What fuels us?
At My Alternative Thinking, we create real solutions for real problems — ideas with practical purpose and meaningful impact.
We believe small problems can grow when overlooked, which is why we challenge conventional thinking. By asking two simple questions — What’s the solution? and What else could it do? — we uncover smarter, more versatile answers.
When everyone offers the same solution, problems can remain unseen. That’s where thinking differently matters. Being different allows us to step outside the norm, rethink the obvious, and reveal better solutions.
This mindset is the foundation of My Alternative Thinking — and the reason we exist.
Where it all started….
My name is Lee Barlow, founder and creator of The My Multi-Tag (MMT) — a multifunctional accessory designed to help people stay organised while protecting the items they value most.
The idea for MMT was born from a simple but frustrating problem. Each time I took my suits to the dry cleaners, identification tags were attached using safety pins or staples, leaving permanent damage to garments that were meant to be cleaned and preserved. Over time, my suits became marked and worn, with no alternative offered to prevent this unnecessary damage — even for high-value clothing such as suits and bridal wear.
I questioned why this damage was accepted as normal and asked whether there was a better solution. That question led to the creation of My Multi-Tag: a reusable, non-damaging identification tag that allows garments to be identified without compromise.
What started as a solution for dry cleaning quickly evolved into something more. By rethinking everyday organisation, My Multi-Tag became a versatile, multi-use accessory designed for continuous, practical use — not just a single purpose.
This alternative way of thinking led to the creation of My Alternative Thinking — a brand focused on smarter, more considerate solutions for modern life.
We aim to be more than just another company…
We are continually seeking new ways to improve and provide solutions and we don’t believe this should be something that only happens in the workplace: it should also reflect outside the business. One of our aims is to help with rehabilitation and reform by providing opportunities to local institutions to help build our business, but with the goal to provide a solid foundation for when the time comes to face the world.
We understand that ensuring there is a solid foundation for people going through reform is essential and sometimes requires support. For some people, that support is not enough and has limits to when people can access it. We are offering the opportunity for people going through reform a chance of creating the opportunity to have something to fall back on. We believe in hard work, commitment to change and the desire to make a difference by providing a simple solution.
Currently, Inmates on average earn a approximately £9.50; that’s £9.50 per week.
People going through reform are more likely to slip back into old habits when there is limited funding available and job prospects may be few and far between. Due to lack of financial stability, it often results in government housing to be provided if available which is not always guaranteed. This adds further strain to government economics and adding increased taxes. We are looking to change this.
We are looking to provide and increase wages for people in reform who are selected to within our building programme.
We are looking to provide a substantial increase on average. We are also looking to ensure that the people in reform have access to 30% of the wage they have earned during their incarceration. 40-45% of the wages earnt will saved and upon release, their funds will be made available to allow financial stability to help towards their next step of reform.
The remaining 25-30% will be put back into the system to improve rehabilitation and reform, improving facilities, adding a relief to government financial strain.
Follow us on our journey using My alternative Thinking by seeing one problem, asking what is the solution but applying the method of what else can it do.