depop however I believe that Hazaar has an edge over these two as there is no packaging and massively reduced travel miles means that it is more eco-friendly – simply using Hazaar over the other two reduces your carbon footprint! This is something we should all get behind. This is why being a head of Hazaar was perfect as means I could help to spread the word on a topic I feel really passionate about.
Hazaar really suits Liverpool because with a student population of over 45,000 between Uni of and John Moores, there is a huge market place for exchanging second hand items between students. I’ve also been in touch with a few of our societies such as Livsnow and Liverpool Fashion Summit who both love the concept of Hazaar and have helped with spreading the word to more students.
I’m really excited to see Hazaar grow which I know it definitely will with Harriet and all the heads of Hazaar behind it!
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Find the link to your uni Facebook page – https://linktr.ee/justhazaar
