Innocent raising money for Age UK with knitted hats for smoothies

Innocent Drinks has once again teamed up with older people's charity Age UK for its 12th annual knitted hat fundraising appeal.

The Big Knit sees crafters across the country knitting miniature hats to fit on the lids of Innocent's drinks bottles, with the company encouraging people to get as creative as possible with their designs.

For each smoothie or juice drink sold that's been adorned with a knitted hat, Innocent donates 25p to Age UK, with the money going towards helping keep older people warm throughout the winter months.

This year, Innocent is hoping to encourage even more people to join in the Big Knit, teaming up with fashion designer Oliver Bonas to promote the campaign, getting him to design knitted hats of his own for men, women and children to raise extra money for the cause.

Innocent's UK managing director Nick Canney stated: "We're delighted to be teaming up with Oliver Bonas. Together we will raise lots more money and help raise awareness of the great work Age UK does."

The Big Knit ran for the first time in 2003, when just over 5,000 hats were donated by generous knitters, but this number has risen dramatically over the past 12 years, with more than one million hats donated last year.

During this time, the initiative has raised over £1.7 million for Age UK, protecting older people's health through the cold winter months.

Jamie Sterry, brand activation manager at Innocent, commented: "The passion and creativity that the public show when they get behind the campaign continues to amaze us and reading everyone's letters when they send the hats in is an honour."

Knitters have until December 11th to send hats to Innocent to raise money for older people's causes, with each receiving a handwritten reply from the brand to thank them for their efforts.

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