Hundreds of people have gathered to knit the UK’s largest hat to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Innocent Drinks’ long-standing initiative The Big Knit, in support of Age UK.
At 23 feet tall and 20 feet wide, the communal effort was knitted at Nottingham’s Albert Hall, a city known for being the home of knitting after producing the first ever knitting machine in the 16th Century.
It marks the 20th anniversary of Innocent Drinks and Age UK’s partnership, who have been working together since 2003 to raise millions of pounds to support older people most in need.
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The giant bobble hat is made up of 545 individual knitted squares and an estimated 2 million yards of wool, weighing approximately 817 kilos.
After the unveiling, the gigantic hat will be divided into smaller blankets and donated to charities, including animal shelters and local children’s hospitals in the Nottingham area and beyond.
The knitted masterpiece comes after research shows that even before the cost of living crisis, 15% of older people in the UK were living in poverty, equating to 1.7 million people.
Since 2003, the partnership has seen tiny, knitted hats from the public placed on smoothie bottles, with Innocent donating 25p for each one donated.
In the last two decades, Innocent and Age UK have collaboratively knitted nearly 11 million hats and raised over £3 million for the charity, which in turn has helped Age UK fund its national Telephone Friendship Service, local social groups, activities and lunch clubs for older people.
“Our Big Knit campaign is something we are extremely proud of, as it reaches and benefits so many every single year up and down the country,” UK managing director at Innocent Drinks, Sam Akinluyi said.
“Today’s amazing turn out shows that, despite the hardships and uncertainty that 2022 brought and 2023 will likely bring, the community spirit is still alive, and it’s incredible to see so many people still eager to help out those that need it most.”
Director of partnerships & philanthropy at Age UK, Hannorah Lee commented: “We’re extremely thankful to everyone who gets involved with the innocent Big Knit campaign.
“Older people are facing an incredibly difficult reality and, as we face a cost-of-living crisis, Age UK is receiving more and more calls from older people worried about how they will survive the winter months.”
Lee added that their support is needed now more than ever before: “All the money raised through the Big Knit helps Age UK and our network of local Age UKs continue to provide information, support, friendship, and advice to older people when they need us most.”
She continued: “We’re proud of our partnership with innocent and the impact the Big Knit has had on the lives of older people over the last 20 years.”
In December, Innocent Drinks revealed it is set to cut 5% of naturally occurring sugars from its drinks by 2025, in a commitment to ensuring the fruit-based smoothies are as healthy as possible.
