'My clothing brand keeps ex-offenders out of prison - in the process of changing lives, we saved the taxpayer over a million pounds'
Former prisoners design clothes for Inside Out Clothing Project founded by Greg McKenzie. Once the clothes are made, they earn money selling them in the company’s pop-up shop.
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The Source Exclusive: 'My clothing brand keeps ex-offenders out of prison - in the process of changing lives, we saved the taxpayer over a million pounds'
It costs the taxpayer around £56,000 to pay for a single prison place. But Inside Out founder Greg Mckenzie wants to make sure ex-offenders don't go back.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
JUNE 11, 2025
A man who set up a clothing brand to keep ex-offenders out of jail says he has helped change lives and save the taxpayer over one million pounds in the process.
Founder Greg Mckenzie created Inside Out Clothing Project where former prisoners design clothes and earn money selling them in the company’s pop-up shop.
Since launching four years ago, Greg says he has kept 29 out of 30 people from going back to jail which in turn he says has saved the taxpayer roughly £56,000 per prison place.
Growing up in and out of care before becoming a multi-award-winning BBC journalist, the founder says he was moved to start the project after covering a triple murder on an estate and being asked “what are you doing to help us?”
Now, the initiative which has an intake of mostly young Black boys, some of whom were victims of county lines drug trafficking - has garnered support from celebrities including UK rap duo Krept and Konan.
Greg said: “I was filming for the BBC at a triple murder in Camberwell. There were young teenagers on the estate, and they said, ‘what are you doing here? F**k off, we don't want the BBC here.’ And I said, ‘Look, I get it. I grew up on the estate, I understand what you are going through.’ One of them comes right into my face and says, ‘What the f**k are you doing to help us?’
From that moment, Greg says he decided to set up the non-profit organisation, and through funding and support from investor Rob Pierre who is now Co-Director, as well as LinkedIn’s head of marketing Zara Easton - Inside Out was born.
The founder said: “I've never set up a business before, so it was my first proper business and to see it four years down the road is just amazing.
“You can prevent people from having to reoffend and go back in. We want to be in America.”
But, despite saving the taxpayer over £1.5million by keeping people out of jail, Greg says organisations like his taking on the challenge, are having to ‘fight’ for grants.
He said: “The government isn’t funding these organisations. Organisations are closing down left, right and centre. They're struggling. We're fighting for grants.
“There’s different funds for different initiatives, but I couldn’t tell you one fund we could apply for from central government. It’s very difficult to access.
“It costs about 50 grand per inmate per year, especially the young offenders, because they have social workers and they have to have extra care and work in the prisons. So, they're about 50 grand each, and that's the taxpayer that pays that. We’ve saved the taxpayer a million pounds through projects like ours.
“We're doing the government's work, basically.”
By giving mentorship and teaching ex-offenders new skills including setting up their own businesses, Greg says Inside Out has changed the lives of those who aren’t given a chance.
According to the Sentencing Council’s research published in 2020, Black and Asian men are more likely to be jailed for drug dealing offences in England and Wales than white men and the founder says some of the Black boys he helps are victims of grooming.
Greg said: “We take 10 people a year, and we work with them over five weeks. A lot of them will have gone into prison for two, three years. We go for under 30s, the age range is kind of up to 30.
“90% of our intake are young Black boys. Some of them are victims, especially in the county lines. They were victims of a situation, and they end up in prison, but they were being groomed by older gang members to run drugs up and down the country.
“A lot of them are quite sorry for what they've done. They come to us and they get £30 a day. They have a chat with food.
“We work with them doing mentorship, kind of conflict resolution, business skills. We've taught them how to set up their own companies. They learn how to make the t-shirts and the prints.
“A lot of these guys are very creative. They're musicians, they're writers, they're artists.”
Greg says the former prisoners are given “free rein” to design, and that they get to keep the clothing samples afterwards.
Once the items are manufactured, Greg says the group gets a 10 per cent commission from the sales as well as a £14.50 an hour wage for working in the pop-up shop.
But the founder says that funding this work is crucial as the prison system is designed to fail ex-offenders.
He adds that reform is needed especially at a time when the government is being forced to release prisoners who serve 40 per cent of their sentence instead of 50 per cent due to overcrowding.
According to Ministry of Justice data covering July to September 2024, for every 100 people released from prison, 67 of them were recalled.
Greg said: “I think it needs a whole reshape, a whole reshuffle in terms of the prison system for certain offenders. Obviously, you take a life, you go to jail. But what we've got to think as a society, some of them, 98% of those people, will eventually be released from prison.
“One of our guys, he went to 42 interviews for jobs when he was released from prison, and he had to reveal that he had criminal record.
“The minute he tells them he has a criminal record, he gets a ‘no’ in his face straight away, so he says, ‘Gregg, what's the point? I might as well go back to shot [sell drugs] on the streets. It's more money, and I'm my own boss. I don't want to end up back in prison.’
“He ended up getting a job as a warehouse supervisor, and he didn't tell them he had a criminal record, and they found out three months later, and he got fired.
“It's almost like a system designed for them to fail once they're released from jail. There's no support out there.”
Overall, Greg says that all people want is an opportunity and that given the chance they can reach their full potential.
Greg said: “One of them showed an interest in food. He used to do the food in the prison’s kitchens. Now he’s a sous chef in a five-star restaurant in London.
“It's just about changing lives and all they want is an opportunity. They just want an opportunity to get on that ladder but opportunities are few and far between.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We know that finding employment after release reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points.
“We have already launched Employment Councils, which help to break the cycle of reoffending by linking prisons and probation with employers to get former offenders into work.”
The Inside Out pop-up shop is open until June 30 at Hello Love, 62-64 Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 4AR.
For more information about Inside Out, click here.